New foodie forum takes the trend of obsessive meal
documentation to the next level
By Romy Zipken for Jewcy
Like Justice Potter Stewart, I cannot definitively say
what constitutes food porn, but I know it when I see it. Food porn isn’t erotic
in a traditional romantic sense (Although South Park aired a 2010 episode about
it in which Randy gets a little too involved with the Food Network). Rather,
it’s the glamorization of food with images—and thanks to Instagram and other
social networking platforms, it’s become a colloquial phrase. Capitalizing on
that trend are two 24-year-old University of Colorado grads with their new
website, MrFoodPorn.
Mixing photos and prose, Noah Rinsky and Josh Seigel use their site as a Manhattan-based forum for detailing their experiences with high-end food. Writing about expensive dining can quickly turn people off, so they opted for a silly name and quirky logo—a messy man all suited up, with a turkey leg in hand and stains dribbled on his lapel—to garner a wider audience. And to keep Mr FoodPorn from being too indulgent (the site’s ‘About Us’ section reads, “We’re devourers of all things fleshy, bready, and over indulgent; eaters to the first degree, scaling the highest meringue-mountains of wanton culinary delight!”), Rinsky and Seigel devoted a page to two hunger-fighting charities, Food Bank for New York City, and City Harvest. Giving back is important to them, and I’m sure it helps the conscience when you’re sinking your teeth into those sugar-cured bacon strips, which Rinsky won’t eat because he’s kosher. Instead, Seigel gives him play-by-plays of the bacon-wrapped matzo balls at Traif in Brooklyn.
They seek to add substance and creativity to the language around food porn. Instead of simply photographing your deep-fried dinner and adding a #nomnom hashtag, Rinsky and Seigel describe exceptional meals for their audience, who can read leisurely while salivating freely. They both work in the food industry, so they write about the culinary world beyond just the dining experience. In this excerpt, Mr FoodPorn describes his high-stress experience as a trainee waiter at the upscale Manhattan restaurant Eleven Madison Park.
Continue reading.
Like Justice Potter Stewart, I cannot definitively say
what constitutes food porn, but I know it when I see it. Food porn isn’t erotic
in a traditional romantic sense (Although South Park aired a 2010 episode about
it in which Randy gets a little too involved with the Food Network). Rather,
it’s the glamorization of food with images—and thanks to Instagram and other
social networking platforms, it’s become a colloquial phrase. Capitalizing on
that trend are two 24-year-old University of Colorado grads with their new
website, MrFoodPorn. Mixing photos and prose, Noah Rinsky and Josh Seigel use their site as a Manhattan-based forum for detailing their experiences with high-end food. Writing about expensive dining can quickly turn people off, so they opted for a silly name and quirky logo—a messy man all suited up, with a turkey leg in hand and stains dribbled on his lapel—to garner a wider audience. And to keep Mr FoodPorn from being too indulgent (the site’s ‘About Us’ section reads, “We’re devourers of all things fleshy, bready, and over indulgent; eaters to the first degree, scaling the highest meringue-mountains of wanton culinary delight!”), Rinsky and Seigel devoted a page to two hunger-fighting charities, Food Bank for New York City, and City Harvest. Giving back is important to them, and I’m sure it helps the conscience when you’re sinking your teeth into those sugar-cured bacon strips, which Rinsky won’t eat because he’s kosher. Instead, Seigel gives him play-by-plays of the bacon-wrapped matzo balls at Traif in Brooklyn.
They seek to add substance and creativity to the language around food porn. Instead of simply photographing your deep-fried dinner and adding a #nomnom hashtag, Rinsky and Seigel describe exceptional meals for their audience, who can read leisurely while salivating freely. They both work in the food industry, so they write about the culinary world beyond just the dining experience. In this excerpt, Mr FoodPorn describes his high-stress experience as a trainee waiter at the upscale Manhattan restaurant Eleven Madison Park.
Continue reading.
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