Welcome, welcome to the check on podcast.And on today's check, we have someone who is very immersed in the food industry, but he isn't a chef. Jack Allen, or Jack Eats Everything on social media, is a well-known foodie.
Jack started off by having a page that recommended different restaurants to his friends, and then it grew into something different.
Now he runs a successful Instagram page, does reviews for promotions for restaurants, and manages food-based social accounts.And we asked the question, are Instagram foodies the new food critics?Please enjoy Jack Allen. Hello, Jack.
Welcome to the Check On podcast.How are you?
Hello, Casey.Yeah, I'm all good.Thank you.How are you?
Yeah, good.Good.How's your day been?
Yeah, it's been all right.It's been wet.It's been very wet.
I feel like people were promising me nicer weather in September and I think I've been lied to.
I know, I don't really feel we've had much of a summer, like had a few odd days, but the rain, like it's rained all day today.
Yeah, I saw something saying it was like six weeks worth of rain in one day for Bristol.
Oh, wow.Yeah, there's a lot of places around where I live that are flooded.
Has that affected you a lot?Because you, in terms of like your sort of Instagram account and what you do, you go to a lot of food festivals and stuff like that.Has that stopped you from doing some of that stuff?
It's not been too bad, to be fair.I don't mind the weather.I'll record in any conditions.The rain, snow, it doesn't really bother me too much.I've also got another business.I've got a gardening business.So that affects that massively.
I had 10 clients for today and I cancelled all 10.So that is, yeah, that is a bit of a pain.But it's where I live.It's in Thornbury, which is just outside of Bristol.So the roads aren't quite as good as in the centre of Bristol.
So sometimes it can get flooded or if it snows and that, sometimes it can just be a little bit difficult with public transport.But I get through it.I'm okay.
You're an all weather kind of guy.
Yeah, yeah, honestly.Yeah, I don't I really don't mind what weather.Obviously, I prefer it to be sunny.
I think everyone would prefer the sun, especially for shooting as well that when you're videoing at festivals or restaurants or anything, it does have a massive impact on the lighting and just the overall how it looks.
No one wants their restaurant filmed when it's pouring down with rain.
I guess.Yeah.I mean, sometimes I feel like it can maybe give it a cozy look, but that's probably just when you're in there experiencing it.It probably doesn't give it a cozy look when you're trying to get it out there for Instagram.
Yeah, it definitely gives it a cozy look inside.Um, sometimes like the rain hitting against the window can be quite nice.I like the sound of it.
Um, but when you're introduced in a restaurant or something outside and then you've got someone filming it as well, like jazz, my girlfriend, and she's under a little umbrellas, it's not so good for her.
Poor jazz.I feel like she got the short end of the stick.
Yeah, she didn't know she was signing up for that when she signed up originally in the summer and then she's getting pelted with ice and snow.
So how did this all start for you?
So it all started on Instagram.It all started on Instagram about nearly seven years ago now.And it was It started just as a tiny bit of fun.
I, on my personal account, um, jowls, which I was called, I just used to post food all the time because I love food.Um, absolutely love food.Um, whenever I used to go to a restaurant or anything, I didn't see myself as a blogger by any means.
I just enjoyed taking photos of food and beers and stuff.So I put it on my Instagram and then one day I looked at my Instagram.It was just, all it was was food. And I was like, Oh, like there is more to me than just food.
Um, so I thought I'll stop, I'll stop doing it.And a few of my friends sort of said to me, like, why have you stopped posting food?
I often, um, use the places that you, um, like you take photos of to take my girlfriends for dinner and stuff like that.So I was like, Oh, I never thought of it like that.
So what I did is I created an account and I made it private and I just let my mates follow it and I would put photos of any nice food that I had and then they could go on there and think of places that they could take their girlfriend for a date night.
Right, so quite humble beginnings then.
And then when did it sort of change or what made you decide to make it change?
Um, like I said, it was private.So I only had like 20 followers.I can't lie.And I come across two bloggers, which was, um, Tom foodery.It was Tom which, which Natalie Bretterson.
And I seen, they had like two or 3000 followers and I seen what they were doing.And I thought, oh, that looks cool.Like maybe, maybe I could do it.I don't know.I didn't really have much, um, belief in myself.I just thought maybe I could.
So I made the Instagram profile private and then all of a sudden a couple of followers started coming through and I was like, this is, this is pretty cool.And I had like some nice comments.
Obviously you're going to get up to be fair in the early beginnings.I didn't really have any bad comments.I just had nice comments.And, um, yeah, then after a while I hit a thousand followers and that was sort of, that was the goal really.
When I first started was to hit short term was 500. And then, yeah, the long term goal was a thousand because to me, a thousand followers was still a very large amount of people.
Isn't it funny how back when we're first starting on, I guess, social media journey, we think a thousand followers is a lot of people and then all of a sudden it grows and it grows and it kind of just takes on a form and a life of its own.
Yes.Yeah, absolutely.Um, and then it just, yeah, it started, I think on a lot of accounts as well.Your first thousand does come quite quick.Um, whether I was lucky, I don't know.
Um, obviously when I made it public, it had a bit of content on there, so it probably looked a bit more than someone else's account who's just started.
Um, and then, yeah, I got a message from a source company in London, I believe called Bross Brothers and they run like a subscription source company. And they asked if they could send me some sources.And I remember at the time thinking like, why?
Like, I didn't really understand.I was like, I didn't order any.And they were like, they were sort of like, no, we want to send these to you, like to put your page.And I was like, oh my God, this could be it.This is the one.
Yeah, I've made it in life, because I'm getting sent, I think it was three bottles of chili sauce.And I remember ringing my best friend, Tom, and I told him, and he was like, this is huge.We couldn't believe it.
So I, at the time, I didn't have the best phone either.And he'd just got an iPhone 8.That proves how long ago it was.And he was like, come to my house.I've literally just cleaned the kitchen.
And bring the sauces, and we'll do a little photo shoot with it. And I was honestly the excitement level.I think we were both excited.It's not his page, but he was super excited for me.And he's into photography.
So he was like, when I got there, as soon as I got there, he took the lead and he was like, we'll get, and I remember we must've took 500 photos, just of three bottles of sauce and all different angles.Cause we were so excited.
The sauce was very nice.There was three bottles, and being completely honest, I can't remember two of them, but one of them was called Satan's Gravy, and I still get it.
I haven't got it this year, but I bought, after having it, I bought quite a few bottles of that, and it's some good stuff.It's quite spicy, but it's good.
Nice, nice.I'm gonna have to give it a try.Yeah.Um, I guess being would you consider yourself a freedom influencer then?I don't want to put words in your mouth or anything.
Yes, now I would.Yes, now.
And then what, I guess my question is, we all
As chefs and restaurants, we all kind of rely a little bit, like if we need to boost something or we want to get someone to help us get our restaurant or business out there into social media a little bit, we come to people like you and we say, would you like to come into our restaurant?
And if you like it, take a few photos, make a reel.So it's definitely this kind of new form of exchange that probably didn't necessarily, well, I didn't know if it existed 10 years ago. To me, it kind of almost feels like a modern day food critic.
I don't know if that's something that you would kind of resonate with, but that's that's how I see food influencers.
