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, food hacks, and culinary copycats 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. @cooking_with_fire____
Miguel’s creations are proof that you don’t have to be a professional chef to make great food. What started with failed ribs at a 4th of July BBQ has become a successful Instagram page (plus a line of seasonings!) that feature all things fire-cooked, from stuffed breakfast burgers on the grill to fried hot chicken wings to griddled Chile Limón scallops.
2. @food.by.laila
Upon seeing Laila’s creations, my roommate immediately asked if her account belonged to a restaurant — that’s how delectable Laila’s Reels are. With comfort food that includes cheesy chicken alfredo, lamb pasta bake, spiced fried rice, and noodle bowls that will put your Top Ramen to shame, Laila has something for everyone — and you can’t forget dessert!
3. @feast24seven
Based in Los Angeles and Orange County (west coast represent!), Charlie’s Reels showcase the best food that Southern California has to offer. From a Fried Chicken Bahn Mi in LA’s Commerce District to Lobster Tail in Anaheim to Brown Sugar Boba Shave Ice in Westminster, Charlie’s got a food recommendation for every cuisine in every area of SoCal.
4. @pigout_nyc
Meanwhile, on the other coast, Rachelle and Michael tackle all things in the Big Apple food scene on their Instagram, Pigout NYC. With borough must-haves, recreations of NYC faves, and, of course, cheese pull after cheese pull after cheese pull. I’ve never been so glad to live a mere 30 minutes from Midtown’s best BEC.
5. @monmackfood
With nearly a quarter of a million TikTok followers, Mon Mack Food “makes cool food easy”, whether that means fast, easy to make at home, or just a few ingredients. Highlights include 3-ingredient pasta, 5-minute Oreo fudge, upgraded cake mix cookies, and ice cream without the fancy equipment. Brb, copying her toaster snack hack immediately.
6. @woon.heng
WoonHeng is a Food52 resident who uses Reels as inspiration for followers to adopt a plant-based lifestyle. With meatless classics such as Liang Fen (jelly-based noodles) and vegan Rad Na (rice noodles with gravy), as well as plant-based takes on your faves (think Shao Ji roast “chicken” and Sweet & Sour “fish”), WoonHeng has something for omnivores and herbivores alike
7. @chipcitycookies
IMHO, Chip City walked so Crumbl could run. The New York City cult-classic is taking over your Insta feed with seasonal flavor features, behind-the-scenes footage, flavor reviews, and, of course, cookie breaks. Chip City sees your cheese pull, and raises you with a cookie pull.
8. @halfbakedharvest
Featured on The Cooking Channel, Food Network, HGTV, and more, Tieghan’s food blog turned Instagram features “something for everyone — from super healthy to super indulgent, to easy weekday dinners to weekend pastas.” Her Reels feature step-by-step tutorials of her favorite recipes, such as Spicy Garlic Lemon Butter Shrimp and Blackberry Peach Crisp.
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 loaded fries, chicken tenders, and PB&J cookies of the weekend.
Until next week!