'I'm not against food influencers — as long as they aren't just trying to get a free meal'

Irish Examiner

a day ago

If there's one thing that's inescapable, it's social media. We're all on one platform or another and it's reported that more than 60% of the world's population are social media users. While some might use it as a way to connect, a large slice count themselves as influencers who engage with their audience and guide their habits.
In the food and drink world, there are influencers everywhere you look. Whether it's amateur food critics or recipe developers, whatever you're into, you'll find it online.
Here, in Ireland, homegrown food influencers have proven their worth across the sector, particularly since the beginning of the pandemic, promoting venues across the country, collaborating with those in the industry, and helping to create a richer, more inclusive digital food scene. But what do those working within the industry think of them?
For Janet Liu, founder of the award-winning dumpling spot Janet's, located at Dublin's Eatyard, social media and food influencers have been crucial in her journey to success.
Janet Liu: It changed my life when influencers started to post about my food
'I started posting on Instagram when I opened Janet's in 2020 but I didn't know what I was doing. My simple strategy has always been to offer good food and the best customer service, then if people like it, they might share,' explains Liu.
'I haven't done any paid promotion with influencers, but I have invited some to my dumpling classes, but only those that were my true customers first.
'I have to know that they've tried my food. The invite was a way to show I appreciate them. There wasn't any pressure to post — I thought if they want to, then they might post, but if they don't want to, then they don't need to.
'Some did post, like Dublin Foodie Twins, and I remember when Marcus [O'Laoire] posted, people really started booking. It meant that in the winter time, when the restaurant is not as busy, I was kept going and could give my staff enough hours. It changed my life, when influencers started to post and the bookings started.'
A DJ and food content creator currently working as brand director for Lovin' Dublin, Marcus O'Laoire has grown a massive following for his videos. His video highlighting the dumpling-making experience at Janet's has been viewed more than 40,000 times on Instagram and almost 10,000 times on TikTok.
Boasting around 120,000 followers across both platforms, O'Laoire says that his followers generally fall within the 23-40 age bracket, with most based in Dublin, to which he's tailored his content.
It's a clever strategy as this age group makes up the majority of social media users, with millennials topping the list, followed closely by Gen Z. Targeting the latter has become a crucial task for the hospitality industry as recent reports from global market research firm CGA by NIQ found that one in seven Gen Z adults say they're more likely to buy a drink based on 'Instagrammability' and to select a brand or restaurant based on how trendy it is.
In short, if you're not trending, you need to think again.
'I basically use TikTok as a search engine now. When I'm looking for somewhere to go out and eat, I open the app and search, or check videos I've saved, then I pick from there. If their feed isn't great or I don't see that many videos from other people about that restaurant, that might change my mind,' explains marketing professional Emma Blanchfield, who counts herself as a serious consumer of food-related social media.
While established restaurant critics will be the first port of call for many, Emma leans towards social media for her recommendations. 'Before, maybe I would have checked Tripadvisor or top-10 listicles, but I don't know the last time I've looked at those — now I actively search TikTok for recommendations.
'That's the beauty of these apps, they've given anyone the ability to post. This new wave of content creators seems more organic, more authentic, and natural, and that's what I like.'
Marcus O'Laoire has grown a massive following for his videos.
Being authentic while striking a balance between branded and original content seems to be key when enticing, and retaining, followers. For O'Laoire, that's translated to about 5% ads within the last 138 videos he's posted — after challenging himself to post a video a day this year so far, he's seen his followers grow by thousands, and his authenticity is something he believes is a big part of this.
'It's absolutely key to what makes good social media. If you're not authentic, people can smell it a mile away and if all you're doing is branded content people tire of that really quickly. You have to be authentic and understand your own voice. Creating with intent and understanding makes a difference,' he explains.
'There's a bit of mutual back scratching when it comes to the hospitality industry, I suppose. I try to communicate the food I'm cooking and the restaurants I eat at, and I think that I'm lucky to have a platform where I can champion the industry a bit.'
If the role of the influencer is to champion and highlight food in Ireland, then it might stand to reason that the relationship between the creator and the industry is symbiotic. While it is to a degree — that's why you see people posting off their own back and restaurateurs extending invites to influencers in the hopes of seeing a TikTok or two appear — it's not wholly viewed that way by all.