Yes, yeah, absolutely.I mean, every food influencer, food blogger is different.Some are more critical than others, and Yeah, I agree with where you're coming from.It is definitely a form of food critic.
And then I suppose it depends how they portray their self online and how they, when they go somewhere, like how they show off that place, whether they do critic the good and bad, whether they just show the good, whether they show both or if they're more negative, you know, like,
bloggers sometimes get hate for saying things that aren't necessarily the nicest thing about restaurants.
But then I suppose that's another thing you could go into is how you would give a bad review, whether you would go public with it or email them, et cetera.
Yeah, I guess the difference is one of the only sort of big differences I can see is a food critic wouldn't necessarily or most likely wouldn't be invited to a restaurant.They would have it on their list of places to go.
They would show up and then they would write their review.So they kind of have that freedom, I guess, to say that their experience about it, whether it be good or bad.But I imagine it gets a little bit more tricky.
when you are an influencer and you've been invited to an event or to try something and it's a meal that I presume usually is gifted to you in some way or form.Correct me if I'm wrong.
That's fine, just going back to what you said about a food critic.
I think you're right in what you're saying, a food critic would go to every restaurant, every single, if they were a food restaurant reviewer, and they were a critic, they would go to every restaurant, no matter what it meant to them, and they would
have their experience and then they would write up a review, critiquing what happened.But I suppose with myself, I wouldn't quite say I do that.I'd like to say it's more on a local level.
Although I do mainly Bristol, but Bristol, Gloucester, Bath, Cardiff, London, I'd like to think that I want to promote more local things and like independent places and the bigger places definitely do have their, their need.Absolutely.
But let's say I had a day off a random day off I would not. I would not go to the MAL or Cabot Circus and just go to Bella Italia and do a review on it.I suppose a critic would because they would want to tick off every single place.
I would much rather use that time to potentially talk about somewhere local that could be the next best thing.
Yeah, that's really cool.I think that's one of the things that really intrigues me about your page is it is often very, very local and independent, but also I feel like it's very real.
And I think that's probably why you've had quite a lot of success on your sort of Instagram journey is I think when you watch your reels and you watch your stories and your photos, it feels very authentic.
But I wonder if sometimes that's hard to kind of maintain, like sometimes maybe if you are in that world, maybe you get a little bit lost into it and you feel like you need to start making it something that it's not.
I don't know if you've ever sort of felt like that or if you'd like to share your experience on that.
Yeah.So, yeah, when I meet people, whether it's people I'm showing my account or they've come across my account and they meet me in real life.A lot of people do, that's the main compliment I get is that it is very real.The page is very real.
I share a lot on there.It's not just the food reviews.I share a lot of things like fitness, cooking, family, my dog's farm, everything.So yeah, I try to make it as real as possible just because I want to appeal to pretty much everyone.
and yeah and show that anyone could really do this if they wanted to.There's a lot of work that goes into it by all means and that sometimes I do think to myself if it wasn't so real
It probably wouldn't create me as much work in some ways because I could think to myself, Oh, for example, today, I don't have to put anything on there.I'd have to do anything for the next couple of days, but I is a great community on.
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tik TOK.
They're all great communities and you do make meet some amazing people and they are genuinely interested about the little things like oil means it's cool to see someone go to a restaurant and eat at the most fancy place.
in London but it's also cool just to see me in a breakfast wrap that I cooked from home outside showing off my vegetable garden and I think some people, not everyone can afford to eat in a fancy restaurant but most people can afford to put some radishes in some soil, you know what I mean?
I think that's a really cool way to look at it.Are there any negative sides to it that you can think of?Like I know you mentioned to start with that at the start of your journey, you didn't get too many negative comments or anything like that.
That kind of leads me to think that there might have been some recently.
Yeah, I think so.The more you put yourself out there, you definitely get amazing opportunities.But you're also going to pick up a few bitter haters along the way, you are.
One of the big things on Instagram, TikTok, and I'm sure you realize it as a chef and restaurant, is that you have to put your face out there a lot of the times, because if you don't, you're not really going to appeal to most people.
By putting yourself out there.
Yeah, you do pick up some amazing people you get some amazing relationships with people online and friendships But yeah, you you will when I was first starting off I didn't put myself out there as much so that really did limit the amount of things that people could I suppose comment on And the bigger you get and when you start to trend and go viral you're reaching people that you've never reached before these might necessarily be people that don't follow you and
So they might not share the same interest as you but you have popped up on their social media page And they don't like that And some people like myself, I would just move past that maybe make a comment to myself, but some people do feel the need to air their frustrations And there's definitely a way that you can definitely disagree with what i'm saying If i'm making a recipe or something and that's good.
It opens a good debate.It's it's Healthy to do that, but there are people on Instagram, mainly TikTok, I can't lie.
If I had to take one social media account that I would say to people to be careful on would be TikTok because it gives you so many opportunities but some of the hate on there can be terrible.
I do not feel that TikTok are doing enough to stop it because there are pages on there with absolutely no followers, no check.Anyone can make a TikTok page if they want to.
And then some of the stuff they're putting, not just me being completely honest, I haven't had it that bad, but then what I see, what they're putting on other people's, I honestly think is disgusting.And I'm pretty thick skinned.
And like I said, I haven't had it that bad, but I can imagine how it would get other people down.
What kind of negative comments have you had?If you don't mind sharing.
God, I've had loads.I laugh them all off. Um, but if you're having a bad day and you're stressed out, you know what I mean?It could, it can make your day worse.
Like these little things, you know, you say it doesn't matter when the back of your head is doing your head in, but like even little things, they'll just be, there was a girl once having a pop at me for not putting pepper on my eggs.
And it starts off a bit funny, done it like, we don't worry.And then she was just persistent, constantly going on and on and on and on.And then, then you get that, you get people, um,
not happy with the way you look obviously it's a massive one you're putting yourself out there you're on camera to view so people are obviously going to say they don't like the way you look the food you cook the restaurants you go to there's loads of stuff but the biggest the biggest thing i can say to people which is what a few of the other bloggers have told me is just to block them and keep moving because if you let them get you down
then they've just won.They're happy.But the biggest thing to remember is they're sat at home.They're that bitter that they thought, I'm going to comment on this.And I honestly, I don't get angry.
I sort of think to myself, I'd love to sort of sit down with some of these people and just see how they are, because I'm a very happy person.I get it.Everyone can't be happy.And I'd love to sit down with these people and check it.They're okay.
It's a very weird kind of world, isn't it?Like I know pre MasterChef, I think I had 300 followers maximum.I was nobody on Instagram, still I'm not, but you know what I mean?I was not, it was not part of my universe.
I went on there occasionally to look up some recipes and stuff like that.And I remember them warning us about it and saying, listen, even if the majority of the people are really nice and happy for you and everything,
there are going to be people no matter who you are no matter how well you do there's always going to be someone and kind of like you for the most part I could kind of just laugh at it because I was like yeah right here whatever um it really didn't bother me but just occasionally and I don't know if what it was if it was what they said or the mood I was in but just occasionally I would just
latch onto it, and I would fixate on it.And I'd have to have Vincent in the background being like, do not engage, do not reply, it's not worth it.But in my head, I would just have all of these replies.And I would get so mad.
So I don't, I don't envy anyone who's sort of in that position, because it is sometimes a really hard thing to just laugh off, you know?
