A chef and social media expert explain the power of chef-generated content
Take-Away with Sam Oches
Nation's Restaurant News
4.9 • 17 Ratings
🗓️ 14 October 2025
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Lars Smith, chef and owner of State of Mind Pub in Palo Alto, Calif., and Abby Hughes, head of growth strategy for Belle Communication. They’ve been tracking the rise of chef content on Instagram and TikTok, and joined the podcast to share their tips both for chefs and foodservice businesses on how to leverage chefs for exposure in the age of social media, and why authenticity is key to any partnership between a brand and a chef.
In this conversation, you’ll find out why:
- The industry continues to turn to social media for menu inspiration
- There’s nobody better suited to inspire menu innovation on social media than chefs
- If you have a particular SKU you’re trying to push, a chef can help
- The best chef partnerships are those that are authentic
- Most restaurateurs don’t have time for the formal foodservice channels
Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at sam.oches@informa.com.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | 55% of Gen Z and millennials say social media reviews are the top reason they try a restaurant, |
| 0:05.0 | and 73% have visited a restaurant in the last three months because of one. |
| 0:10.0 | Do you have timely reviews working for you? |
| 0:12.0 | Quick turn influencer review campaigns from Bell Communication can fill tables fast. |
| 0:17.0 | Visit bellcommunication.com slash influence to learn more. |
| 0:21.8 | Welcome to Takeaway with Sam Okas, a podcast for leaders of growing restaurant companies |
| 0:26.2 | looking to take their businesses to the next level. |
| 0:29.3 | In nearly two decades covering restaurants, I've gained access to some of this industry's |
| 0:33.9 | most influential decision makers, and I'm letting you in on the conversations. |
| 0:38.6 | In today's episode, you'll hear from a chef and a social media content expert about how |
| 0:43.4 | restaurants and other food service businesses can tap into chef-generated content to boost |
| 0:48.8 | their visibility and their sales. Lars Smith is chef and owner of state of mind pub in Palo Alto, California, |
| 0:56.6 | while Abby Hughes is head of growth strategy for Bell Communication. |
| 1:00.6 | They have been tracking the rise of chef content on Instagram and TikTok, |
| 1:04.8 | which really exploded during the pandemic when everyone was at home baking sourdough |
| 1:08.9 | and becoming cooking experts. |
| 1:10.7 | Now Lars is partnering with food service brands to create and share B2B content, |
| 1:15.6 | while Abby and Bell are leveraging their brilly platform to understand the full potential of this trend. |
| 1:22.0 | They joined the podcast to share their tips both for chefs and for food service businesses |
| 1:26.8 | on how to leverage chefs |
| 1:28.7 | for exposure in the age of social media and why authenticity is key to any partnership between |
| 1:35.2 | a brand and a chef. If you learn anything from this episode, please go follow takeaway |
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