By: Stu Helm, a professional food writer in Asheville + guide with Asheville Food Tours.

This is a contributor-submitted Voices piece. Want to join the conversation? We invite you to write for us. Learn how to share your voice here.

So, who ya gonna follow? The power and “reach” of social media are incredible. I built my entire career with it, and it’s still a major part of how I stay relevant and connected to the local food scene. Without Facebook, I’d still be dragging my knuckles along the ground, hunting, gathering, and living alone in a cave in the woods. Or at least it would feel that way! I’m active on Instagram, and some might say “hyperactive” on Facebook. I’m a follower of others on Twitter too, tho I don’t tweet much. And I once posted something on Pinterest. I think. Anyhoo...

Most of the food makers and shakers in town also use social media to a greater or lesser degree, and some do it with terrific effect! A rare few don’t need it. Go the Vault’s Facebook page if you want to see a study in not caring about social media, because you don’t have to. Other venues would surely die in complete obscurity without it. I follow a ton of them, of course, so I see how good (or not so good) they are at social media-ing.

Below are some of the food people that I strongly recommend you follow on social media, because they are crushing it.

Stu Helm’s Top Ten Food Follows on Social Media

1) Sand Hill Kitchen - This place is real far out, Man. No, seriously, it’s REAL far out, in the dang hinterlands of West Asheville, over Hominy Creek, near Enka Village, which is just shy of Smurftown, next to the Shire, but not as far as Narnia, or Westeros. You get the point. It’s not close. To anybody. The food, however, is worth the journey, and that’s why it’s super-important to follow Chef Jamie Wade on Facebook and Instagram, where she posts great pictures of her insanely delicious daily specials, and regular menu offerings. I ain’t about to just pop in to Sand Hill Kitchen, but when I saw her “pot roast sub” on Social recently, I packed up some lembas bread, loaded up my pony, and started heading toward Endor.
Also: Follow Ivory Road Cafe & Kitchen for the same reason.

2) Underground Cafe with Doughp Doughnuts - Yes, this is sort of my favorite spot in Asheville lately, and I pay them a lot of attention. They deserve it, though, and every single person I introduce to the cooking of Chef Jay Medford at the Underground Cafe has become a new fan. So get on down there, but before you do, go ahead and follow him on social media, because every single morning, Chef Jay takes a picture of his doughnut case and shows off his super-outrageous doughnut selection for the day. I won’t list every craze-tastic doughnut he’s ever made, I’ll just say that the one sweeping the doughnut community right now is his “Everything But the Bagel” doughnut. Curious? Check it out on Facebook, Yo.
Also: Follow The Worthy Baker for the same reason.

3) Montford Rooftop Bar - There’s a great chef perched high atop the Hyatt Place Hotel (199 Haywood St.), cooking amazing, locally sourced foods for lunch, dinner, late night bites, and some of the most delicious and unique Sunday brunches available downtown. His name is Chef Philip Bollhoefer, and he is truly worth following both in real life and on social media. For one thing, his menus change very frequently, and he does tons of special collaborative dishes and meals throughout the year, paring his culinary skills with the products of local farmers and food makers. Did you miss his brunch with OWL Bakery? Did you even know about his “Sake It To Me” Tuesdays? Well, follow the Montford Rooftop Bar on FB and Insta and you’ll never miss one of Chef Philip’s pop-ups again!
Also: Follow Sovereign Remedies for the same reason.

4) The BLOCK Off Biltmore - The BLOCK Off Biltmore is a socially conscious vegan wine bar. Good lord, that sounds terrible. But it’s NOT! It’s awesome, and they have an awesome Facebook feed, in which they share a ton of great news stories, all with a sociopolitical bent to them. Again, that might sound awful, but the shares are generally very positive and uplifting reports of individual achievements, community success stories, and regionally or nationally important moments that you might have otherwise missed. I’m not vegan and I don’t drink wine, but I do follow the Block Off Biltmore’s Facebook feed, and I recommend that you do too!
Also: Follow Blogger Aisha Adams for the same reason.

5) Mackensy Lunsford - In my opinion, Mackensy is Asheville’s OG food writer / reporter, and still number one! When it comes to breaking stories, highlighting new restaurants, and steering a large number of readers towards good food, food-related events, and general food scene stuff, nobody has their thumb on the pulse of local food like Mackensy. She writes for The Asheville Scene, of course, so if you’re not friends with her personally on Facebook, you’ll have to follow the Scene’s Facebook page for updates of her writing. On Twitter, though, you can follow her directly, and she’s pretty dang active there with news, updates, and links to all her latest writing and recommendations in The Scene.
Also: Follow Dirty Spoon for the same reasons.

