Chefs are using Instagram to market their recipes during the pandemic

Chefs across the country are turning to Instagram to advertise their menus. This marketing strategy has turned the social media platform into the world’s greatest takeout menu, Tejal Rao reports for The New York Times. Their job security upended by the pandemic, chefs are improvising new pop-ups, building their own makeshift businesses, and taking orders directly from customers who come across their Instagram page. Rao said she now has calendar alerts set up for more than 50 menu drops on Instagram and notifications set up for new posts on about 100 accounts. This unconventional method of ordering food has diners following each business closely in order to remember their specific pop-up schedules, pickup rules, and payment methods. Many of these businesses operate without dining tables, ovens, investors, or employees. What may appear to be scrappy and unregulated can pay off as an intimate and revitalizing way to support chefs during a difficult period for the restaurant industry.