Yeah, absolutely.You're putting yourself out there.If you sort of can't handle that, then you need to think about whether you should be doing it or not on social media, because you are always gonna get these people.
And for every, you'll see these 50 new comments that are lovely, but take those and try not get too upset about the one or two little people.So that's why I always just block them and just keep on creating, keep moving.
It's a very healthy way to be.Speaking in the vein of that, I guess it's kind of along the same lines.
What would you do if you were in the position where you'd been invited to a restaurant and they wanted you to do something on your social media for it, but you didn't enjoy the experience?I've always wondered this.
I've always wondered what influencers do about that.
Yeah.So when I first started out, um, I always thought to myself, God, what if that was to happen?What would I do?Like I asked for some advice of people.Everyone says different, don't they?
Um, but what I always went with is whether I've been invited in or whether I've gone in off my own back and paid whatever money it was.If the meal was bad, I'd always try speak to someone there.So try speak to someone.
and if you're not getting the info or the answer that you need really from that, most of the time you will, to send them an email or try to contact the restaurant owner or street food owner somehow. to explain the experience that you've had.
And I can almost assure you that nine out of 10 times, the restaurant owner or business owner will be absolutely brilliant about it.Um, they don't, they obviously don't want you to have a bad experience.That's not part of it.
They will listen to what you say, and then they'll invite you back in, or they'll, they'll find some sort of way to, um, make you happy again, I suppose, to, have that experience again and hopefully have a better experience.Sorry.
Um, and then, yeah, if, if the person was to not reply or if it was to form some sort of argument, then I'd take it down a different route. Um, but nine times out of 10, the.Some people are almost scared to talk to someone.
They want to almost just leave the restaurant and just get on with their life and never go there again.And I know people that do that.People, for example, will go to a restaurant, they won't enjoy it.
And then for the rest of their life, they will never eat at that restaurant, never recommend it or anything.But I've had a few restaurants in the past where I've gone there.I haven't enjoyed the experience.I've spoke to the manager or the owner.
I've gone back a second time and it's been brilliant.
I think that's a really, um, I mean, it's something that we talk about quite a lot on the podcast.
I know I haven't done a lot of episodes being released just yet, but, um, to the people that I have spoken to, we always kind of fall onto this topic of, you know, TripAdvisor and negative reviews and stuff like that.I kind of.
really wish that people followed along your suit a little bit and just try to communicate a little bit first, because it potentially was, you know, just a bad day.And I get it, people have spent money on that.
But I think that they should share the experience with the owner, because at the end of the day, the owner wants a successful business. So they want people to communicate.It's the same thing with us with private dining or supper clubs.
Yes, we love all the lovely comments.We love them.But we also want people to tell us if they haven't liked something, because if we don't know or we're not aware of something, then we can't rectify it.We can't make it any better.
Yes, I always I always agree with the sort of if you didn't like something, just don't say anything, never go there again, never recommend it.But then, like you're saying,
how is that person or that restaurant or street food trader supposed to improve if you never give them any feedback and that feedback doesn't have to be put on like a TripAdvisor thing with a one-star review because that's not the way to do it but actually you want to be able to speak to them and yet I've only had a handful literally of people I've ever
spoke to and they've taken it the wrong way or not been interested at all.
I've told I think of one before I told them I just didn't enjoy the meal and they just said that's just because of you like that's the way that's the way you are and I was like right that's absolutely fine um and then I'll proceed to do whatever I want with that whether I want to post about it whether I want to just move on with it um but normally and when you have that experience you do get a really good understanding of the restaurant and the owner because you're actually getting an experience off them you wouldn't have got before because
you're getting the chance to speak to the top man or woman who's running the place.And they don't want a bad review.No restaurant wants a bad review.And you don't want to give a bad review.That's the thing.
That's why sometimes I wouldn't say I'm a critic.Because if I heard somewhere was rubbish, I probably probably wouldn't go there.If I heard 10 people say to me, oh, for example, this restaurant, we keep going there and it's rubbish.
It wouldn't, I wouldn't be thinking to myself, oh, tomorrow I need to go there and review it to sort of show everyone how bad it is.And that's, sometimes people say to me, how can you have so many nice meals?
Like there must be more bad ones, but honestly there aren't because I do, I read up on things, I research it.I speak, I've got a massive like friendship in the community world. And I wouldn't go to somewhere if it looked that bad.
I take chances sometimes.And maybe if I had more time, I should take more chances and go to more places.But yeah, I just wouldn't go to somewhere if it was that bad.I'm not out there trying to find places that are rubbish.
I want to find the places that are new or I'm hearing that they're the best around.
How does it make you feel when you do end up having to post a review that's, well, not a review, but something on Instagram that may not be in a very positive light?Because I know for me, that would be, that would be really hard.
I'm a type A people pleaser.It would be so hard for me to do that.But you sound like you have done it before.Yeah, yeah.
No, it's not easy because just like you, I'm a very happy person.I just want everything to be. All good.I live a very positive life.I'm quite level-headed.And then when I have to do something like that, I might be having a great day, but I think, ah.
I had this meal or this experience and I'm going to have to try word it.I'll always word things in the best possible way.
For example, as well, if I went to a restaurant and I had a dish and I didn't like it, it might still be cooked amazingly, but it just might not be to my taste.
I'd always put on there that it wasn't for me, but that's not to say that you wouldn't love it.You know what I mean?There's only one dish that I can't eat, which is because I'd be sick, and that's raw tomatoes.
So I would never order it, but if it was on the menu, I wouldn't, I couldn't eat it, but I would never go on and say like, oh, raw tomatoes, that's disgusting.I would say that I couldn't eat it, but you might love it.You know what I mean?
If something was too spicy, it might not be for me, but then the people that love spice, they might love it. It's about the way you come across.
Some people, they want to write negative reviews and they don't care and they might be angry, but I always try to give it a few days as well.
I would never go to a restaurant on, for example, a Saturday evening and then put the review up straight away.I'd want to give myself a couple of days to really think through what happened and what I could do to avoid.
So really what I'm probably trying to say is I try to do anything not to have to write that negative review.But then at the same time, I'd also not want to have a really bad experience somewhere.
And then one of my friends messaged me and say, Oh, I seen you were so-and-so the other night.I booked that.And I think to myself, I haven't probably done the right thing by not telling them that it was, it's going to be bad.You know what I mean?
Yeah, I guess it's a it's a very sort of strange position to be in because you do you have a very large following and it's I imagine it's very much all of your following is quite local. because you do really promote sort of local restaurants.
And I imagine it must be a little bit of a tricky situation because you've built up this trust with people and they trust that if you post about something that you're going to be honest about it.
But then in the same vein, you don't want to really kind of slate a restaurant and say it was an absolutely terrible, awful experience.It must be a sort of really sort of one leg on each side of the fence kind of thing.
Yeah, yeah.Yeah, it can be.It takes a lot of thought going into it. But also some of the restaurant owners, they have a new dish come out on the menu and they'll invite me in and they don't just want to hear it's amazing.
They want to know an honest opinion on it.So, for example, I got called in somewhere the other day for chicken wings.I tried the chicken wing. And yeah, I got to be honest, I, I didn't think it was where it needed to be.
