If you’ve been hiding under some sort of social media rock, @New_Fork_City is a NYC-based Instagram and Website serving the world one luscious food porn photo at a time. With over 165,000 followers and more added by the minute, it is fair to say this is a pretty big deal.
So, when we heard that Gillian Presto, one of the foodies behind the famous @New_Fork_City Instagram was a student here at Lafayette, we couldn’t resist interviewing her.
Spoon: As one of three founders of @New_Fork_City, how and why did you and your friends think up the idea of starting a New York-based food Instagram?
Fork: Growing up in New York has exposed me to a lot of different food, and I would always go out and explore places to eat. As our own Instagrams were basically all food, we decided to come together to make the account.
Photo by Jess Lewy
Spoon: Upon starting @New_Fork_City, what were your expectations/wishes for the Instagram and website? Did you foresee it getting as famous as it did?
Fork: No way! We started @New_Fork_City to share pictures of food with our friends and we were so shocked when more and more people started following, and recognizing us for it. Restaurants email us and we get products sent to us. A lot of free food…
Spoon: Where do you see the Instagram and website going in the future?
Fork: We will be promoting more things for the Instagram. As for the website, right now we are taking some time off to focus on school but hopefully over the summer we will make it a lot more professional.
Spoon: What makes a “New Fork City” worthy post?
Fork: Good lighting, good presentation… People generally lean towards the unhealthy stuff so if you have a picture of a salad, people will prefer a picture of a donut or pizza. Any good quality picture of food is really it.
Photo by Jess Lewy
Spoon: Does your food enthusiasm go beyond @New_Fork_City? Is the food industry something you would like to go into?
Fork: My food enthusiasm definitely goes beyond @New_Fork_City and even beyond New York. Whenever I am at a restaurant I always analyze what the plates looks like, the presentation… I don’t know yet what I would like to do in the future but I definitely want to do something with food.
Spoon: What are your favorite places to eat in New York?
Fork: Oooh, you may have to be a little more specific. For dessert, I like Holey Cream and Snowdays Shavery. For Italian, I love Quality Italian. They have a Chicken Parm that looks like a pizza, let me show you a picture:
Spoon: Coming from the big city, why did you choose to attend Lafayette?
Fork: My dad grew up on College Hill so I had always been familiar with the school. I came to visit and loved it here, so I applied!
Spoon: What are your favorite places to eat in the Easton area?
Fork: I really like Sette Luna and Mesa. At Sette I go for the Bolognese or pizza, and at Mesa I order the Mexican Chopped Cobb Salad.
So there you have it folks, Lafayette’s very own food celebrity. There may be many Spoons, but there is only one Fork, and who knew Lafayette would have both!
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