The Hero of Instagram: Jacques la Merde

Chef Jacques la Merde has been a hit on Instagram for quite some time. The account is filled with dishes that make you think: a pair of tweezers must have been involved here. But look closely and you’ll see that they aren’t fancy dishes: everything consists of products you find in your snack drawer, at the gas station and in the ready-made section of the supermarket.

There has been a lot of speculation about the account, especially in America, because who is actually behind it? Jacques writes hysterically in capital letters, uses exclamation marks in a far from subtle manner, calls his followers bros and overuses the word soigné (a beloved and hated term in the kitchen for a sexy plate of food). The photos look stunning, and we won’t blame you if they make you hungry at first glance.  But if you study the photos carefully, you’ll see slices of plastic cheddar, Doritos, luncheon meat and gummy bears.

René changed the landscape of cooking…mostly by adding…bits of landscape

Everyone knows a Jacques

Last week, there was the big reveal on the American version of Top Chef. Did I just refer to Jacques as “he” above? My apologies. Jacques la Merde is actually Christine Flynn, an executive chef from Canada. Her goal? There actually wasn’t one, she tells Eater: “It was just to be ridicilous.” Flynn’s inspiration for her alter ego was her own life. Everyone has a Jacques or two in their life who makes too much of a fuss about the presentation of a dish.

As you scroll through Jacques’ Instagram feed, the captions are actually even more entertaining than searching the photos for bizarre ingredients. Everything related to restaurant life gets mocked at some point. Colleagues, too. Noma chef René Redzepi regularly bears the brunt: “René changed the landscape of cooking…mostly by adding…bits of landscape!!!”

Text: Marieke Migchelbrink
Image: Jacques la Merde