So I just, I sort of said like, yeah, it's okay.And straight away he knew it wasn't right.And he said, come on, tell me.And I told him, and then he tried it and he agreed as well.And actually that's quite nice.
It feels quite, um, I feel quite honored that someone would take my advice because I'm not a chef.I've got a C in food tech and GCSEs, but, um,
But it's lovely to hear that where I'm in the food industry so much, obviously I do chicken wings is one of the big things.I try so many different chicken wings and compare them to different people.
So it's lovely to hear that actually a restaurant owner wants to hear my, I suppose, critique on it.
Yeah, I think that's it's a really sort of valuable piece of information.I know that we invited you to one of our events because it's something that we we'd never done before.We didn't know about marketing or anything like that.
We're just sort of discovering that role.So we thought, let's invite some local Bristol food influencers.And of course, your name came up.
And I remember when you were walking out from the meal and you were being very nice and you were telling us it was lovely.I don't I can't remember if I pulled you or Jazz aside. But I've said to you, I'm like, be honest.
Like this is our, I think it was one of our first ever supper clubs.And we said, please be honest.Like we, we have all the cheerleaders and the cheerleaders are lovely, but we also need people that are going to be honest with us.
Yes.Yeah.That was at the scram bit, wasn't it?
Yeah.Being completely honest, your food was absolutely outstanding.Your food is very different to the food that I have most days, being completely honest, very, um, fair, what's the word, sort of like chefy.
I'd say more chefy, more higher class than the street food and stuff that I'm used to eating every day, which I still absolutely love and can be done to a very high standard.But with your stuff, obviously, there was a few things on there.
I didn't even know what it was.It tasted lovely, but it was something, I remember you did a potato and leek dish and it was outstanding, but I wouldn't be able to almost,
talk about that one that much because I've never had it before, I didn't have anything to compare it to.Since going to your supper club, actually I've done a few supper clubs since and been to some more, I'd say, fine dining restaurants.
So yeah, I would love to come back to those sort of things just to try some more of that sort of food and feel a bit more confident being able to talk about it.
Yeah, that's fair enough.I wanted to ask you because your your theme, I guess, around your Instagram page, it does have a very specific theme.Right.It's sort of comfort food, street food.
Was that a conscious decision or is that just the kind of food that you love?So that's what you wanted to show.And it's kind of just kept going that way.
Yes, so for the original people that followed me for the first four or five years, I wasn't Jack Eats Everything.I was Burgers, Burgers, Burgers.That was the name of my account.
And as you can imagine, the reason it was called that was because I love burgers.And burgers was taken as a username.So I typed it in three times, added an S on the end, and then I got accepted for Instagram.And I always said, oh, I'll change it.
And I didn't end up changing it for years. So yeah, a lot of things on my account to begin with.
was always burgers, whether that be chicken burgers, beef burgers, pizza, breakfasts, like fry-ups, fry-ups specifically, actually, and fish and chips, and curries, that sort of thing.
But I suppose the reason that was on there so much is that's what I always ate.I've never been fussy, but those are the things I ate, and I ate regularly, so I felt comfortable being able to give an honest opinion on how it tasted.
For example, I love chicken wings.I love, um, smash burgers.So I feel if some, if I went to a smashed, if I went to a burger restaurant, like I did yesterday and someone said to me, here's a microphone, could you talk for it?Could you review it?
I could do it so easily.I could speak about it.I could compare it.I could talk about all the different elements of it.But if you were to take me to, um, a Thai restaurant.
Thai food is something I've just got into over the last year and that's something that I absolutely love now.I'm trying to get more things onto my page, different types of meals, different cultures and stuff.
But I wouldn't be so confident talking on camera about that because I don't know so many of the dishes, but that's a bit of me and that's the sort of upskill that I want to be able to give on my page that I can talk about more things now rather than just burger and chips.
and chicken wings.So for example, in a few weeks time, I'm going to a restaurant that I'm very unfamiliar with the food.
You're not going to be on for a few weeks, so you can say the restaurant if you want.
Oh, cool.Yes.So I'm going to Papadosa in Patchway. And as far as I know, it's an authentic Indian vegetarian and vegan or definitely vegetarian restaurant.And I know that I don't know many of the dishes that are going to be served.
They look incredible.And a lot of the people that have gone love it, but I'm going to go there first before I do any sort of video and just order a load of different things to understand it and then go back and do a proper video.
Is that a normal thing to do for a food influencer kind of structure?
Because for me, that seems like a really responsible way of doing it and removing all ego out of it and saying, I don't know this cuisine, I don't necessarily understand this type of food.
So I'm not going to post a review or anything about it on my account until I can be sure that it's something that I at least understand a little bit.I think that's a very, very responsible way of doing it.But is that a normal way of doing it?
I don't know if that's a normal way.I don't know if that's a normal way on TikTok, Instagram, all the different bloggers across the country.I don't know if everyone would follow what I'm doing.
I mean, some people might say I'm being slightly biased, I suppose, by going and trying it before I actually review it properly.But for me, I just want to keep it as positive as I can.I don't want to disrespect anyone or any
people or cultures by getting their food that they serve and love wrong.So for me, I would much rather go there and check it out and upskill myself a little bit first before either bigging it up or potentially saying that I didn't enjoy it.
I like that.I think that's really cool.And you get to experience it twice.So, you know.
Yes, it's always nice sometimes to be able to go there without having to do all the videoing and photography and just sit there and enjoy it while it's still hot.
A lot of people spend a lot of time taking photos and videos and that food's going cold, but being completely truthful, and a lot of people don't agree with this, but I prefer food cold.
Ooh, controversial one right there.
I'm a big fan of cold food.Pies, pasties, lasagna, Chinese, Indian, all that, I would rather cold.
Oh, interesting.See, I like things that are the next day, like a casserole or spaghetti bolognese, something like that for me is always better the next day, even pizza, people are gonna hate me for saying that.
But sometimes I think if you just get like a cheap cardboard box pizza, it's better the next day.But I don't know about cold.I don't think I'll follow you on that one.
Oh, so you'd have it the next day, but you would reheat it.
Oh, no.So yeah, if I had to reheat it, I probably wouldn't eat it.I probably wouldn't enjoy it.Really?For example, chicken and mushroom pie, I will not eat hot.I don't like them hot, but I love them cold.
We had spaghetti bolognese the other night and had leftovers for the following day.And Jazz obviously heated hers up like most normal people would.Like most of us.But I will eat mine cold straight out of the fridge.Yeah.
How interesting. Out of everything we've talked about, that's the thing that's really got me thinking.
Yeah, yeah.My dad's the same.My dad sort of taught me it.So growing up, I would watch him eat a, yeah, a chicken and mushroom pie.That was quite a regular one.
Whether that be from their local bakery or a Ginster's one, he would eat it cold and my mum would be going mad.She would obviously always heat it up.And I just thought I was quicker.Why don't I try it cold?
And then I had it cold and I had it hot and I was like, I really don't like it hot.So, um, I, when I'm gardening or when I'm out blogging, I eat a lot of my packed lunches cold, not just sandwiches, but anything that's in there, I will eat it cold.
Interesting.See, I'm, I'm a really, really slow eater.Like Vincent gets so annoyed with me.I am I'm a very slow eater.It could take me half an hour to eat a packet of four little biscuits or something like I'm the worst.
