The culinary culture in Kerala is going through a makeover one step at a time. While some of the change can be attributed to international TV cookery shows such as Masterchef, a good amount of change could be due to the boom of ‘online food critics’. An individual or a group of food reviewers who are commoners with no certification on anything related to food, or rather ‘foodies’, are coming forward to share their culinary experiences from various food joints and restaurants across the state through social networking platforms.
One such group that has been creating quite a stir in Kochi’s food circle is ‘Eat Kochi Eat’ (EKE). Karthik Murali created Eat Kochi Eat after meeting like-minded foodies in the city on a popular food app. Earlier this week, the group conducted the state’s first ever food walk ‘Explore Mattancherry’. “EKE was formed last September. The reason this group was created was because there were no online platforms where food was genuinely discussed. All the members who became a part of Eat Kochi Eat were quite active on Zomato, but there was no feature for discussing food there,” says Karthik. The group attracted more than 2,000 food lovers within two months and today, it is a massive group with nearly 20,000 members. “Soon after the group was formed, we came up with the idea to organise an event every week where members can ‘meet and greet’ at a selected food joint and review the food and ambience there. Around December first week, we organised our first event. Nearly 30 people attended it; it was a huge success after which the group became very active. A lot of hotels started approaching us to review their food. We focus on reviewing the overall experience rather than just the food.”
TastySpots is another platform that acts both as a food guide and a space for food reviewers. The USP of TastySpots, which is a website and also an app, is that they have a short video, photographs and written review of a particular food joint. Allan Reji Varghese, food reviewer at Tasty Spots, says, “This was started by a group of foodies, but the initial plan was not to start an app. The idea was to come up with a platform that discusses food impartiality, something that everyone could depend on.” Explaining the process that goes behind reviewing food, Allan says, “We select hotels from across the state after considering suggestions by public or food review groups. Initially, the hotels we approached were apprehensive that we might charge for the review. People who run a ‘Thattukada’might not know what a website or an app is capable of. There were times when small time hotels responded negatively saying ‘once you put up the video, there might be a rush the very next day, but then what if such a crowd did not approach the other days, wouldn’t all the food go waste?”Ajai Ashok, owner, Aangan Downtown Restaurant, points out, “ Most of the time, there are just about 10 per cent customers who directly speak to the owner or manager. They might share it online instead. This is a chance for the hotelier to rectify errors.”
