Are food vloggers hyping the mundane?

The text in a controversial vlog runs like so: ‘105-years old English breakfast joint in Kolkata’, while the voiceover tells viewers that at this ‘heritage restaurant’ in Shyambazar, the top price you will pay for anything is `15. If you are dreaming of a serving of the classic English brekky, here’s where it all comes
crashing down.


Clickbait Call
The voiceover quickly tells us that the ‘English’, in this north Kolkata eatery, breakfast is limited to toast and fried eggs (which is different from poached, but who’s gonna tell them?); maybe a cup of tea. Netizen/s have called vloggers out saying that this is misinformation. The camera pans to a million-year old oven/griller built into the 100-plus-yeared crumbling wall, with the goods ready to go in. The evident lack of hygiene has been a talking point too.

Why Food?
There is no denying Kolkata’s long-celebrated status as a street food hotspot.
Even the staunchest critics might have to agree about the range of food available, where the price point is a vital factor in rising popularity.

What’s all this noise about?
This exact vibe of Kolkata, of the chilled out, easy availability of everything, every day, and the popularity of food as a subject, seems to have percolated down to reelverse. From porota (not paratha) to kochuri-jalebi or the chowmien counter – anything that is edible is deemed reel-worthy. With views in thousands as the social media staple minimum, who will argue?

I eat, therefore I shall vlog
Is your phone waking up with you to the tune of ‘Ek plate-e teentey porota, unlimited torkari’? Welcome to the Everyman end of Kolkata food vlogging — where everything mundane is reel-ready, laced with possible misinformation, and every bylane eatery is a ‘hidden gem’ simply because the content creator hails from the other end of town. The more street it gets, the less the research. There is a disproportionately high excitement about things that are commonplace - including that ‘hidden gem’ as many serious food writers have pointed out.

Quotes:
Many vlogs have a ‘believe because I say so’ strategy. It feels silly to actually visit such spots only to be disappointed
– Ankit Santra, filmmaker

Vloggers don’t always provide the correct information which makes it harder to find a worthy ‘hidden gem’
– Shivangi Sen, media professional