THERE ARE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF FOOD BLOGS, BUT ONLY ONE CULINARY NO-NO!

food porn

noun

images that portray food in a very appetizing or aesthetically appealing way

There I sat in 2020 in the waiting room at a Franklin clinic as my daughter was at her braces appointment.

What to read? Hmm. This looked interesting. Golf Magazine. Top 100 golf courses…in the world.

Amidst all the beautiful, glossy, color pictures was a short feature called “Eats” about a mouth-watering dining option at a golf course in Nekoosa, WI.

Not all shanks are bad in golf! Chef Jon Keeley proves this his take on the shank. He starts with 1.5 lb bone-in Berkshire pork shank. He lets it brine for 24 hours and cooks it as a slow braise until fall off the bone tender. Served with grain mustard spaetzle (German dumpling) and topped with a carmelized cipollini onion.

I love food porn.

Well maybe not that much. (BTW that’s the former Heart Attack Grill in Dallas. There’s one open in Las Vegas).

In 1984, author and journalist Rosalind Coward used the term “food pornography’’ for the first time in her book, “female Desire.” She wrote: 

“That we should aspire to produce perfectly finished and presented food is a symbol of a willing and enjoyable participation in servicing others. Food pornography exactly sustains these meanings relating to the preparation of food.”

What’s wrong with food porn, other than the pictures usually of incredibly unhealthy dishes?

I’ve been wanting to post this for a long time. Drives me crazy. The guilty parties are just ordinary folks on social media, restaurant owners and employees.

They’ll go on Facebook or other sites and post awesome pictures of food items…AND THEN WRITE ABSOUTELY NOTHING ABOUT WHAT THEY JUST PUBLISHED. NO EXPLANATION OR DESCRIPTION WHATSOVER.

Not that I’m aiming to pick on anybody, but here are a few examples:

One

Two

Three

Four

I don’t get it.

People go through trouble to get a nice presentation and photo and then leave the rest of us guessing.

BTW, the above food porn pictures belong to:

1) Ristorante Bartolotta in Wauwatosa, WI

2) Saz’s in Milwaukee

3) Ardent in Milwaukee

4) Honey Butter Cafe in Franklin, WI

Some chefs don’t like patrons snapping pictures of their steaks. They claim it takes away from the dining experience.

Restaurant reviewer Giles Coren in the UK says:

“I think photographing one’s food in a restaurant is easily as rude, disrespectful and brutish as making a phone call, scrolling a BlackBerry or dropping one’s trousers in the middle of the room and taking a massive dump. And the next time I see it happen, I am going to complain to the waiter and see what transpires. Just for larks.”

I say let the guy photograph his spaghetti and meatballs. Could mean some free advertising. 

CULINARY NO-NO BONUSES

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