Yeah, so I think that I like mine pretty, like scalding hot, so that it stays warm, at least until the end.
Okay.My, um, dear jazz is quite a slow eater.I'm a fat, very fast eater, but I try to slow down, especially when I'm with her to make her feel more comfortable.Um, but I don't know if it's this country or not, but my uncle, he lives in France.
Um, his wife is Dutch.And when I've met with them, they eat so slow.They, they don't want to eat food.They eat part of it.Then they stop.They put their knife and fork down.They'll have a chat. they'll crack on with something.
And for me, yeah, I'm not doing it because I want the food to be hot.Cause yeah, I really don't mind about it being hot or not.Um, but yeah, I'm trying to wolf it down as quick as I can.
Um, but going back to blogging, that's something as well for me, if a meal was to come out and it wasn't piping hot, that wouldn't, I would love that.If I'm honest, I would prefer it.
I like to be able to get on with it, but I am aware that there's a lot of people out there, especially My nan, before she passed away, she loved everything boiling hot or she would turn around and say it's freezing.
I think that's one thing I've had happen a few times where someone has asked for a medium rare steak or a rare steak and then complained that it's cold and you're like, bro, I can't get it that hot otherwise it's going to be well done.
Oh, it's so, so hard.So obviously when you're going out to restaurants and you're recording and doing things for your social media, you have a relatively specific type of place that you go to.
when you go out just for leisure like if it's you and jazz going out for a dinner and you're not recording anything you're not taking photos it's just you time what kind of places do you go to is that where you use time to like explore new things or do you go for comfort yeah probably a bit of both um it's risky isn't it because you're thinking
Do I want to try something new and then be disappointed?Or do I want to go or potentially be wowed?Or do I want to go for something that I know I really enjoy?I think years ago, I'd probably just go for the safe option a lot of the times.
But actually, as I got older and have the opportunity to eat more food and stuff, We do try to mix it up as much as we can.We do have the things we love.I can't lie.I love fish and chips.
I love fried chicken, smash burgers, but actually there's been some things now.It's only because I've tried it.You know what I mean?Otherwise I wouldn't know.
I wouldn't know that I loved ramen, pho, all the Thai food out there that I've tried recently.On the weekend I went to a new restaurant. And it would have been very easy for me just to go to the same restaurant I always go to.
But I suppose you take a bit of a risk, don't you?Sometimes you think it could either be, it could be okay, it could be rubbish, or it could be incredible.
I suppose when I try new places, I always want it to either be incredible, if it can be, I don't really... It sometimes frustrates me when I try new places and they're just okay.
Cause I think to myself, I would much rather stuck with something that I know, but yeah, I tried a Thai restaurant on, um, on Friday with, uh, me, boss, finesse garden on that.We went to gorilla Thai and it was incredible.
I haven't been.Okay.That's cool.
It blew my mind.Like me and boss get on really well and he's got some incredible food recommendations and he backed it.He said, you'll love it.And I was like, yeah, let's, let's go.Let's try it out.
And jazz, I mean, he said, she was like, Oh, we've never been to this one.And I said, no, let's, let's, let's try it.And yeah, it is probably. It was in my top two favorite Thai restaurants.Like it, it blew my mind.The food was outstanding.
And, uh, I always say with food, like if you're still thinking about it a couple of days along the line, then it was obviously good.And, um, the person I went with, he was going to book to go the following day because he loved it that much.
It was, I highly recommend, I've recommended it already to so many people.And yeah, like that is something that brings me loads of joy is being able to turn around.I've got a. couple of friends that I know love that type of food.
And I know they haven't been yet.And it was amazing to be able to turn around to them and say, this place will blow your mind.
And they've now, I don't, I don't know if you can book it, but they've now looked at going, they've looked at the menu and they're definitely going to be going over the next couple of weeks.
I think it's so cool to think that they can now go and experience it with their partner or family or friend or whatever, and potentially have one of the best meals they've ever had because of a recommendation from myself and boss.
Yeah, that's really cool.I think, um, do you use other influences to sort of like the way that people would use your page?So if I was looking for somewhere cool to go in Bristol, I would potentially look at your page or bosses.
Like you said, um, do you use other influences for your own personal use?Like if you want somewhere to go to again, where you're not going to film or do anything, do you go onto other food accounts to have a look at what they're saying?
Yeah, I do.Like, a hell of a lot.I always wondered this to myself, like, oh, will I just have enough, like, recommendations in my head? But no, and that's when the community can be really good.
I mean, that's when, for example, someone might ask, someone asked me the other day about breakfasts in Bedminster, and I know a couple, but I don't know that many, but I know Boss, Oscar, he lives in that area, and he's got some incredible, so I message him.
I'll actually go out of my way to actually send him a private message.I know we get on really well, so it's not so, like we text all the time. but I'm messaging him rather than just going on his Instagram.
But there's been plenty of times when, yeah, I remember quite recently I went on Natalie's profile because I just didn't know anywhere to go.And I just thought, oh, I'll just click through her page, see if there's anything I've missed lately.
Obviously, it comes up on your For You page when they post most days.But yeah, Natalie, Tom Foodery. Just a few of the names in Bristol.Uh, yeah, Natalie, Tom, boss.I'll go on there as quite regularly just to see if there's anywhere.
And I don't want to miss out as well.If they find somewhere cool, I want to find that place cool as well.I want to go there and see what it's like.And definitely if I'm traveling, if I'm in another area.
I was in Cardiff with Jazz a few months ago, and I know a few Cardiff bloggers, but not many.So straight away, I just went on Instagram, typed in the word Cardiff, and then you get all your Cardiff bloggers come up.And look where they go.
Give them a few messages.Same with Birmingham, London.We were in London the other day.I did the exact same thing.Eaton with Todd. He's got an incredible amount of followers.He's full-time now.
So the amount of places he's going to know is unbelievable.And I almost trust, not all bloggers, but I trust the certain bloggers that I choose more than what I would trust on, for example, Google or TripAdvisor.
Yeah, that's, that's true.I think we do quite a lot as well.Um, I think if we're going overseas, we'll potentially check out TripAdvisor just to see, you know, if there's 99 bad comments and one good, then maybe we know to steer clear.
Um, but in terms of trying to find things locally around and trying to see what's going on locally, I definitely refer to Instagram and food accounts more than I would Google or anything like that.
Yes, I was out, this was some months ago, walking along and I seen a new restaurant and my friend said, oh, should we look at this?And they straight away went on to Google, our TripAdvisor, one or the others.
And I remembered that, I think it was Boss actually, I remember he'd gone a couple of weeks ago and I stood outside the restaurant and played his little like video or photos, I can't remember which one it was, and just watched it.
And then I thought, and then I said, no, they watched it and I said, yeah, let's give it a go. We sort of went with that.That's a great example of when you've gone with a food blogger's opinion more than what you've seen online.And yeah, we had it.
And since, I've been back probably six times now.It's called Mango Steam.It's on White Ladies Road, Coffin Hill.And yeah, I've been back off my own back.I've done a video for them.I've done some paid work for them.
And yeah, it's a nice relationship that I've got with them now.
