Pie artist Jessica told Bored Panda in an email that there are many ways to turn your love of food into a career. You could become a chef, baker, or food critic. Or you could open up your own restaurant, start a catering company, or launch an awesome food truck. "Not all require a heavy social media presence! But if one of your goals as a food professional includes global recognition, then yeah, you’re going to need some serious social media game," she explained to us.

"Social media is going through a massive evolution right now (yes, again) and the algorithms that determine how content is delivered to followers and the general public are in flux across all platforms. But the best practices with social media always come down to two things:

1. Do your research, understand the community you are about to engage with, and learn how to min/max your time on the platform. Reddit is a good place to start when looking for info on specific community best practices. Read what others have learned and tried before you, and stick to the threads that have been posted within the past 6 months or more recently as things change fast in the world of social media!
2. Create compelling content that fits within that platform’s algorithmic framework."

Jessica noted that it can be really exhausting to "keep your finger on the pulse and ride all the trend waves" online. "The simplest guidance I can offer food professionals who want to step up their social game is to remember that in general people respond to skill, attractive presentation, novelty, and personal/emotional connection," she said.

"Until your photography skills are on point, and your baking/cooking game is up to snuff, there’s not much point worrying about algorithm hacking because your posts won’t 'stop the scroll' even if they manage to get served to people. Once your work is solid and you feel you’re ready to share, then you can start to get into the weeds with the little details like optimal time of day to post, optimal video length and format, optimal background music to use, etc."

According to the pie artist, the current online landscape is "still the Wild West," and even veteran viral content creators can't always predict what will be a hit and what won't. "So, volume and consistency of posting is still important. It may take a lot of at-bats before one of your posts hits that magic internet-breaking sweet spot! Make sure you are actually enjoying the process of making, documenting, and posting your food content, whether it goes viral or not, or you’ll never have the stamina to keep it up through the lulls."

Jessica added that it's important to remember why you're doing all of this in the first place: "You love food and you love sharing it! Keep that firmly in your mind and you’ll be okay, no matter what the social media overlords throw at you."

From Jessica's perspective, food-related content is popular on the internet for the same reason that relationship, cute baby, and animal-related content is popular: "It's the biological imperative."

"We’re hardwired to care for babies, we’re hardwired to seek out mates, and we’re hardwired to eat! The need to seek out food is in the firmware, so to speak, and that transcends cultures and borders. Images, sounds, and smells of appetizing food will always stop us in our tracks."

You can check out Jessica's awesome pie art on her Instagram and website. Meanwhile, feel free to take a peek at her book, as well as her online pie course.

The ‘Chef and Hospitality Memes’ community is a public group that currently has 356.6k members on Facebook. The group was created by The Chef’s Circle, a page on the social network that has 664K followers and focuses on sharing food and cooking-related content.

According to the admins and mods running ‘Chef and Hospitality Memes,’ the group isn’t just a place for memes but also a space where you can rant about your job… so long as you don’t swear. It’s all for the sake of having some fun.

Saying that you work in the hospitality industry likely means that you’re either a restaurant chef, a server, or work at a hotel in some capacity, but that’s not the full picture.

The industry itself is incredibly broad and includes things like tourism, beverage services, theme parks, event planning, hotels, bars, and nightclubs. It also includes sports, wellness, and entertainment. The common thread winding through all of these different areas is keeping your customers happy with the services you provide.

The hospitality industry itself is a subsection of the service industry. Typically, service industries don’t manufacture or produce goods or products for profit; they focus on, well, providing services. It’s in the name. Some of the most common services include consulting, management, customer service, education, maintenance, health care, cleanliness, etc.

If you’re managing a restaurant or hotel, it’s not enough to have a pretty-looking building with fancy furniture.

You need to get the basics right (plumbing, lighting, heating, amenities, cleanliness, etc.) while also giving time and attention to all the intangible aspects that make your customers feel comfortable and relaxed. Try to clarify your vision for the place. Exactly what kind of experience do you want your customers to have?

Hiring staff who genuinely enjoy interacting with people and have high emotional intelligence should be a priority for managers everywhere, whether they’re working at a restaurant or hotel. To put it bluntly, if you want happy, satisfied, loyal, returning customers, then you’ve got to give them reasons to come back. Those can be excellent service, great food, and an overall awesome atmosphere.

Aside from friendly and helpful staff who know how to navigate dissatisfied or grumpy customers, you also want to consider the overall vibe of your restaurant or hotel. Is there internal cohesion between all the separate elements of the space and the services that you provide your customers?

Is the decor on the same wavelength as the food? Does the staff know what your vision is? Can your customers understand that vision the moment they walk in through the door?

What smells, colors, and sounds dominate the space? What background music do you have playing? What materials and fabrics are used in the furniture and interior design elements?

Ideally, every element is synchronized and complements every other element. If even one thing is out of place, it can break someone’s immersion and ruin their experience. Of course, no meal or hotel stay is ever going to be ‘perfect.’ However, aiming for perfection is still worth it because you elevate the overall experience and maintain high standards.

Naturally, building a good service culture and hiring great staff won’t happen overnight. It will take lots of dedicated effort. But what’s important is that, at the core of it all, you showcase an authentic appreciation for your customers.

Have you ever worked at a restaurant or hotel, dear Pandas? What was that like? What do you feel were the biggest pros and cons of working in the hospitality industry?

What advice would you give anyone who’s completely new to hospitality and service work? Grab a cup of coffee and share your thoughts in the comments.