It’s the standard drill before eating any meal these days: the food arrives, and too many pictures follow before everybody else can eat. By the time you take a photo and “Toaster” it up (genuinely worried for you if you’ve ever used this filter), the food has gone cold.
This worldwide phenomenon of taking pictures of your food to induce a strangely erotic form of “food porn” is stirring a great debate throughout restaurants. Is it or is it not ethically appropriate to take pictures in restaurants?
Some chefs have recently prohibited photography in their establishments because of its potential to disrupt the dining experience of surrounding customers. Celebrity chef, David Chang of Momofuku Ko, is one of these chefs. Additionally, in just the past month, Chef Alexandre Gauthier of the world-famous La Grenouillère in France has banned cameras from his restaurant altogether.
These chefs argue that they have seen people go to such extremes as standing on chairs, rearranging the tables and setting off a consecutive set of flashes in the restaurant to get that perfect shot. The photos also ruin the element of surprise that future diners may want, as pictures of these dishes are readily available on the Internet.
Photo by Jocelyn Hsu
Those on the other side of the spectrum argue that because they paid for the food, they are allowed to do whatever the hell they want with it. The photos are compliments to the chefs for making such an amazing meal and are essentially free advertisement for these restaurants. So what’s the big deal?
Regardless of this debate, there is no doubt that it’s getting continually harder to live in the present. The act of communal dining, especially dinner, is an integral part of the day. The dinner table is a place where people can pause from the restlessness of the day and simply gather around to exchange great conversation and laughter. That’s the power of food. It not only provides us with energy and deliciousness, but it also has the ability to bring people together.
In my opinion, it’s perfectly okay to take a quick picture before you eat, but I would turn off the flash and avoid making a huge scene. Don’t be that person. I would prefer people enjoy the company of those eating with them rather than be hyper-focused on taking the perfect picture of their dinner.