Food Influencers Get a Seat at the Table at D.C.'s Restaurant Awards

When Jason Fisher and Tessa Alimahmoodi started the account dcfoodgod a decade ago, they were among only a handful of food content creators in the DMV. This week, they became the first-ever winners of D.C.’s restaurant association’s new Content Creator of the Year Award, a category that received more than 25,000 votes, according to dcfoodgod.

The #phoneeatsfirst way of life has fundamentally reshaped how D.C. dines. While breaking out a ring light mid-meal may be cringe, one good Insta pic can dictate a restaurant’s success. “Love them or hate them, content creators have become a really important part of the hospitality ecosystem,” said Fisher. “This award displays a shift in the form of media that people are receiving their recommendations from for new restaurants."

The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington introduced the content creator award as part of their annual restaurant awards this year, giving influencers a place on the podium beside some of the industries most coveted titles like Chef of the Year and Best Gathering Place.

However, influencers' lack of traditional journalistic ethics — not paying for meals, getting special treatment, and often lacking of context and depth — can lead to potential biases and mistakes that have left some questioning their place at the RAMMYs.

The winners of the content creator category, dcfoodgod, were announced on Instagram on June 22 and will be recognized at The RAMMYs — the restaurant awards’ official ceremony — at the Anthem on June 29.

“ We gotta embrace the future,” Shawn Townsend, the president and CEO of RAMW, told me. “Content creation is a thing of the future. It's imperative that we acknowledge the work that they've been doing.”

He also said it will “create some guardrails for the content creators,” explaining that the goal is to highlight creators who spotlight small businesses and uplift diverse restaurants.

Do the Trolls Have a Point?

But not everyone is on the influencer train. I’ve heard more than one anecdotal grumble among my admittedly biased reporter friends about influencers getting an award at the RAMMYs before traditional media.

The structure of the award itself has also ruffled a few feathers. Unlike the other RAMMY awards, the content creator award is a 100% write-in category decided by the public, which could potentially give an advantage to creators with larger and more dedicated followings.

However, there are a number of criteria nominees need to meet. They must be consistently active for at least six months across two or more platforms, the majority of their content must be DMV food-related, and they must show positive community engagement.

“It’s difficult because obviously the people with the bigger following could just push for [the award] more,” Restaurant publicist Blake Buege explained.

Lola Ajayi, one of the runners-up for the content creator award, disagrees, saying the random nature of social media algorithms means that public voting actually gives all content creators a fair shot. “Of course, creators with larger accounts could benefit more …  but you never know what will happen. Maybe my video, even though I'm a smaller creator, will do better or go viral.”

Despite these initial challenges, newer creators see this award as an encouraging sign and as a worthwhile goal.

Baylee Bodard of Baylee’s Belly in D.C. is relatively new to the content game with just 22,000 followers and a year under her belt. “ It’s absolutely something I would love to shoot for in the future,” she told me.

But just because the award exists this year doesn't mean it will be a permanent fixture at the RAMMYs. Townsend said they are willing to go back to the drawing board if need be to make adjustments to the category or even change it altogether.

D.C. Scrolls Its Way to Dinner

I admit I have been to more than a few spots I found via Instagram Reels. (I’m a sucker for a $10 martini deal, what can I say.) And I’m not alone. About 41% of diners say they use social media to find which restaurant to visit, according to a 2025 Diner Trends Report from TouchBistro.

Buege spends the majority of his time working with influencers. “From the PR side, everybody wants influencers. Everyone knows that they need them. Everybody wants to invite them in.”

He told me content creators are one of the main ways he drives eyes to a restaurant. “They're basically the millennials' news source,” he said. “The media space has evolved to where there's less news outlets covering the restaurant side of things. Like how many people are really writing about food now?”

As much as it physically pains me to hear, Buege is right. I can count on one hand the number of full-time food journalists in D.C. And even then, they’re only covering the biggest openings or stories.

Fisher says content creators can help fill in the gaps by bringing attention to smaller spots and stories that would not otherwise be covered.

“Many restaurants in the DMV just don't have the budget for traditional marketing. That's where we see ourselves coming in…to create a video that can help bring in more business in lieu of chasing the traditional news spots,” he said.

This Year's Winners

Dcfoodgod, is run by two native Washingtonians who have been making local food content for almost a decade.

“We joke that our page is the foundation of our love story," Alimahmoodi told me. When the couple first started dating, they would pick a restaurant from Washingtonian's Top 100 list and post about it on their personal social media pages.

“ Soon enough, we fell in love and we also fell deeper in love with the D.C. food scene.”

When they became official, they created dcfoodgod, posting for just a few hundred followers until Covid hit and they decided they wanted to use their platform to support mom-and-pop restaurants. Now, with over 118,000 followers, they have one of the largest food accounts in the DMV.

Alimahmoodi said they focus their content on small, family-owned businesses in the DMV and showcasing the region’s diverse food scene. The format is positive and straightforward with gorgeous B-roll that makes their Reels endlessly shareable. Some of their most popular posts include features of an Eritrean pizza spot Minya’s Pizza and the Trinidadian street food restaurant Cane.

“ More than anything, this award also reflects the unconditional support and love that we've gained from both the restaurant community but also the community who has watched and engaged with our content over the years,” said Alimahmoodi. “We’re truly humbled.”