What it's really like to be a food influencer

By Vivien Beduya

Food influencers have risen in popularity on social media. One might wonder if it’s a lucrative gig, if all their meals are free, or if it ever gets tricky to write an honest review on paid brand deals. Re: News journalist Vivien Beduya talks to a couple of food content creators about their modern approach to food reviews.

Photo by Vivien Beduya

Aleana and Alian Gabriel, aka AG, Fernando are the siblings behind Locavore Eats – which has a combined social media following of 170,000 followers across Tiktok, Instagram and Youtube.

I met them at a newly-opened cafe on Auckland’s North Shore, Moreno Cafe and Bakery, which offers a unique blend of Filipino flavours in New Zealand food classics.

Photo by Vivien Beduya

The siblings were born in Manila, Philippines, and moved to New Zealand at the ages of 8 and 9.

They talked about how much they enjoyed Moreno Cafe and Bakery’s modern take on Filipino food while still having a taste of home.

Photo by Vivien Beduya

As the food started flowing in, out came their phones to take videos and photos.

They paid for what at least was a $100 bill themselves and chatted with the head chef and staff after the meal.

Photo by Vivien Beduya

Food vlogging isn’t about the money

The duo started their food vlogging hobby-turned-side-hustle in 2018 after finding the Auckland food scene lacked casual food reviewers online, Aleana, 26, says.

“Just having more everyday people like us, putting content, inspired us to do it more often and take it more seriously.”

Aleana says they didn’t expect their page to grow this big.

Photo by Vivien Beduya

But both of them still have full-time jobs – Aleana is a business executive at a media agency and AG is a civil engineer.

AG, 27, says they get a few brand deals and a bit of YouTube ad revenue, but it’s nowhere near enough to sustain them both – even part-time – but it does help pay for the meals they review and international trips to make more food content.

He says if people are coming into food vlogging wanting to make money, then they shouldn’t be doing it.

“You should be going in this for the love of the game.”

He doesn’t really see their platform as a “review page” – instead he says it’s about posting food they like, spreading positivity and promoting local businesses they believe in.

Photo by Vivien Beduya

Aleana says they limit ads as much as possible so they can maintain their core values – not charging small businesses.

When small businesses ask for their ad and content rates, she says free food is enough payment.

“Charging a small business doesn’t feel right with us, especially if it’s a new one.”

She says they only work with brands they believe in and any paid collaborations would be with a big company or an agency who have the budget to pay them.

Photo by Vivien Beduya

Reviews should be constructive

Food critics were traditionally anonymous so they didn’t get special treatment and could write unbiased reviews.

However this wasn’t top-of-mind for the siblings back when they started as they were just a couple of uni students posting on social media, says Aleana.

AG says being known keeps them accountable with the opinions they share online.

“There are a lot of people who write scathing reviews behind anonymous [display photos] on Reddit or something, but because we are kind of known, then [we] have to treat what we say online as something [we] would say to them in person.”

He says businesses are pretty receptive to feedback, especially when it’s constructive.

Photo by Vivien Beduya

But Aleana says it’s quite rare for them to have a negative experience, recalling just one time they “both really didn’t like” the food at a pasta place – which was gifted to them.

“It wasn’t offensively bad, but… we both know how to cook so we knew exactly how to make each dish better as well as the value [people are] paying as well.”

She says they gave the staff their constructive feedback on how to improve the dishes. They also posted that review on their socials, saying there was room for improvement.

Satire food page evolves into a real one

Bryer Oden of Health Sensation, aka Cheap CBD Lunches. Photo: Supplied

Bryer Oden is the mastermind of Health Sensation – which has a combined following of more than 14,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok. Her full-time job is in marketing.

She says it was once a satirical food page that started in 2016 to take a hit on diet culture, a time when “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” was the vibe.

Back then, the 25-year-old says people at school had a bad attitude towards food – where they would over-exercise and under-eat to feel healthy.

So she started posting junk food with captions like “Look at my healthy meal!” and says her followers would send suggestions or their pictures of “unhealthy meals”.

“People had been messaging me… saying how much [it] positively impacted them because… [it] reminded people they could eat junk food every now and then, it’s totally fine and nobody’s going to die.”

Once she moved from Masterton to Wellington, her page shifted to reviewing “cheap CBD lunches”.

Photo: Supplied

‘Food reviews are never objective’

Bryer says she will always disclose when her meals are gifted or a restaurant pays her to eat there as an ‘ad’, however she still pays for the majority of her meals herself.

She says she’s never really had a bad experience with gifted meals because she usually gets to choose what to order.

“My philosophy is always to try and highlight the things I did like about a place, because it’s very easy to make negative content… [because] it does really well.

“[People’s interests are] piqued by negative reviews and negative content.”

She says food reviews are never objective either because it’s shaped by one’s family, culture and location, so it’s very personal and unique.

So she shows her personality to reinforce that and says that was when her page started doing well.

It also led her to be a judge for Wellington on a Plate 2024, the country’s largest food festival, and hear the perspectives of the chefs and others behind the food.

Photo: Supplied

She says negative reviews can really hit them hard – both emotionally and financially.

“Honest reviews are really important, and I think everybody has a right to do a completely honest review.

“But doing a mean or a cruel review… I don’t think there’s any place for them.”

What makes a good food review

University of Canterbury Management, Marketing and Tourism professor Michael Hall says the food review scene has changed in two ways: traditional food critics, like The Guardian’s Jay Rayner, now have a huge social media presence and that amateur food influencers are emerging.

“In some cases, not all, it can give [a] restaurant profile they otherwise might not have had. But I think one of the issues is… Is it an honest review?”

He says it can leave consumers wondering who they’re meant to believe in the long-term.

Michael says a good food review is honest and includes what was good and bad and why, the price points and a good indication of what’s on the menu.

“A review like that I think is very welcome and has often long been influential.

“We do have food influencers but at the same time, we still have people pick up a copy of Cuisine and see what they’re recommending.”

He says food reviews will continue to change over time.

“Ideally what we’d really like is the influence of social media encouraging people to eat locally but on top of that, encouraging people to eat well and healthily.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story said Aleana and Alian Gabriel didn’t like the food they reviewed at a pasta restaurant as part of a paid collab. However the meal was actually gifted to them.

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