Previously on This Just In…

Culinary no-no #163

Posted on April 25, 2010

I had absolutely no idea.

Meet the Olympus Stylus Verve camera.

It has a number of exposure Control Types:Candle, Self-portrait with self-timer, Behind glass, Landscape, Portrait mode, Beach/snow, Landscape-portrait, Self-portrait, Fireworks, Panorama assist, Night scene, Sunset, 2 in 1, Indoor.

There is also the “Cuisine” scene mode. According to the Olympus web site, this is “an exclusive point-and-shoot feature from Olympus—to boost the saturation, sharpness and contrast of food and drinks, especially for close-ups. It’s quick and easy to do simply by pressing a button.”

An ingenious attraction, especially in this foodie day and age.

Last night, the Wisconsin Scorers and Timers Association that I belong to held our 50 year anniversary banquet at Klemmer’s, complete with beautifully decorated cake that was the subject of numerous pictures.

That tradition at milestone occasions, a picture of dessert, a photo of the people being celebrated,  while still popular today has expanded.

In 2010, being a foodie is cool. Watching celebrity chefs on TV is cool. Tackling their recipes at home in your own kitchen is cool.

Can’t fly to NY to see Emeril live on TV? Simple.

You visit the top chefs in your area.

And you bring more than an appetite.

You bring your camera.

And you take photo after photo of your hopefully memorable dinner. And then you put them on your foodie blog.

It’s happening in great numbers all across the globe. Diners with acess to computers come armed with more than just adventurous palates. To commemorate and record their dining exprience, they a la Oriental tourists in America take snapshots of everything.

The doors to the restaurants, in this case, the phenomenal Victoria and Albert’s at the Grand Flordiian Resort and Spa at Walt Disney World…..

How about the view from your table?

A picture taken at Picasso, looking out to the dancing waters at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

And there are pictures taken by restaurant patrons of the napkins and place settings and uniforms worn by wait staff and the amuse bouche and the appetizers and entrees and desserts and restaurant décor and the ceiling and, cue Yul Brynner…..Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Foodies don’t stop at just cameras.

They bring their video cameras, too and proceed to shoot everything.

At the illustrious Avinea in Chicago, chef Grant Achatz is caught on video preparing a special table side dessert, a freeze dried chocolate mousse.

You are a restaurant owner. Patrons make ressies, eat your food, drink your wine, take pictures of everything including the bathroom doorknobs for FREE and post them on the Internet, thus giving you free, I said FREE publicity.

Cool, heh?

Wrong.

Chefs are mighty mad.

Read more in the LA Times with a great closing anecdote and the NY Times.

If I owned my own restaurant, I’d be tickled to death that umpteen photographers wanted pictures of what we were doing so as to post FOR NOTHING on the World Wide Web.

The problem, I admit, is the time they’re tying up revenue-enhancing tables. However, that pales in comparison to the free marketing received by blog postings.

You want a photo of my mouth-watering Beef Wellington? At no cost to me?  Go for it!!

THE UPDATE.