Pinning it to the Plate!

For Harrogate Executive Chef Joe Alonzo, social media is less about what’s going on and more about what’s for lunch! About a year-and-a-half ago, he discovered that Pinterest is a perfect place for food professionals like him to learn and share ideas about their craft. Since then, he hasn’t looked back, and has made social media a bigger part of how he does his job.

“It’s like getting 50 cookbooks a month,” he laughs. “I’m able to see how others have done things and then I can spin it my own way.”

Chef Joe says the thing he likes about Pinterest is the visual look he’s able to get from different items people pin up. He’s never used someone’s recipe. That’s not why he likes the site. Instead, he’s able to get a visual of what someone else did and draw inspiration from it. From there, he’s free to get creative.

“It’s amazing, because I’ve come up with over 300 types of muffins by using the site,” he says. “It also works great for my sous chefs. They can look at my Pinterest page and see what I’m looking for with a particular idea.”

Chef Joe has shared his love of Pinterest with residents of Harrogate as well. If they like a particular dish that was inspired by the site, he’ll tell them to check out his page.

“It’s really the perfect social media option for chefs,” he says.

Joe has been in the restaurant business virtually his entire life. His dad had a New York City restaurant and Joe’s career rose from there, even leading to an appearance on the Food Network.