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Welcome back to Insta Stories, a column examining the London restaurant scene through the often-problematic medium of Instagram. This week’s filter is a genuinely good idea.
Feed-clogging event of the week
Assembling All. Of. The. London. Foods. into a single, easily-navigable space is basically the same as erecting an acre-wide expanse of Instagrammer-flypaper in the middle of Regent’s Park. To peruse the 43.8 THOUSAND posts using the event’s hashtag is to see multiple dishes vie for the crown of Most Hearted, from THOSE lamb chops to THIS Bao. But in the ‘gram scheme of things, can anything beat a Pastel. Ice cream. Macaron. Sandwich?
Captioned resistance to feed-clogging events of the week
The revolution will not be pasta evangelised.
Seasonal chef rivalry of the week
Summer, where abundant natural light meets nature’s bounty at its most bounteous, is when the real Insta big guns come out to play. There’s no better time to post gorgeous, sun-drenched images that foreground your eat / cook local / seasonal credentials, whether it be in a stunningly minimalist bowl of peas…
… or a cornucopia of heart-emoji strawberries.
Or then there’s this, in which Clipstone and Portland’s Merlin Labron-Johnson emphasises his credentials as perhaps the most Insta-attuned chef in the city. All hail the king.
Hidden gem of the week
Truly, how to eat like a local.
Endorsement of the week
It’s been a genuine delight to see Max Halley’s Sandwich Book go honest-to-goodness viral in the past few weeks; this enthusiastic reader feedback should be enough to convince anyone still on the fence to buy a copy.
Elegant #plantbased #wellness #cleaneating of the week
You’re spoiling us, Mr Ambassador!
Dish of the week
Dish of the week, but very much of the moment, too. Of late — and doubtless inspired by the bonkers-delicious luxe sandwich culture of Japan — there has been an encouraging increase in the number of high-quality alternatives to the boring old Great British sandwich. If Bright’s example was a stunner, this doughy, doughty beast takes things to even more ludicrous extremes.
Shot / staff meal of the week
Imagine what they feed the actual customers.
