Many of us turn to social media and food influencers for our dinner inspiration, but this may have some unintended consequences. Dr Fiona Lavelle is a Lecturer at the Department of Nutritional Sciences at King's College London and she joined RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime to talk about whether social media chefs could potentially be putting children off cooking. (This piece includes excerpts from the conversation which have been edited for length and clarity - you can hear the discussion in full below at 25 mins).
It's all about the quest for perfection. "Now I'm not saying they couldn't be used in a good method, but a lot of the sociological research will indicate that these cooks actually putting meals on such a high pedestal that people are intimidated to try it," says Lavelle. "People expect that they should be able to produce this lovely picture that's shown on social media, or this Michelin star standard meal, so there is a potential that it could have a negative influence on their preparation behaviours."
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Is it because the meals are too complex? "It's too complex. People now think that they have to reach this standard instead of understanding that a basic meal is also fine and acceptable. We're saying that people should just be able to safely eat the meal: a safe and edible meal, that's the bare minimum we need to reach."
But will all people feel this way about following recipes and videos on social media? There might be a generational difference, says Lavelle. "The generation that has grown up with social media constantly, they're so used to receiving the information and learning in that method, that there could be generational differences and they may be used to it, following along step-by-step with videos."
Read more: Why getting kids involved with cooking is a good idea
"We have shown in our research that there is benefits of learning through video footage. It's it's just about then trying to send the message through social media that you don't necessarily need to reach this perfect, ideal meal."
A 60 second TikTok video might have taken hours to film, with perfect lighting and a brilliant looking meal, she says. "It comes across on all social media - everyone portrays the best story, the best version. For cooking, then, there is some research that shows that then it might make it seem unattainable to people. So it's just about breaking that narrative, trying to get people to experiment, give it a go, give it a try. It is OK if your meal doesn't look exactly like the Instagram picture."
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But what about getting out of your comfort zone, and trying to follow some of these recipes? "It may be that you're getting [the recipes] through social media, I'm not saying that it's intimidating for everybody," Lavelle says. "But obviously some people prefer to follow traditional recipes, even if it is just reading it on the screen. It is about just giving it a go, and if it doesn't look amazing at the end, but it is still safely edible: eat it, it doesn't matter."
And if you come up against ingredients you don't have, it's not necessarily ruined. Try looking for alternatives online.
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
