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Blogging Pro Not Afraid to Delete Comments

January 19, 2010 by diannejacob

Me and Elise Bauer in the dining room at Club Med Ixtapa

Me and Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes, in the dining room at Club Med Ixtapa.

Last week in Mexico at the Club Med Food Blogger Camp, Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes spoke about the history of her mega-successful blog and particularly, her philosophy about blog comments.

At first I was surprised she had so much to say about comments. Then I was grateful, because I don’t always know how to handle them, particularly the snarky ones that irritate people. Elise’s no-nonsense policy showed just one of the reasons why her blog is so [Read more…] about Blogging Pro Not Afraid to Delete Comments

Sensuous Writing with Corn Pops

January 15, 2010 by diannejacob

Brooke Burton of Foodwoolf puts her food writing chops to use.

Yesterday at breakfast here at Club Med Ixtapa Food Blogger Camp, I cast around for the perfect food on which to base a food writing exercise using all the senses.

(You remember which senses I mean, right? Let’s review:

Touch
Taste
Sound
Sight
Smell.)

Then I saw individual boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Pops at the cereal station. Perfect! They would trigger childhood memories, make us laugh, or inspire [Read more…] about Sensuous Writing with Corn Pops

Kickin’ It at Club Med Food Blogger Camp

January 12, 2010 by diannejacob

I’m adjusting to this new format of food writing and blogging conference, where hanging out is a big part of the day. Today I’ve walked along the beach in the surf, done yogalates with David Lebovitz and Matt Amendariz, gave Nancy Hachisu a quick Twitter lesson, had lunch with Michael and Donna Ruhlman, and now I’m sitting in the bar, waiting for the presentation at 3 p.m.,when Jaden Hair and David Lebovitz discuss book proposals, with a handout from me.

You’ll just have to join us next year. Really. You can relax and network [Read more…] about Kickin’ It at Club Med Food Blogger Camp

Writing Contest: How Sensuous Can You Be?

January 7, 2010 by diannejacob

In the wee hours on Saturday, I’m taking off for the first Food Blogger Camp at Club Med Ixtapa Pacific, Mexico. I’ll be teaching a class on Writing with the Senses, and looking for a few good laughs if people write over-the-top pornographic examples.

There might also be magical prose like this:

“The crust is as crunchy as a butter cookie, so brittle that it cracks audibly when you press it with your fork; grains of cinnamon sugar bounce off the [Read more…] about Writing Contest: How Sensuous Can You Be?

Food Publishing Still a Crapshoot, Says Editor

January 5, 2010 by diannejacob

Sydny Miner, newly minted Executive Editor at Crown Books.

Recently I spoke with Sydny Miner, about to become executive editor at Crown Books and leave Simon & Schuster, where she edited the Food Network’s Paula Deen and Molly Wizenberg’s first book, A Homemade Life.

Sydny started working with Paula Deen in 2002, before the food network made Deen a star. What was she like? “She’s the person you see on TV, maybe a little quieter in person,” says Sydny. We fell in love with her and her great voice. We knew Southern cooking was a perennial subject. We knew her restaurant was a destination.

Yet, she says it was a gut feeling to take Deen on. “We just caught her on the way up.” Sydny might say the same of Molly Wizenberg. An early reader of food blogs, Sydny suggested an agent contact Wizenberg about writing a book [Read more…] about Food Publishing Still a Crapshoot, Says Editor

"Consider the Lobster," a Gourmet Classic

December 29, 2009 by diannejacob

Photo from Gourmet article, 2004

The other day I sent out a Tweet about a list of best food books of the decade at the UK Guardian. Amy Sherman replied she found the list strange because of two books on Indian food, but then, the British now say they like curry more than fish & chips.

I enjoyed that exchange, but actually, Indian cookbooks were not what I found odd — and ultimately wonderful — about the article. It was because it said, a few paragraphs in, “We had an interesting nomination… David Foster Wallace’s essay Consider the Lobster, written originally for the now defunct [Read more…] about "Consider the Lobster," a Gourmet Classic

Jamie Oliver, Taken Seriously

December 27, 2009 by diannejacob

I’m always impressed by people who use their fame to do good things. They don’t have to, right? They can just keep on being famous. It’s got to be a full-time job.

But not Jamie Oliver, who just won $100,000 from the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference. The prize recognizes “exceptional individuals” with “wishes big enough to change the world.”

He’s been a one man miracle in Britain, pressuring the government to spend $1 billion overhauling the country’s school lunch system, and founding a non-profit to train at-risk 18-24-year olds in the culinary arts.

Read his manifesto to educate people and children on eating well.

As a food writer,Oliver has written 10 cookbooks, translated into 29 languages, with almost 24 million copies sold in 56 countries.

While I’m on the subject of TED, there’s much to explore on the site, particularly free videos based on “ideas worth spreading.” Here’s a list of talks based on food. And as an aside: Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks once helped produce the TED annual conferences.