Welcome to Reel Round-Up, a weekly column where Kennedy Dierks highlights the top Instagram Reels creators.
Professional chefs, food bloggers, and home cooks alike have all found a home with Instagram Reels and the Reels Explore page, which provides a new(ish) tool to showcase their culinary skill and interact with followers on a more intimate level. Content creators have jumped on the many trends, kitchen hacks, and foodie must-haves that social media has to offer, and continue to use Instagram as a “home base” to share photos AND videos while growing their community thanks to the Instagram Explore page.
Here are eight Instagrammers whose Reels have made me scroll-crazy this week:
1. @coffeebae97
From espresso pulls to classic cold brew to over-the-top lattes, Vivian’s got coffee covered in her oh-so-satisfying Reels. Her bright-lit shots of coffee pours and cold foam swirls will not only leave you craving an afternoon java, but wondering where the last hour has gone.
2. @iankewks
Ian’s intimate Reels highlight Asian food in all its glorious forms, from Japanese Croquettes to traditional Filipino desserts. With engaging videos and straightforward recipes, Ian showcases how to simply incorporate Asian flavors, techniques, and dishes into your diet.
3. @pinabresciani
You won’t find any jarred tomato sauce in Pina’s Reels. Raised in Canada with an Italian immigrant mother, Pina’s earliest memories include Italian language, television, music, and of course, Italian food. Pina’s Reels feature snippets of Italian tradition and culture, traditional recipes, and modern takes on Italian classics.
4. @mariyumskitchen
Mariam’s Reels feature “bake with me” tutorials, monthly round-ups of her kitchen endeavors, and “process videos” that detail the step-by-step of her posted recipes. Regardless of content, Mariam’s Reels are drool-worthy — she truly makes do on her promise of “Turning Food Into Art.”
5. @eat_figs_not_pigs
After learning about how animal agriculture affects the earth, Ashley quit animal products cold turkey (pun intended) and switched to an entirely vegan lifestyle. Ashley’s colorful Instagram feed isn’t only visually STUNNING, her Reels showcase your favorite recipes (think Lasagna Cups and Stuffed French Toast), made totally vegan.
6. @spiced.niced
Farrah is a recipe developer whose Reels are focused on flavor-packed, easy to follow recipes. From traditional Middle Eastern dishes to Chipotle copycats, Farrah has a video for everyone that’s sure to be ~spicy~.
7. @scheckeats
Like many college students, Cornell student Jeremy turned to TikTok following lockdown in 2020, where he garnered 1.5 million followers in six months. Since then, Jeremy’s Reels have focused on easy-to-make, accessible recipes (spanning from banana bread to curry to homemade pasta) and cooking fundamentals for college chefs.
8. @tiffy.cooks
When she moved to Canada after growing up in Taiwan, Tiffy realized that the best way to preserve her Asian heritage was to learn how to cook. Today, Tiffy’s Reels include daily recipes and video tutorials, such as her street-food-inspired “Night Market” or “Better Than Takeout” series of make-at-home meals.
I hope this list helps you find your foodie muse! Or, at the bare minimum, gives you more material to procrastinate with the rest of the week…Don’t worry, I’ll be right there with you, dreaming about the matcha lattes, katsudon, and panna cotta of the weekend.
Until next week!