Can We Maybe Stop With the AI Slop?

Dear Pros,

You know what I could really go for right now? Shrimp scampi in a lemnburre garrc salcre with oreganata breadbrumbs — just like my Grandma Ribando used to make. Or maybe it'll be a Crslay Fried Mussels Pot Ksascte Barno served with Mashed Paratoes, Vegersitie Medley and Real Whie Demi Glace kind of night.

If you're confused reading that or wondering if something's gone amiss with your eyes or brain, welcome to my world. My husband and I were going to visit his sister, and she'd been telling us about one of her favorite restaurants in anticipation of bringing us there, so I did what I always do and looked it up online so I could have the anticipatory thrill of imagining what I'd order. I was poring over the Instagram feed from this particular restaurant (which shall remain nameless), and mixed in with some non-professional but still delicious-looking food shots, photos of the menu, and videos from the kitchen were these uncannily symmetrical and slick images of pizzas, shrimp on spaghetti, creepy wads of something I think was stuffed mushrooms, and menus with words and phrases that seemingly didn't originate in any language or alphabet on earth. I can't even type some of them using this keyboard.

It was, of course, AI-generated. There's been a lot of discourse about the use of artificial intelligence in general, and specifically around the use of it to generate images of food for restaurant signs, flyers, websites, and social media posts. The tone of most of the conversation has been extremely negative, and I understand why. While I get that professional photography can be expensive and time-consuming and that restaurants operate on thin margins to begin with, I can't imagine that this is the best way forward. What am I supposed to take away from a menu with a dish description of "A bit al Ingaine Sesta" or a lasagna slab that looks like it was made of mattress and volcanic ash? As I said in response to a Thread recently, I'd rather see a photo of a napkin with an actual description of a dish scrawled on it than have my brain broken by gibberish or a picture of a pizza that is perfectly symmetrical and unnervingly glossy.

I wrote about the conundrum in a story this week, and I'm curious to hear where you all as Pros stand on the matter, and how you are — or aren't — using generative AI with your menus and social media. You can email me at the address below or send me and Instagram DM. We may include your note in an upcoming F&W Pro mailbag.

Until then, enjoy the Ksascte Barno,
Kat