I think that also kind of makes me think that you would hope that food influencers and food bloggers and foodies that have accounts that people follow, you're really kind of trusting them to be honest about it, aren't you?
Because I would want nothing less than to, you know, see someone who's been somewhere and done a reel or done a review or something on it, you know, singing praises and saying how amazing it was only to go there and find out that
really, potentially isn't that good.And I know that food and experiences are very subjective, but that's only to a certain level.To a certain level, there are things that you can do wrong in a restaurant.
You know, we all know that we all know that you can oversalt things or undercooked chicken or something.There are certain markers that say whether it's it's just a personal preference, or if there's something technically wrong with the restaurant.
And I, I mean, I personally haven't done it yet, but I wonder if there are bloggers out there that aren't necessarily honest in their reviews because they've been given an experience in exchange for a positive reel, if that makes sense.
Absolutely.Yes, I can completely understand that. The blogger, for example, could maybe worry that if they were to give a negative review, they might not be invited back to other places.
But I've had it where I've given a bit of a negative review, and other restaurants have turned around and said they've really respected that, because actually they wanted to find out themselves.And I've been on gifted experiences.
where, if anyone doesn't know, where you go to a restaurant and they, for example, give you a selection of their food and drinks in return for an honest review, or if there's some sort of photo or video or reel they want.
And if the dish isn't right, I won't use it. I suppose I wouldn't go on there as part of their video and tell everyone that I didn't like this dish, but I would just leave it out.It's not something that I would go for.
And if someone was to speak to me and ask about a restaurant face to face or by message, I would be, I would tell them anything.
I just think sometimes when you're putting it on a video, there's a lot riding on it and it could make or break someone's restaurant, especially if someone hears it in the wrong way.
And that could have a massive, it could have a massive positive impact and it could also have a really negative impact.
Like, um, and yeah, just going back to earlier, there's, there's a couple of places I've been to where I've sort of, they've invited me down and it's been on a paid basis.
It's been on a paid basis and I've gone down there and I'm thinking to myself, Oh, what if this meal isn't where it needs to be?How am I going to word it?Like, so you're still thinking like people need money.
You still need to get paid and you still need to do a job. And then you've gone there and the food is outstanding.And you think, oh my God, like, why haven't I tried this before?Why don't I come down anyway?
And then you do a review, whether it was paid for, gifted, or you've done it off your own back.And sometimes the amount of impact you can have on that person's business is incredible.
And the messages that I and I'm sure other bloggers receive is why I do it.So when you get a restaurant sale, they've, they were really struggling.
They've since had, you know, if it's just three or four bookings come through, it really made their evening.That does feel me someone who always wants everything to be nice and that gives me a big boost.
That's really cool.But I think you're right in what you say.And I think it's a very important thing to know is that whether, you know, like I know there are very sort of clear lines between a food critic and a food blogger.
Um, but I think almost food bloggers potentially have more reach, maybe not quite as serious of an impact sometimes.Um, you know, it's not like it's a Michelin guide reviewer, but you do have a big reach.
So kind of what you write, it's, I guess it's very dramatic to say make or break.Um, but in the same vein, it is very important what you write about that restaurant.
Yes, absolutely.And go like what you said about a critic, an example I can use is I went to a place recently and it was a fish and chip place.It was a fish and chip place.And I wasn't sure how it was going to be.And it was absolutely outstanding.
But there was one thing on there that I didn't enjoy that much.And in that situation, I feel a critic would just review it.They put all the nice things and then they would put, they didn't like this thing.
So what I did instead is I turned around to the fish and chip takeaway owner and he wanted feedback anyway and I told him about it, the thing that I didn't like and he was like that's not the first time I've heard that actually.
I've heard that from a few other like regular customers and he was like actually I might take that on board and get that changed and I said to him like if you were to change that one thing I feel like it could be absolutely outstanding and that's the difference I suppose.
You don't have to tell me where the place was but what was the thing that you didn't like?
Oh, so all it was, it was a very simple thing, but it's something that actually I care about quite a bit and that is the curry sauce.I'm with you on that.I'm a big curry sauce lover, absolutely love it.
I've tried many different curry sauces and fish and chip shops do all different types of curry sauce and this one just done a standard chip shop curry sauce.But the one that I'm loving, a lot of people are, is the Irish curry sauce.
which if anyone's not had it before, it's more, it's thicker, darker.It's more like a gravy.It's got spice.It's quite spicy, but it's lovely.
And I said to them about it and they, yeah, they said that actually they've had that come up a lot lately and I'm looking forward to hopefully going back.
They might not change it, but I suppose that's where I thought, and I've said that there's a lot of people that follow me that love the Irish style fish and chip over the normal one.And I suppose that's where I'm trying to help a local.
They're a very new chip shop, really new.And since trying it, I know loads of people that have been, who went, who had even driven past before and thought, cause I get it.
Like a lot of restaurants, it can be the money is a big factor and people are thinking to themselves, whether it's fish and chips or as a full on restaurant, high end meal, I think, do I want to pay that money to then have a bad experience?
And that money sort of gone, like people work hard for like their weekends and stuff.And since people have gone and they've absolutely loved it.So that's where I think I've had a positive impact.
whether as a critic might have put their review up and then the people would read it and thought, that's cool, they've been honest, but I'll probably never go.
That's really cool.I know you recommended us to go to a fish and chip shop in Thornbury because we hadn't really, we lived in Cornwall and we tried the fish and chips there and they were great.
Um, but we hadn't actually ventured out to try any since we've moved here.And the one that you recommended to us was it was so good.We loved it.We took Vincent's dad and he's from France and he wanted to try some British fish and chips.
So we took him there for his first ever British fish and chips and he absolutely loved it.So thank you for that.
I'm so happy you liked that.And so that is one of my favorite fish and chip shops.
And, um, yeah, that that's something I'm, I'm so proud that I can turn around to people when they visit that area and they ask, or where you're, I mean, for example, you're not even in that area.You're slightly down the road, aren't you?
And there's plenty of other fish and chip shops closer to you.You could have gone to, um, but you sort of took my, I don't know, like my trust to go along there and try it.And it makes me feel really proud that I can promote places like that and
I'm sure they won't mind me saying this, it's called Parkey's and it's in Thornbury.And it's quite a small fish and chip shop, you probably realised when you went in.And I've been there for so many years and it's incredible.
And I never, up until recently actually, I'd never seen any other bloggers going or anything like that.So I said to Jaz, I would love to do a video about them, like to really showcase it and get people down there.And they are always quite busy.
And when I went down there, this is the first time this has ever happened.
Um, and there'll probably be people maybe listen to this that would jump at this opportunity, but I offered to make them a full video on across all my social medias for absolutely nothing.I didn't want anything in return.I'd pay for the food.
I didn't want anything.I just wanted to be able to show how much I love that fish and chips.And the reason I asked is because I wanted their sort of, um, consent to maybe go behind the back and get some shots and stuff.
And they said, they were like, we really appreciate it, but we are so busy.Like we can't get any busier.And like he said, I'm sure you would like for this opportunity would cost like money.And I was like, I wouldn't charge you anything.
Um, but they said, please do it to someone else.Like we're doing well enough.Um, please do it somewhere else.And I did actually end up taking a couple of little shots of me. just eating the fish and chips.And then it did like 500,000 views on TikTok.
