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Be wary of ugly food, as amateur photos have potential to go viral

Be wary of ugly food, as amateur photos have potential to go viral

When unappetizing food shots from the London newspaper the Guardian began making the rounds a few weeks ago, it was photographic evidence of the need for operators to improve their unit-level training.

The photos contrasted marketing shots of select items, like the Burger King Whopper, McDonald’s sausage breakfast burrito, Arby’s Beef ‘n Cheddar sandwich and Taco Bell’s Bell Grande nachos, to name a few, with photos of the products as they were received at the store.

If you haven’t yet seen this link, which made its rounds among the foodservice community late last month, let me tell you: It’s not a pretty picture. One chicken sandwich from a favorite chain of mine consisted of two smashed, askew buns barely able to hold a patty, which was encased in shiny, rubbery cheese.

Obviously, as consumers we know there’s always going to be a pretty big disconnect between the beautiful food shots restaurants put on their marketing materials and what a lot of meals end up looking like during a lunch rush. But restaurant operators nonetheless need to be more vigilant about this disparity.

Sure, the photos come from quick-service chains, which are low-hanging fruit to food shot activists. But I’ve been disappointed by shoddily put-together food at plenty of more upscale restaurants, including independents, too. And don’t pretend you’ve never had to wrestle with an unappetizing lump of blue cheese in your tossed salad during a busy lunch shift somewhere. It happens. So why write about it?

Because this stuff clearly has the ability to go viral now. Everybody’s a critic, and everybody’s got an iPhone with a decent camera. Everybody’s watching “Top Chef” or reading “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” so expectations for food preparation are higher than ever everywhere. In addition, media outlets like the Guardian and others are soliciting such photos to augment the content and fuel the popularity of their websites. So just keep these pictures in mind when training your kitchen staff or explaining to servers the finer points of presentation.

Make everybody conscious of the fact that you don’t want food flying out of the kitchen looking like roadkill. If you’re not careful, at some point a picture snapped by a dissatisfied customer will surely end up on the Internet, doing as much damage to your reputation as a thousand words passed along to millions of people could ever do.— [email protected]

TAGS: Technology
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