For Cat Riechers, a great meal is about much more than what is on the plate. It is about the people around the table, the restaurant behind the dish and the memories created along the way.
That philosophy has guided Riechers since she launched her Instagram page, @njfood_travels, in July 2019. What began as a personal photo archive has grown into a celebration of New Jersey’s restaurants, coffee shops, wineries and culinary communities.
Riechers loved taking photos whenever she went out to eat, capturing both the food and the people she was with. Eventually, her friends and family grew tired of waiting for her to photograph every dish and jokingly suggested she put the pictures online or start a blog.
So, she did.
Her first restaurant collaboration was with a Chinese restaurant, where she asked staff to choose the dishes they wanted to promote, resulting in nearly 100 photos of edamame. Soon after, a pizza restaurant asked her to film a video. Though she had no professional photography or videography experience, the video took off as short-form food content began gaining popularity.
Today, Riechers estimates she has completed about 2,500 collaborations with restaurants and coffee shops throughout New Jersey.
Despite that growth, she still approaches @njfood_travels as a hobby rather than a business. She does not rate restaurants, choosing instead to focus on sharing the experience.
That approach has helped her build trust with her followers and the restaurants she visits.
Her content is also intentionally centered on the food rather than herself. Riechers rarely appears on camera, opting instead for visual moments that immediately capture attention: a dramatic cheese pull, a burger split down the middle or noodles being lifted high above a bowl.
Behind the scenes, her boyfriend, Sergio, serves as her unofficial “marketing manager” and hand model, helping prepare dishes and execute those picture-perfect moments. Friends and family members have also become their self-described “foodterns,” joining her for meals and helping make the experiences feel authentic and fun.
That authenticity became especially important when the COVID-19 pandemic hit shortly after she launched the page. What began as a fun way to document meals quickly became a platform for supporting struggling local businesses.
Riechers is especially proud of New Jersey’s culinary diversity. While the state may be famous for pizza and bagels, she believes its greatest strength is the variety of cultures.
One recent stop brought her to The Clinton House in Clinton, a historic restaurant that has become a destination for diners looking for an elevated meal in a welcoming setting.
Located in the heart of Clinton, The Clinton House combines the character of a historic property with a contemporary approach to dining. Its setting and atmosphere make it the kind of place where a quick meal can easily turn into a longer experience at the table.
During her visit, Riechers sampled several dishes, including the Lobster BLT with bacon. She also tried the seared blackened tuna, ratatouille with zucchini, eggplant, bell pepper, tomato, onion, banana pepper and basil, along with a mango beet salad and charcuterie board.
For Riechers, the appeal was not simply photographing a beautiful spread. It was experiencing the restaurant as a whole—from the setting and presentation to the variety of dishes that made the meal memorable.
Some of Riechers’ favorite dining memories have little to do with food alone. At El Tule in Lambertville, she enjoyed a three-hour patio lunch of birria tacos and nachos with her mother. At Sergeantsville Inn, a cozy spot with exposed brick, she once “kidnapped” her corporate boss for a long Italian lunch.
Those memories capture what Riechers loves most about food: It gives people a reason to gather.
Her background in marketing and communications has certainly helped shape the page. Understanding audiences, copywriting and what makes people stop scrolling has given her the tools to turn a simple meal into compelling content. But her life extends far beyond the food world.
Riechers describes herself as the “queen of a million little jobs.” Along with her corporate career, she writes freelance copy and articles, coaches young girls as a softball pitching coach and runs a seasonal crumb cake business, Cat’s Crumbs, during the holidays with her Grandma’s secret recipe.
As for what comes next, she lets it happen naturally. An upcoming trip to Portugal will give her another opportunity to explore food and culture. She plans to launch a “Tosta Mista Challenge,” documenting the country’s beloved ham and cheese paninis.
For Riechers, there is always another restaurant to discover, another dish to photograph and another story waiting around the table.
Follow Cat at @njfood_travels for restaurant finds, local favorites and delicious inspiration.