Lunch today. Jowar Bhakri. Tur dal. Methi. Raita. Turmeric pickle. Looks familiar? It’s good to be back to my routine.
My current focus on everyday life (including food), our cats, general observations on life, and nostalgia when it comes to writing, and decision to stay away from hosted restaurant reviews or even street food jaunts (unless it’s something or someplace I have not explored before), makes it relatively easy for me to #eatbetter
I realise that this might not be so for young food influencers who are building their careers by working with food brands which needs you to do reviews. I am sure you agree that eating out frequently and indiscriminately might not be good in the long run for you. So I decided to be an uncle by sharing some unsolicited advice on the subjec.
Oh, and before you go ‘OK, boomer,’ let me point out that I belong to Generation X. Boomers are the generation before us. Millenials and Gen Z are the ones born after us.
- Firstly there’s no need to get paranoid as everyone’s metabolism varies and in general, it’s more active when you are younger. You can consume more when young than when you are older. Don’t miss out on the golden period. But be prudent. Take dietary guidance from a professional. Exercise.
- If you are someone who primarily does restaurant reviews then you have to remember that this sort of eating, day in and day out, is not natural. Would you have done it if you had to pay for it? And if you have to do it for work, then here are some steps you can follow.
- Ask for small portions if you want to taste the food. If you are someone who does reels with music and no text, you don’t even have to do that! Whether that’s the sort of content you should aspire to do is a separate issue.
- If you want to show portions the way they are served to customers, and are with a group of influencers, ask for plates which each of you can shoot one by one and then plates you can share from and eat.
- Don’t look at a review meal as a your main meal. Eat before going out. Or fix a date to eat wirh after you are done. That way you would eat the way ‘regular people’ do. Or go home and eat with your folks or even alone.
- Can you incorporate some exercise in your reviews? Walk instead of taking the lift if the restaurant is not on the ground floor. If taking an Uber and not public transport, consider walking for 10,15 minutes and then booking it. If in Bombay, try to use the train. Climbing the bridges and running to catch a train helps but done be rash. I would eat out often with friends when I’d just started working. We’d take the train back to Bandra if we were in town. Often walking back to Churchgate from Colaba or Fort (to save money). If eating out in Bandra, I’d walk back to my PG no matter how late it was or how far away the restaurant was.
- Most importantly, remember that this is work. If you were a doctor would you ask everyone you met to stick out their tongue? If you were a CA would you go through the bank statements of everyone you met? Being a reviewer might mean you eat out everyday or multiple times a day. Do you know what senior chefs do? They taste just a teaspoon of a dish to check if it’s right as they have to do this all the time.
- If you are in a review and don’t want to waste food, consider taking doggy bags home. Restaurateurs should encourage that.
- You’d be surprised to know that many senior and established food writers, TV personalities, etc, don’t eat all the food they show even if they pretend to do so. I have a point of view on the ethics of this but that’s a subject for another day. You don’t need to everything you show either. You have an equal responsibility to your audience and to yourself. Just try not to waste it. Give it someone who needs it.
- If you want to be a food writer, then restaurant reviews are not the only form of writing that you can do. While it would be wrong to do so in a review, there’s a huge gamut of content creation that you can do without eating! Food culture, history, science, recipe, profiling etc
- Showcase businesses that offer sustainable, locally sourced food which is good for both the planet and us. They deserve our support AND that’s what the world is looking for. Think SEO!
- If you are a recipe creator, focus on showing the sort of food you’d feel good about eating. That way you’ll be a responsible content creator and remain healthy while trying the food you cook.
- While this might not get you sponsorship money, consider writing about small joints or places which don’t get covered by influencers. The food you eat will be more ‘real.’ The satisfaction and blessings in return high. Makes you stand out too. The path would be slow but would help you build an enduring brand for yourself which you can cash on for longer.
- The long and short of it is learn to say no. To others. And to yourself!
These are a few things that I thought of. I am not a doctor and none of this should be taken as medical advice. Some of this might not make practical sense. There could be some obvious ones that I left out.
I’d love to know if you have any suggestions or tips on the subject as I am sure there could be a lot more. And if you feel I should not have written about this in the first place.