6) Blind Pig - If you follow The Blind Pig on both Facebook and Instagram, you will not only be treated to a steady stream of very delicious looking pictures and descriptions of Chef Mike Moore and his team’s food (“Prime Rib bathed in @buxtonhallbbq Hog Fat, Pommes Purée, Au Jus, Crispy NC Oysters in Alabama White Sauce #valentines”), but also many shares of great articles and posts about BBQ news from around Asheville, the region, the country, and the world! For those fans of barbecue culture, traditions, and history, Blind Pig’s social media feed is one you should be following. Plus, it’s the best way to keep up with when the next Supper Club is happening, what the upcoming themes are going to be, and when the tickets will be released. If you also sign up for their newsletter, you will never miss barbecued beat.
Also: Follow AUX Bar, Buxton Hall BBQ and Braised and Confit for the same reasons.

7) Daphne - HA! Got ya! A restaurant you’ve never heard of! That’s because it’s actually a rebrand, and, as I write this, I think it was officially rolled out yesterday. You may not have noticed, but Twisted Laurel Asheville has been going through some growing pains and changes, and they have finally been reborn and reinvented as Daphne. Short version: While it does very well in Weaverville and Leicester, the Twisted menu wasn’t wowing the crowds here in Asheville, so they hired a new chef, Michael Achberger (formerly of Table), and he’s been calmly, methodically, thoughtfully working on a whole new jam for Twisted. I’ve been lucky enough to have been a guinea pig for the last 8-10 months, and yerp, I give it my full-hearted endorsement.

Chef Mike is a great chef, and a rising star in my opinion. His food is both delicious to eat, and beautiful to look at. The GM at Twisted Asheville / Daphne is a guy named Vince, and he is the person responsible for bringing in Chef Mike. Vince is a very savvy individual, and he recently made another wise move when he brought on a local pro to do their social media full-time. Emphasis on the word “local.” Places that hire companies from outside of Asheville to do their social media stick out like sore thumbs. Cheesy memes, boring pictures, no weather reports. Gotta mention the weather, y’all! If it’s frickin’ snowin’ like crazy, and your social media does not mention that, we allll notice, and we know that your game is weak. Vince is the man, and he did it right by hiring local. If you’re an eater, follow Daphne to see amazing pics of Chef Mike’s work and meet the staff. If you’re a restaurant owner or manager, follow them to see social media done right!
Also: Follow Vivian for the same reason.

8) Cakes by Gray - Some people are better on some social media platforms than they are on others. Chef Melissa Gray, for example, from Cakes by Graycrushes it on Instagram. She is a very driven, hardworking individual, with an undeniable passion for creating very exciting cakes. You kinda gotta see these things to believe them, but if you wait to see them on Facebook, you’ll be sad all the time, so you gotta follow her exclusively on Instagram, where she will treat your eyeballs to several posts a week of very over-the-top cakes. I’m looking at one right now that seems to be a multi-part, two (or three?) layer, rainbow, Harry Potter, unicorn cake with a big gold horn comin’ out the top. If you want your Instagram feed to be 10X more festive tomorrow tomorrow than it is today, follow Chef Gray immediately.
Also: Follow Kali Cakes and 50/Fifty: The Art of Dessert for the same reason.

9) Asheville Food Trucks - Yes, you should follow every single food truck in Asheville on social media, because that’s the best way to see where they are, where they’re gonna be next, and what’s on the menu on any given day. So, yeah, make a pot of coffee, get comfy, and start hittin’ “like” and “follow” buttons for each and every one of them. OR (more like AND) you should follow the actual “Asheville Food Trucks” Facebook page. It’s currently the only place where all the food trucks are encouraged to post their menus and locations on a daily basis. As always, some are better at it than others, but following them individually, as well as through Asheville Food Trucks, is definitely your best bet for hunting down your favorites with any sort of consistency. That, or a full-time personal food truck sherpa.
Also: Follow all the breweries for the same reason.

10) Asheville Foodie Community - Close to 6,500 of you already follow Asheville Foodie Community on Facebook, but if you’re not one of them, do so now. They post several times a day, every single day, with news about the local food scene, as well as the national scene. When important things happen, like when José Andrés saves the world, or when someone removes the “G” from “$3 Angus Melts” on a Hardee’s sign somewhere in America, Asheville Foodie Community is on it. One of the best parts of following Asheville Foodie Community really is all the dumb, silly, food-related memes that they post. Plus, it’s the only local food forum I know of where you can find out about the newest restaurants, laugh out loud at some stupid thing about a taco, and then participate in a serious discussion about mayonnaise. I’m making a vow right now to participate in more discussions on the Asheville Foodie Community Facebook page in 2019. It’s a great place for us to meet, so I’ll see you there!
Also: Follow ME, Stu Helm: Food Fan for the same reason!

And there you have it – my top 10 food follows on social media. Of course, you should try to follow as many local restaurants, cafes, caterers, cake makers, boozeries, supper clubs, farmers, push carts, and grocery stores as possible, to fill up your feed with foooood! We live in one of the greatest food hubs in America, and it’s tough to keep up, but social media definitely helps.

I hope you found this list useful. Have an account you follow that you think should be added to the list? Reply to this email, or let us know on Facebook or Instagram. See you out there!

– Stu and the AVLtoday team