Miss Katie’s Crab Shack owner Katie Marron slams food bloggers distasteful Instagram request

A chef has called out a ‘greedy’ blogger who asked to review her restaurant in exchange for free food — even though the venue was closing down next month after two hard pandemic years.

The chef behind a struggling Melbourne restaurant at the brink of closure has slammed a ‘greedy’ influencer’s distasteful request for free food in a social media take-down.

Katie Marron, who runs Fitzroy’s Miss Katie’s Crab Shack, said she was sick of influencers expecting restaurants to dish up free food in exchange for social media exposure after being approached by a blogger on Instagram.

Miss Katie’s Crab Shack owner Katie Marron was approached by a food blogger on Instagram requesting free food in exchange for social media posts. Picture: David Caird

“It’s a farce — and misleading a small business in a greedy way is just gross,” she said.

In the exchange, the blogger asked to“review” the venue before it closed and “create video reels and TikTok content in exchange for a voucher or meals to try.”

Marron responded, inviting the blogger to support the business in its final days and pay for a meal in full.

“Sadly your posts, lovely as they may be, simply won’t pay my bills,” she wrote.

The fiery encounter was then thrust into the spotlight after NewsCorp food writer John Lethlean shared the exchange under his #couscousforcomment hashtag.

Miss Katie’s Crab Shack gets about five ‘free food’ requests per month, but Marron wanted to make an example to educate the wider blogging community.

The influencer wanted to create a video and TikTok content in exchange for a voucher or meals to try. Picture: Instagram

Katie was not backing down. Picture: Instagram

“I usually ignore them but the audacity to do this to a business, as you’re shutting down, are you joking? Are you even aware of what’s going on? To have no qualms about asking for freebies from someone that is struggling and to not put your money where your mouth is and block me, that’s just showing poor form,” she said.

“If you want to collaborate and I genuinely think you can bring something to my business, then you’ll need to prove that. I’m open to that. My ears are open.”

Marron will close her beloved seafood venue of nine years later next month after a “really hard” couple of pandemic years and soaring crab prices.

Miss Katie’s Crab Shack will close on July 29 and reopen in August as a local bar Suzi Cheek’s slinging snacks, cocktails and wine.