Making food photo-friendly - 6 Minute English

Neil: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English,

I'm Neil.

Rob: And I'm Rob.

Neil: And in this programme we're

discussing food.

Rob: Food glorious food! There's only one

thing better than talking about food and

that's eating it.

Neil: Well I know you are a bit of a

gastronome – someone who enjoys and

knows a lot about high-quality food – but

today we're talking about photographing

food, not eating it.

Rob: That is a shame because I am on a

see-food diet – if I see food, I have to eat

it. Get it?!

Neil: Yes Rob, very very funny. But in the

social media-addicted world, just seeing

food - not eating it - is big business as I will

explain shortly. But shall we feast on a

question first, Rob?

Rob: Yes, if it tastes good!

Neil: It does. So, do you know the name

for the person who's usually second in

charge in a restaurant kitchen after the

head chef and has lots of responsibility

for running it? Is it the…

a) Pastry chef, b) Commis chef, or

c) Sous chef.

Rob: Hmm, I'm not a chef expert but I'll

say c) a Sous chef – it sounds important!

Neil: Well I'll give the answer later in the

programme. Now let me explain more

about food and photos. These days, how

well a dish – that's a noun for food

prepared for eating – is photographed

can matter more than how it actually

tastes.

Rob: And I suppose social media

platforms are the best way for sharing

food photos on, aren't they? And I have

been guilty of taking a picture

of my food on my smartphone – but only

when eating some amazing food at a

posh restaurant.

Neil: Which isn't very often I suppose! But

by sharing images across social media,

people see them and think the food looks

delicious, I must go to that restaurant and eat it!

Rob: You could argue it's about style over

substance, meaning the look of something

is better that the content or product.

Neil: Maybe, Rob – although I'm sure

sometimes the food tastes just as good

as it looks. Anyway, the BBC Radio 4

programme, You and Yours, has been

looking into this. They spoke to several

influential Instagrammers and bloggers

– influential means having the power to

make people change what they think.

Here's one of them – Rebecca Milford,

who edits a website called Bar Chick.

What does she think about this new trend?

It sounds very cliche that a picture speaks

a thousand words but it really does and

I've got friends now that instead of doing

what you used to do and going on to the

website of a restaurant to see what they

were serving, then you'd go onto their

Instagram account and check out their

images, and choose what you want to eat

literally based on what you're seeing.

So it has to be presentable, I suppose.

Neil: Rebecca used a well-known and

well-used phrase there – one that is used

so much it has become boring –

what we call a cliche. The phrase is a

picture speaks a thousand words.

Rob: Yes – and even if it is a cliche – it

is so true. You describe a fantastic meal

in a long blog but you can quickly see

how it looks from a picture and then

create an idea in your mind of how it

tastes. So when you're promoting food, a

photo is everything.

Neil: And that's why some restaurants pay PR

companies lots of money to take stylish

photos that can be shared on social media.

It's like a fashion photoshoot for food.

Rob: Yes and Rebecca said the food has

to be presentable – that's looking good

enough for people to see – because

people are making choices on what they

see. I've also heard that some chefs and

restaurateurs have adjusted their

menus to produce meals that look good

on a smartphone camera. A restaurateur,

by the way, is the name of a person who

owns and manages a restaurant.

Neil: Now, while there is a risk that good-looking

food on social media accounts such as

Instagram, might not match how it tastes,

there is a theory your brain might trick you

in to thinking it does tastes good.

The You and Yours programme

also heard from Professor Charles Spence,

an Experimental Psychologist from

Oxford University, about how this happens…

We see the food first, or the drink in the

glass, and our brain's already imagining

what it's going to taste like. And the more

beautifully it's presented, the more

artistically, that sets better expectations

and they kind of carry over and anchor the

tasting experience.

Neil: Right, so a great photo of food can

possibly make us think it tastes better

too. We create an idea in our head of how

it will taste which influences our expectations

when we actually eat the food.

Rob: And expectation means the feeling

that something good is going to happen.

Neil: Right Rob, I'm sure you're expecting

the answer to the question I set you

earlier. I asked, if you knew the name for

the person who's usually second in

charge in a restaurant kitchen after the

Head chef and has lots of responsibility

for running it? Is it the…

a) Pastry chef, b) Commis chef, or c) Sous chef.

What did you say, Rob?

Rob: I said c) a Sous chef. Am I right?

Neil: You are Rob! Give that man a job,

here maybe in the BBC canteen!

Rob: Come on, Neil. I think I could do

better than that! But before I do let's

remind ourselves of some of the vocabulary

we've discussed today. Starting with

gastronome – that's someone who enjoys

and knows a lot about high-quality

food – someone like me!

Neil: Maybe Rob. We also discussed the

word influential, meaning having the

power to make people change what they think.

Rob: We also mentioned cliche – a

well-known phrase that is so overused it

has become boring. Like for example 'a

picture speaks a thousand words.' You

never use cliches do you, Neil?

Neil: Absolutely never. Let's move on to

presentable – that describes something

that looks good, is smart and is good

enough for people to see. A bit like me in

my smart new jumper. Do you like it?

Rob: Very nice! Well a presenter has to be

presentable, Neil! Our next word was

expectation, a word that describes the

feeling that something good is going to

happen. I have an expectation that people

will love this programme!

Neil: Well, let's hope so!

Rob: Yes, and that brings us to the end of

this programme. Don't forget to check out

our social media platforms. See you soon, bye.

Neil: Bye!