Toronto chef responsible for popular Instagram parody account

Last night’s Top Chef episode revealed that the person behind a wildly popular foodie Instagram account is one of Toronto’s own. Christine Flynn, executive chef of IQ Food Co., ‘fessed up: she is Jacques La Merde, the fictional chef who, for the past year, has been sharing photos of “his” culinary creations (and strong hashtag game) online. At first glance, the beautifully plated dishes look like something from a pricey tasting menu—tiny, artfully tweezered-into-place portions of pretty things. But the components are atypical of classy kitchens. Doritos, Hot Rods, purple Gogurt, chopped-up Creamsicle, Hawaiian Bagel Bites and Hostess Cupcakes are just some of the low-brow ingredients La Merde uses.

Flynn, in her “coming out” message for Bon Appetit, says she loves food, art and irony, and created the account simply because she “thought it would be funny.” Mission accomplished. Here are 10 of our favourite La Merde/Flynn creations.

In this dish, La Merde plays on the revival of the Pop Tart:

  This one kind of reminds us of Farzam Fallah’s “Movie Snacks” dessert. Kind of:

  A Subway sub has never looked this good:

  Actually, we’re surprised this dish hasn’t turned up on any snack-bar menus:

  Marshmallow Peeps are very underrated:

  Anybody who says that this doesn’t make them crave those buttery crackers and fluorescent orange cheese is a big liar:

  #jello #luckycharms #skittles #duncanhines:

  A little red dye never hurt anyone:

  Butterscotch Snack Pack? Good. Peanut butter Drumstick? So good. Banana muffin from a gas station? Not great...but we’d still totally eat this:

  Three words: Cheez Whiz rimmer