For Keelan Higgs, owner of Michelin-starred Variety Jones ( @variety_jones) in Dublin, he's seen the benefit of the restaurant's own social media, but isn't fully sure about influencers and their impact on his business.
Keelin Higgs in the Michelin-starred Variety Jones
'Of course, social media is a very important tool — we have 20,000 followers for the restaurant now on our own platforms, and that helps to get our message out there, but whether that actually helps to get people into the restaurant regularly, I don't know,' Higgs says.
'We haven't done any sort of paid content with any influencers. I'm not saying I'm against it, but it would have to really align with what we're trying to do. I know we've popped up on influencer videos, and I have no issue with it, as long as there aren't influencers trying to come in and get a free meal in exchange for a video, that gets a bit sticky for me.
'At this level, more people find us through the Michelin app than anything else but you'd be a fool to think that influencer videos don't help get what you're doing out there to more people. For me, I like to think what's good for the goose is good for the gander, and long may that continue.'
And yes, our feeds are saturated, but according to Claudia Surya, the face behind @eatdrinkdub, there is still a long way to go for food influencers and their relationships with the hospitality industry in Ireland. In fact, Surya says Ireland is behind our global counterparts when it comes to partnerships.
Claudia Surya: 'I'm not sure people fully value content creation and what it can do'
'I started my page when I moved to Ireland seven years ago, purely to find places to eat. I didn't buy magazines or newspapers so I created this page to help educate people on places in Dublin.
'At events now, there's usually a combination of influencers and journalists, so I think we're now equally important to brands, but I think Ireland is behind other countries when it comes to the relationship between hospitality and influencers,' Surya says.
'In Asia and in London, the relationship is much stronger. I think, for it to serve everyone, the hospitality industry needs to get better at marketing or have people who will engage the right influencers to represent their brand. Learning to approach content creators and influencers will help the industry.
'I'm not sure people fully value content creation and influencing, and what it can do.'
Food lovers to follow
Marcus O'Laoire, Cassie Stokes, Claudia Surya, and Éadaoin Fitzmaurice
Marcus O'Laoire
While he's been a familiar presence online over the past decade, DJ, brand director at Lovin' Dublin, and former chef Marcus O'Laoire has seen his online popularity grow massively in 2025 — he now has almost 100k followers on Instagram ( @marcus.olaoire) and 23.1k on TikTok with almost half a million likes on the latter platform.
Posting a combination of easy-to-follow recipes, restaurant recommendations, travel content, and personal stories, O'Laoire has become a trusted source for his followers thanks to his easy-going everyman personality and level of interaction.
Cassie Stokes
Focused on food, travel, and Irish pubs, Cassie Stokes has 88.1k followers on TikTok ( @cassiestokes1111), with almost two million likes on her videos, and 248k followers on Instagram, where you can find her at @cassiestokes. A former television presenter and content creator for Lovin' Dublin, Stokes went viral for her 'Best of' videos where she interviews people about their favourite cafes, pubs, and restaurants around the country and beyond.
With engaging and easy-to-consume content, Stokes' videos highlight spots worth travelling to and trying. You can expect to see recommendations and experiences mixed in with taste tests, travel vlogs, and cooking videos on her channel. Hugely popular, Stokes has seen her content go viral plenty of times, with upwards of one million views on some of her videos.
Éadaoin Fitzmaurice
Savvy gaeilgeoir Éadaoin Fitzmaurice has a CV rich in content creation that has led her to create her social media services company FIA, but she's well known for her work with The Try Channel on YouTube, the Going Viral podcast, and formerly with Lovin' Dublin.
Prevalent on Instagram with 314k followers and TikTok, where she has 157.5k followers and 3.7 million likes (you'll find her at @eadaoinfitzmaurice on both), Fitzmaurice's content highlights travel and lists of things to try or places to visit, all centred around food.
She has made a name for herself thanks to videos like her personal travel itineraries, sea swim excursions, and must-try Irish places for first-time visitors, which gained her 7.4m views on Instagram alone.
Claudia Surya
The face behind @eatdrinkdub on Instagram (83.9k followers) and TikTok (65.8k followers and 1.7m likes), Surya's premium quality personable content focuses on food in Dublin and travel, with easily digestible videos her signature.
You'll find that she covers food from all corners of the world across her platforms, highlighting personal favourites, and interactive experiences.
With her dependable recommendations showcasing something for everyone, she focuses on the capital and the breadth of options available there, from Michelin level to favourite coffee shops, and everything in between.