And I was like, oh no, they're going to be in there.Like, oh no, why did he do the video?But I didn't, that just proves how much of a good chippy is.I literally just did a couple of shots of me eating a batter of sausage and fish.
And obviously everyone was asking.
It was honestly, it was amazing.But I find that so funny.Like so many businesses are crying out for people to do that for them.And you know, you wanted to do that.And they were like, please, please don't.We are too busy.Do not do anything.
It's amazing and when I tell friends obviously they understand how that sounds, but when I tell restaurant owners and Street food traders about that story.They can't believe it.They're like, well, can I have that opportunity?Can I take it?
No, that's really cool.I was so glad that, um, Vincent's dad's first British fish and chip experience was there.Cause I know I'm going to get a bit of hate for saying this, but it was better than the ones we had in Cornwall.
I don't know if I'm allowed to say that, I don't know, but it was, it really was.
That's absolutely fine.And I think sometimes. Yeah.Sometimes I hear people say like, you shouldn't eat fish unless you can see the sea and stuff like that.
And I wonder if some of these chippies that are right on the seafront, there are some incredible ones on the seafront, but some of them, I think they're probably just doing well and able to serve the poor level of fish and chips that they serve because they're in such a great area.
And you take somewhere like this one in Thornbury or a few of the other ones I know who are not in the best place. And actually they need to do good fish and chips.
They need to be they because people aren't just going to go there because I walk into the seaside.
Yeah, that's a really interesting comment.I mean, we could we could dive into that and spend hours on that because I'm very interested in the way that the food system works and everything like that.
And I think a little bit of it is just a bit of education for me as well.But I was speaking to a South African chef who now has a green Michelin star restaurant in Cornwall in Falmouth, actually.
And he was saying that when he was in South Africa, they have one of the biggest sardine runs in South Africa, but you could not for money nor love get fresh sardines in South Africa because they ship it all somewhere else and then it gets sent back to them pre-packaged and frozen or tinned or whatever it is.
So when people say you shouldn't eat fish unless you can see the sea, I see what they're saying, because in their head, I think, they think the fishermen's literally just bring it up to the fish and chip shop and it's straight from the ocean right out the front of their door.
But it's not, it's not how it is.It doesn't work like that.And some places might, you know, I think, I think you would struggle to find that if you could see the invoices from where they got their fish from.
They're getting it from the same place as everybody else, because at the end of the day, especially down this end, everything's from Brixham or New Lynn, you know, all of the fish is landing in the same place.
So it's a bit of a weird thing to say, but I see where, I see where their logic is.
Yeah, no, I get it.And I've been to Brixham and I've also been to New Lynn, that's somewhere I didn't think I would go, but I went there and tried some of the chip shops around there and they were good.Don't get me wrong.
Some were good, some were amazing, some were rubbish.Um, but yeah, just because a chippy is in Thornbury or is in Easton or is in Bristol, doesn't mean that it still could be outstanding.
And I feel they have more pressure because they're not getting that pass in trade quite like the seaside would.And I think some people, when I speak to people about fish and chips, it's not their favorite takeaway.
It's not a takeaway they would normally order, but they would order it if they were at the seaside, like for myself. That is my favorite takeaway.So I'll order every day.
Yeah, I see where you're coming from, though.It's kind of that romantic feeling if it's a seaside town, they've probably got chairs and tables there, whereas the fish and chip shop that you sent us to, we ended up making the tables from the pub and.
But yeah, so I understand what you're saying.But even without the seaside and sitting on someone else's table and, you know, having a beer from somewhere else, it was still hands down the best fish and chips I've had in England.
So seaside view or not does not make a difference to me.It's all about the food.
There you go, I'm so happy.
I wanted to ask you before you kind of touched on it, you were mentioning a food blogger and you said he's gone full time, someone that you know from London. What does that, what does that mean?
Cause I don't really know the financial side of it in terms of Instagram and being an influencer or a blogger.What does that mean to go full time?And at what, how many followers, at what point does that sort of happen for you?
Yeah, I suppose there's loads of bits to cover on this.Um, what full time to some people looks different to others, doesn't it?Um, I mean, I, I currently run, sort of three full-time jobs.
So people ask me a lot, are you, is Jack Eats Everything full-time?And I'd say it is, yes, because it does take up a hell of a lot of my time.But I've also got a full-time gardening business.
And I've also, I run, I do a bit of social media management for another street food trader.And I do that full-time.So it depends how many hours you see as full-time. And the, yeah, the person up in London is, um, is Ian Wood Todd.
And being completely honest, I don't know how many hours he does.I don't know how that looks.Um, but last time I seen him, he was sort of doing his job part-time and then that part-time, but now he does it all full-time.
I know Boss Finesse is full-time as well.So he, he was a plasterer as far as I know, and he does it full-time.And I, yeah, when people ask me is Jack Eats Everything full-time, I do say, yes, it is.
And going back to what you said about like the amount of following.So that's the really interesting thing.So years ago, when I first started out and for the first couple of years, anyone with a big following was doing well.
So if you had 20 to, if you had 10 to 50,000 or even higher followers, you knew that person was making a lot of money and they were probably full time. but now that really doesn't matter.Obviously the following does matter.
That is still, I'm not saying the following doesn't matter because it does matter, but a lot of brands out there and a lot of restaurant and opportunities come from the amount of engagement.
So you can, I know people with 2000 followers who are out there doing paid advertisements.So they're getting paid by restaurants, brands to create videos because actually their videos are hitting 10,000 views.
And then I'd say it, but I know people out there with hundreds of thousands of followers, whether they are fake followers or not, or whether they've just lost their touch and they're only getting a thousand views.You know what I mean?
So I think you will still get restaurants and people look at people with huge following and think, oh my God, like. They've got to come to our restaurant, we got to pay them, we got to give them free food.
But actually, if you have your head screwed on, you want to look at their engagement.You want to look at how many, how much reach they get, so how many views they get, how many comments they get, how many likes they get.
And that will give you a better understanding of the return on investment you will get by investing in that person rather than someone with just a huge following.
Because just a huge following. a lot of those followers might not even use Instagram anymore, if it was 10 years ago.
Yeah, I guess that would be a good piece of advice to give to even people like myself or, you know, restaurants that are potentially looking at inviting some influencers along to boost their following a little bit.
is not to just see who's local and who has the most amount of followers, it's to see who's got that loyal following, like you said, that engagement in the comments and stuff like that.
Because it's definitely not what I thought about, you know, even up until six months ago, maybe a year ago, I kind of just thought, Yeah, you know, get the person with the most amount of followers.
But it was actually Vincent that said, no, not really.It's who has a loyal following.We're trying to be a Bristol based company.So who has a good following and a good reputation within the area and also who's getting engagement.
I seen someone on Instagram the other day with between, I think it's between six or 8 million followers.So to look at that, if you were to have that as a restaurant, you have that person follow you, you think, oh my God, like, That is crazy.
Um, you go on their videos and they're getting sort of three, 4,000 views.Like when you take that as a percentage, that's actually really low.And then you look at other people, you look at Todd.
I mean, Todd has now got, um, over a million followers, but every single one of his videos does at least 500,000 views.
