What a wonderful chat with a foodie all the way from Sydney Australia named Cecelia or as most of you know her on Instagram @itsmiss.t. We sat down and spoke about the low down on being a food influencer and how brands/restaurants can embrace social media to grow their own brands.
Cecelia let’s start at the beginning. Please tell us a little about yourself and what motivated you to document your journey through Instagram and to start your blog?
CT: Where to start… I am based in Sydney Australia, and work in the Architectural field but have a huge passion for food and all things creative. I jumped headfirst into documenting my food journey about 3 years back and the adventure has now led me to work on more exciting side projects like Where’s the Food Australia (@wheresthefoodaus).
I always wanted to find a way to explore my other passions and to have an outlet to satisfy my thirst for getting creative; so when a few friends and I decided to work on establishing a Food Critics and Bloggers Australia Community (@FCBA.community) together, it really kick started me into consistently posting on Instagram and in turn my blog (I’ve been a bit more lazy with this one though this year!)
Once I got into it, there was no turning back! It’s now become a great way for me to work on small, bite size projects.
How would you describe your personal brand?
CT: I don’t think I can put my finger exactly on my brand, but my brand is just me and how I’m exploring what it’s like to be me living in this world. Much of my life is taken up by my weekday job, so Instagram and my blog has given me the perfect outlet to get creative and explore other facets and interests in my life such as food, travel photography, arts, music etc.
I love that I’m able to share my experiences with others whether it be a great restaurant or cafe they could visit, an event in Sydney they could attend, a new hobby they could try out or just my success and failures to hopefully inspire others to give something a go. It’s great that people feel like that they can just reach out to me for a chat, I’ve made a lot of friends that I wouldn’t have otherwise met, and it all started with a mutual love of food.
When did you realize that your hobbies of food and photography could become a career?
CT: I’m still waiting for the career part to kick in!
For now, it’s still a hobby that I love, with some paid collaborations here and there; but I do love that a career change could be a possibility!
What has been the most exciting event/moment you’ve experience since becoming a food blogger?
CT: I have to say I’ve been lucky enough to experience so many exciting events since starting my foodie journey… but a highlight this year was when I attended a Cooking for a Cause event at OzHarvest (Australia’s leading food rescue organisation) in collaboration with Circa Home. I loved that it wasn’t just an event about a new product or venue but I was able to get hands on and give back and support a cause I believe in, particularly when it includes food and providing such an important necessity for those who need it.
Since starting my journey, I have co-hosted and collaborated with other foodies and organisations on events to help raise awareness and donations for important causes such as OzHarvest and Breast Cancer Network Australia. Hopefully as I continue, I’ll be able to further spread awareness and give back more to the community because this is something that’s very important to me.
Your photos and feed on Instagram are just breathtaking. Can you walk us through how you come up with the composition and the final product before posting?
CT: Thanks so much!
I try to make my shots come to life as much as possible (or as much as I can without getting too many weird stares when I’m at a restaurant!) If I’m at a restaurant, I get my shots relatively quickly as I want to make sure I get to taste the food as soon as possible because that’s the main reason why I’m there! I try to focus on making the food come to life by incorporating actions shots such as syrup pouring, lemon squeezing, noodle lifting, tossing salads etc. which hopefully make people excited and interested in the food.
When I do get the chance to do planned shoots at home, such as for products or recipes, I love to take the opportunity to explore the background of what I’m photographing so that I can convey as much of its story as I can since a picture paints a thousand words!
After each shoot, I’ll go through and cull the shots I’ve taken to find the best of the lot before editing them on Lightroom and posting them to my Instagram. My photo style is generally colourful and bright because I feel that’s when food is most attractive and enticing.
How do you think food and travel go hand in hand? What about the two that so relevant and similar?
CT: Absolutely! Food is one of the first thing I think of when I’m planning my travels because you can tell so much about the culture of a place through its food and how the locals enjoy a meal together.
Each traditional recipe is a piece of history that has survived through time and passed down from the generation before. Just by seeing how these recipes have changed and evolved (or not), gives insight to where the locals come from, what traditions they deem important, and where they’re going as the world slowly becomes more cross-cultural. It’s fascinating to see what new trends stick and what are so ingrained in traditions that they never change.
My favourite thing to do when travelling is to eat like a local, no matter how skeptical the place may look from the outside (I’ve eaten aplenty at places just off the beaten track where I’m the only foreigner there amongst the locals) because they’re usually damn delicious. So, if the locals go, you know I’ll probably be there to try it out to! Plus, I get to people watch and mingle with the locals which makes for an even more memorable experience.
What is your stance on influencers being paid to post about brands? Should influencers be transparent regarding payment for posts?
CT: I don’t think there’s any issues with influencers being paid to post about brands, but I do believe that they should be transparent and give their honest opinion to their followers regardless if they’re paid or not.
If I share something on my Instagram or blog, it is always my honest opinion. In the end, to have influence on anyone means they should trust you and I do hope that my followers do trust me. If there are any products or venues that I don’t feel comfortable with posting because it wasn’t something I enjoyed or I felt like it would be better to give constructive feedback to them offline, then I would do so. All businesses deserve the chance to improve and, in the end, its my integrity that gets lost if I promote something that I didn’t think was good!
How do you think the rise of influencer accounts on Instagram has impacted on the way that people discover restaurants/chefs/bar/and food?
CT: I think overall, it’s been a positive impact because it’s such a great way for people to discover things they may not have thought of doing, eating or visiting before.
I follow many influencers, not only for their amazing photos but seeing where they’re eating or travelling makes me want to give it a go too! Social media’s just like a high-tech version of ‘word of mouth’!
Do you think the food influencer scene could reach a point of saturation where users “switch off”? And if so, how far off do you think we are?
CT: I’m not sure if there will be a point where users ‘switch off’ but I do think the food influencer scene will constantly be evolving and getting more creative to keep users engaged and interested. Everyone’s attention span is just getting shorter and shorter!
It’s quite an exciting time to explore things creatively so I’m keen to experiment with how to keep my followers ‘switched on’ by doing something unexpected.
If you had to pick one cuisine to eat for the rest of your life, what would you go with?
CT: That’s too hard! There’s no cuisine I wouldn’t go without and being from Sydney, we pretty much have everything!
If I really had to choose… It would probably be… Chinese? It’s got something of everything to keep most of my cravings at bay!
Do you think every restaurant should have a presence on Social Media?
CT: I do think it can be beneficial for every restaurant to have a social media presence as everyone does a quick search before visiting a place. The first few images or reviews that pop up is so important in drawing a potential customer! But while I say it’s important to have it, the information out there must be of a quality that will lead to more customers and not turn them away. There’s the saying that we eat with our eyes first and now it’s even easier to do so with the help of social media.
Cecelia, anything else you want to share with our readers.
CT: I think for anyone who’s trying to get into social media, don’t get swept up in the hype of followers and likes. Post what you’re passionate about and people will see that sincerity and passion come through and that’s what they’re really following. If the likes and followers were ever to disappear, it’s the memories that you’ve captured that you’ll really get to keep.
Also, I’m forever updating my little black book of travel places and eateries, so if any of you readers have recommendations send them through! Thanks for the chat! ️
