USC student creates foodie community

Peter Bergmann, a sophomore majoring in mathematics and economics, has been eating his way through Los Angeles. His Instagram, @BergmannBites, is not just a place where he posts pictures of food, but also where he can connect with other local foodies. Bergmann, through an online platform, is fashioning a community.

Daily Trojan: Tell me about your Instagram and why you started it.

Bergmann: I started my Instagram about five weeks ago, so it’s relatively new, but it’s a normal food Instagram with a combination of my photos and photos people send in to me that I credit them for in the caption. My photos are mostly from around L.A., but when I go elsewhere I’ll post from there. I am a very, very big fan of food and very passionate about it. I love to eat. I actually look up menus for fun. This fall semester seemed like the perfect time to follow my dreams and make an account. My friends gave me good support when I started it, and it was exciting to get people besides my friends starting to follow me. I love connecting with other food Instagrams and restaurants that I tag in the photos. There is definitely a greater food community that lets me learn more than I thought I would.

DT: When did your love of food emerge in your life?

PB: To be honest, it’s actually died down a little bit, which is kind of weird to think about. When I was a kid, my thought process was, “What am I having for my next meal?” I would be in the middle of class as a fifth grader watching all my classmates excited about math or geography, and I was just like “What’s for lunch?”

DT: Why share your adventures for food on Instagram?

PB: Instagram was a risky choice because people will call me basic for taking a brunch picture or standing above the table to get the angle for the shot. People will tell me to be present and just enjoy the food. But for me, taking pictures is part of my experience. I don’t take pictures of just my food; I take pictures of everybody’s food. I genuinely love recording it. I record my meals on an app on my phone. The reason I chose Instagram is because I want to share my passion with the world. I could talk about food and describe the meals I had for hours. Additionally, the food community on Instagram is something I’ve discovered through hashtags and it’s allowed me to come into contact with all different types of food lovers, which is really exciting for me.

DT: What is the last place you went that sticks out in your mind?

PB: I went to Jack n Joe’s for the first time this week, [and it] is a classic. I also went to Eggslut last weekend which is another popular spot in Grand Central Market. However, my favorite so far has been The Counter which is in downtown Los Angeles. I had one of the best burgers of my life there. It’s called the Red Eye. It had medium rare meat, fried egg, bacon, Sriracha chili sauce. It was really good.

DT: How do you take the perfect food Instagram?

PB: A lot of people like to do the angle from above and those are nice especially when you have a really colorful plate. Personally, I’m a really big fan of the close shot at a downward angle. I joke with others that I only got an iPhone for taking pictures while hiking and of the food I eat, which is not that much of an exaggeration actually.