So whether that's the people that follow him or other people, um, myself, I always try to make sure I'm sort of hitting 10,000 views or more. And yeah, if you take the other, if you take boss finesse, he's, he's got a large following.
So he's got 70, 80,000, but he's got an incredibly loyal, um, watch for people that watch him are incredibly loyal.They will comment.They will go to the places he goes to and they trust his reviews.
And I suppose that is a well done to him that he's got that many gets that many views and the restaurants that he works with has such an impact.
But sometimes, yeah, I just feel some accounts are overlooked because you see these people with millions of followers, but their engagement, and I think years ago you used to be able to get away with it a bit more.
But nowadays, yeah, if you really wanted to, you can work out the accounts that are really going to help you as a restaurant and ones that aren't.
Yeah, I think that's a really important thing and maybe something that not everybody thinks about.Like I said, even myself, it's not something I particularly thought about or considered probably because I'm such a baby to Instagram.
But no, it's a good piece of advice.And then at what point, so when we talk about financial gain from it, which is an amazing thing to be able to have from, you know, such a fun, job, I guess, like, to me, it sounds like a really fun job.
I am very jealous.I just get to cook all this stuff.But you get to try a huge amount of different things, which is incredible.How does that how does that work?Does that mean a restaurant invites you to come and do some social media stuff for them?
Does that mean that you look after their social media accounts?Or is it kind of all of the above?
Yeah, um, so social media management is very separate.So that is different.That is something I do for girtwings big up girtwings Um, but that is completely separate so that there's um teams out there like nonsensical duchess tom foodery.
He's got a Brand and that's where you look after their instagram.You run their instagram you do things like that, but from a blogging point of view, um Where people are making money is for example doing reviews going in?um
And yeah, being basically an agreement.So an email that is sent over and a contract, for example, they will say, can you come along?And a price is agreed to create a video about our restaurant, like a promotional video, I suppose.
There is also now on TikTok, you get paid as well.So that is something that was never an option before.YouTube obviously there was, but yeah, on TikTok, once you've got a certain amount of following, you can get paid for when you're
As long as your video's over a minute long, the creator fund, you, like some of my videos make one P, they make a penny and then some of them do okay.Um, and that's good as well to be able to put things on there.
And because you don't have to have any agreement, you could just video yourself doing whatever cooking in the house and you can still create money.
Um, but mainly with the restaurants, it's either invite you either going off your own back, you're going on a gifted basis where they agree what you would have in return for a post or a reel or a share to the story, whatever.
Or yeah, the people, a lot of people have rates cards.So they have rates cards and on there's loads of different options that the restaurant can choose.For example, if you wanted three stories and a real, it would cost you X amount.
So yeah, there's definitely that option.And when you're working with bigger brands, like I've worked with a couple of like McDonald's, KFC, Subway, those sort of ones.
That's when you want to be able to have a rate card or be able to negotiate the price.Um, because it is worth it at the end of the day. It can be fun.
Um, and with myself, I've only got so many hours in the day and it's lovely that restaurants absolutely is an absolute blessing that restaurants want you to come along to their restaurant.
But at the end of the day, they often also want, they're not just inviting, there is, you are getting their food for free, but they still want your services.So they still want your photos, your videos, stuff that you're skilled in and editing.
It all takes time.Um, so yeah, it's about. creating something that you and the restaurant are both happy with.
Yeah, for sure.I think that maybe there are some people out there that just sort of think, you know, if you're a food influencer, you get invited to eat for free at restaurants.
But I really kind of if I ever hear people say that, I'm like, have you ever edited a real
like a nice reel, you know, and I'm not saying that what I do is amazing, but when I first started editing reels, I was like, Oh my God, I think it took me two hours to do like a 30 second reel.It was something incredibly long.It was terrible.
I've since gotten a bit faster, but it absolutely is like, and you don't necessarily like, yes, like you said, yes, you get to go out and you get to have a meal and you don't pay for it, but it is an exchange, you know, and it is an exchange for your time and
you know, they're using this following that you spent seven years building.Um, so it definitely is an exchange.
And I think, I think most people know that now, but there must still be some people out there that, you know, just think being a food influencer means you get to go and eat for free.
Yeah.Most people understand it.And then some people, some people still have the same view on it.And then some people where they don't know about it, they're quite interested to learn.They want to learn about it.
And then when you explain it to them, they're like, Oh, I've never, never looked at it like that and a lot of people don't realize how much editing goes into it or the software that you're using, the editing apps, they all cost money.
Having the recent tech, the lighting, the stands, everything, the microphones, they all cost money.So yeah, when you explain it to people, they do understand and you can't just eat every single day out because I think I'd explode.
I would love to though.We don't get out at all so, you know. Although I have been meaning to try Girtwings, I need to look at when they're coming to Yate again, because it is something that I always hear such a big hype about.
And I see you and I see everybody on Instagram, there's two hour long waits for the Girtwings trailer.And I really want to try it.But I have to admit, I haven't yet.
Yeah, they, they've been in Yate this month and they are back in October.It's either the 8th or the 10th, I believe.Um, yeah, they are back at the Sunflower Cakery and she also does amazing things.
I think that's right outside my CrossFit gym, so I can, uh, I can go just after.That works, doesn't it?
That is the right reasons to go to CrossFit.
Shout out to the local CrossFit gym and sorry for saying, I'm going to go, I'm going to go eat chicken wings afterwards, but you know, you gotta live a little. So I have a bit of a finishing tradition on this podcast.
And everybody screws their nose up at me when I ask this question.So I do apologize, but I think it's a very good question.So my question to you is, it's normally worded a bit differently, because it's normally towards chefs and restaurants directly.
But if there was one thing that you wish the general public knew about your role within the food industry, what would it be?
I wasn't expecting that question.
If there was one thing that you wish the general public knew about your role in the food industry, what would that be?
I suppose that this is my first time doing it.This is my first time.I haven't been taught how to do social media or blog or do anything before. I'm here to try and make a difference and to provide people with the best recommendations possible.
Be nice, be patient, be kind, because you never know what people are going through.
I like that one.I told you it was a question that everybody hates, but I've got a lot of different answers, so I've decided to stick with it and keep asking it.
Yeah, no, it's good.I think it makes you think it's not a question you get every single day.
Awesome.Well, thank you so, so much for coming on.
Um, and everybody should go have a look at your profile, especially if they're in the area, because there are some really, really good food recommendations on there, which I plan on using probably in the new year when I have a little bit more time, but I do love seeing all the different things that you're doing.
And to be honest, I love sometimes just seeing you cook a fry up at home.You know, sometimes it's just really wholesome and really lovely and it's, um, it's very fun to watch.So everybody go check it out.Um, Don't let me butcher it.
Is it just Jack Eats Everything?Is there any underscores or anything?
No, that's the one is Jack Eats Everything.There's two Gs on the end of Instagram, just because the username was taken.But yeah, Jack Eats Everything on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, all the ones.And yeah, it's worth a follow.
You can have some really good food reviews and recommendations. Well, thank you again for coming on.Um, I hope you enjoyed it.
I hope I didn't ask you too many hard questions and, um, hopefully we'll get to catch up again soon and probably bump into you at a food festival somewhere.
Yes.Or a fish and chippy.
Yeah, buddy.All right.Cheers, mate.We'll talk soon.
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