• by Teresa Buyikian , September 8, 2023

Yelp will now make one lucky social media foodie’s dream a reality.

Yelp is giving wannabe food influencers their shot by launching its first national search for a Chief Food Photographer.

The winner will receive $10,000 to travel the U.S. to photograph dishes from “hidden gem” restaurants, according to the announcement this week.

The Chief Food Photographer role will be “the authority on all things phone photography,” utilizing their photos to help Yelp users discover new restaurants.

With the $10,000, Yelp’s official food photographer will be asked to visit two restaurants a month, write two blog posts and create photographic content to post to Yelp’s social media accounts. The gig only lasts two months, beginning December 1, 2023, through January 31, 2024.

Not just any food obsessed amateur photographer can randomly win the position. To enter, participants must submit one entry of up to 10 unique photos of food or restaurant businesses already added to Yelp pages, as well as a 30-60 second video, explaining why they’re qualified to be Yelp’s first ever food photographer. Entries are accepted on cameraeatsfirst.yelp.com.

The contest kicked off this week and will run through October 7.

Participants will be judged based on their “love for local restaurants, quality of photography and social media prowess.” 

To commemorate the contest, Yelp also released its list of the Most Photographed Restaurants of the Year.

Las Vegas restaurants came out on top with four on the list, led by Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen on the Strip at #1. Coming in at #2 is the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace, Vanderpump à Paris is 11th and Catch in the Aria Resort and Casino is 18th. New York had three spots: Olio e Più (#5), Katz's Delicatessen (#9) and Harry Potter New York (#25). Los Angeles made the list with two; Girl & The Goat (#3) and Bestia (#6).