We know, I’m a chef and teaching/writing about food and cooking has been my thing for decades. But, is there kitchen space for yet another food vlog by a chef?
It’s one of those questions that every foodie social media, or would-be social media, entity is now confronted with: To vlog, or not to vlog? And it’s a question that’s causing this chef no small amount of anxiety and stress.
Why so should this chef food vlog from the kitchen?
Because, really? Does the digital world really need another food/food-related channel on YouTube? The jury’s out. From the old days of the revolutionary Food Network on ‘regular’ TV, there appears to be been a… mushrooming… of channels everywhere you look.
From Masterchef, My Kitchen Rules, Read Steady Cook, and oh so many more. It really does feel more like an endless all-you-can-eat buffet with a nauseating number of dishes.
Think I’m joking, try Googling “how many cooking/food channels are on YouTube“… You won’t get an answer, not directly. You’ll get oodles of ‘The Best’ and ‘Top 100’, or ‘Top 200’, my personal favourite ‘The Best food or cooking channels’, but when even the mega-god algorithm of YouTube can’t give a search engine a straightforward answer, you do have to ask the question; is enough, enough?
Has food vlog supply exceeded demand?
That’s a hard question, and at least for the moment the fastest growing channels are gaming and education, and not food or cooking.
But, is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Has the art of eating become redundant, or is teaching cooking more important?
According to Air.io Media Tech, food and cooking took a hit in 2024, and they warn of ‘plateau or decline’ signals.
This doesn’t even touch the ultimate why? Getting paid to do what you love.
Is it easy to make money, or more maturely, can you make money making content for social media? Whilst a few years ago social media influencers touted their wears at every given opportunity, more recently the blow-back against such promotions have been, well, striking.
Many restaurants, cafes, and food-related businesses have been stung by uppity influencers who had a tendency to say one thing and print another. These businesses are now, rightfully so, cautious when it comes to reviews.
Also, many ‘paid’ reviews have lost customer faith, with so-called reviews on merchant sites like Amazon being ghost-written – with the reviewer never having seen or used the item they’re supposedly reviewing.
So, is there space for another food/cooking/culinary vlog on the internet? Would anyone watch it? Would sponsors want to pay to promote their wears if the promoter actually knew about the industry and whose opinion can’t be bought? These are all important questions that still need answers, and at the moment, I can’t answer them.
What’re your thoughts? Would you read an unbiased food journalist’s review on products? Does another food/culinary channel have a place in your life? Drop a comment below, or send me an email and let me know your thoughts; To food vlog, or not to food vlog?