Sydney chefs ban Instagram influencers asking for free food
Instagram influencers are off the menu as chefs ban bludgers asking for free food. The likes of chef Matt Moran and restaurateurs Maurice Terzini and Justin Hemmes are cutting off “B-listers” looking for freebies. This comes as MKR contestant Andy Vignati was named and shamed for asking for a free meal.
NSW
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Instagrammers and social media influencers are off the menu as chefs are pulling the plug on bludgers who ask for free food.
Despite the boom in food blogs, many high profile chefs said online posts don’t translate into dollars.
So now the likes of Matt Moran and restaurateurs Maurice Terzini and Justin Hemmes are cutting off “B-listers” who blag for freebies.
The tough new stance comes in the wake of a stunning showdown between Adelaide chef Duncan Welgemoed and former My Kitchen Rules contestant Andy Vignati earlier this month after she requested a free meal in exchange for a post to her 10,000 followers.
Welgemoed not only refused but named and shamed Vignati on social media, saying Instagram posts did nothing for his profit margin.
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Moran, who shared Welgemoed’s social media smackdown to his own Facebook page, confirmed he is often approached by “reality stars and C-grade celebrities” for meals in exchange for posts.
“But now I just say no,” Moran said.
“It has gotten worse in the last couple of years. Because you have more of these ‘reality TV’ celebrities everywhere. Shows like MKR, the Bachelor … shows like that.
“They have a few thousand followers then they hit you up for free food.
“But I always enjoy watching the bill go out to the table,” he said with a laugh.
It may be one of the country’s most Instagrammable venues but Terzini’s famed Icebergs is also a freebie-free zone with the restaurateur insisting “everyone pays”, even the restaurant’s heavy-hitting business and entertainment clientele.
“We have some of the most powerful celebrities in the world on a daily basis so we would be giving away more than we could afford if we did,” Terzini said.
“Restaurants in Australia are hard enough to make good margins so dinner for free does not sit well.”
Hemmes’ multi-venue Merivale empire, which has 52 food venues, also has a zero-tolerance policy for freebie hunters.
But a spokeswoman for Hemmes said they are rarely approached for complimentary meals because the company has a large, corporate structure that serves as a deterrent.
“No doubt because they know that there is a big marketing and PR team they need to go through,” she said.
“I hear it is often the smaller businesses that get approached the most.”
According to one of the city’s top food bloggers, there are two camps in the social media and food blogging world — those who ask and those who don’t.
Sara McCleary, who runs the hugely popular Belly Rumbles food blog, said she has never requested a free meal in the 10 years since she began her food site.
“But I have heard horror stories from some chefs who have had people literally walk in off the street and say: “Hi, do you know who I am? Can you feed me for free?’,” McCleary said.
“It’s quite incredible that some people have the nerve to do it, really. Restaurants are a business like anything else. I just think it’s so rude.”
Meanwhile, three weeks on since his name-and-shame campaign against Vignati, Welgemoed is unrepentant about his tough stance and said he hopes chefs and restaurant operators continue to follow his lead.
“I feel like a lot of places give in to these influencers because they think: ‘Oh maybe this is an opportunity to get my brand out there a bit more’,” Welgemoed said.
“Or: ‘Maybe this person is important and if I pass this up I am missing out’.
“Basically these people wanting free meals are just playing on the fears of the operators.
“But statistically the impact it has on business is minute. And it is all so disingenuous.
“At the end of the day you have to be confident in what you do.
“If you are producing a great product you don’t need influencers to tell you how good a meal is. That is dictated by how many people are walking through the door.”
Originally published as Sydney chefs ban Instagram influencers asking for free food
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