The transformation from traditional food journalism to foodstragrams today

A media experiment of the brief history of food journalism.

While studying foodstagrams it is important to look at what changes in sociohistorical context make foodstagramming possible. I will look at how foodstagrams relate or position against traditional food journalism. In order to do this, I have done some research on the history of food journalism. My media experiment starts with one of the first works of food journalism, Le Viandier. Le Viandier is a recipe collection written around 1300. Next, I looked at The Forme of Cury, an extensive collection of medieval English recipes written in 1390. Another popular and early work is Larousse Gastronomique, a french cuisine book written in 1938. The next important step in food journalism included its presence in newspapers and magazines. One example is the New York Times. During and after World War II, the Times had “News of Food;” news which featured advice to consumers about bargains in the markets; news about how housewives could stretch the household budget for food. With the rise of the internet came food blogs. In 1997, Jeff Lim and Bob Okumura launched Chowhound and food blogging was official born! The next important step in food blogging was in 2002 with the Julie and Julia project. Powell became the first food blogger to be offered a book deal. This was significant in that it spread the idea that food blogs on the internet could offer endless opportunities. In the present day, anyone can be a food blogger through social media platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram. Food blogger Jamie Oliver even has over 5.5 million followers on Instagram! Although this is just a brief overview, it shows how drastically food journalism has changed from its beginnings to its presence today!