A romantic image typical of the style of Cannelle Et Vanille (Photo used with permission of Aran Goyoaga)
I first discovered Cannelle Et Vanille two years ago, when I methodically went through every single blog listed on the The London Time’s list of “50 of the World’s Best Food Blogs.” Aran Goyoaga’s blog was second on the list, and she had only been blogging for a year.
Her sun-lit, romantic photos of desserts and fruit drew me in, as did the stories about her family, travels, and baking. I learned that Goyoaga had been a pastry chef for a Ritz-Carlton, then started blogging and taught herself photography.
Since that prestigious list catapulted her into the public eye, Goyoaga’s blog has attracted the attention of magazines in Europe and the US, as well as Gwyneth Paltrow‘s Goop newsletter, which praised the blog’s gluten-free theme, expert recipes and gorgeous photography. Last fall, seven publishers vied to publish Goyoaga’s upcoming cookbook. Little, Brown & Company will publish the book in fall, 2012.
I caught up with Goyoaga right before BlogHer Food, where she was a guest speaker:
Aran Goyoaga of Canelle Et Vanille (photo by Txomin Goyoago)
Q. You’ve been blogging since 2008, less than three years, and have attained so much success. I’m sure many new bloggers want to know how you did it.
A. At first I want to say it’s for the photography, but before that I had a following because of the recipes. I was a trained professional chef who left her career to take care of her children at home. I was trying to merge professional pastry chef techniques at home. Then I became very interested in photography. We’re all very visual people, and people come to my blog to see how I photograph.
Also my blog has a nostalgic tone to it, because food has always been a connection to my family. I left everyone to come to the US. My grandfather had a bakery and the family gathered there. When I left the Basque country I had an MBA, but nostalgia for food drew me back, and my blog has that tone and sentiment. People like to read about my background, my childhood, and how I relate to food. I have this romantic idea of food — growing your own food and being close to nature. Dad’s side of the family was farmers, so they probably don’t romanticize it.
We all like to feel close to home, we like to be nurtured, we all think about our families and upbringing. Maybe it’s the time we live in, where we want comfort and home-cooked meals.
Q. Do you think it’s an advantage to have worked as a professional pastry chef and graduated from culinary school, when it comes to developing recipes?
A. No. Culinary school gives you a lot of technique, but you don’t necessarily need that to develop recipes. You can learn that from reading a book, watching TV or watching people cook. Culinary school opened a lot of doors and I was able to find work in (restaurant) kitchens. I worked with French and German chefs. I already knew [Read more…] about Food Blogs Should Inspire and Surprise, says Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle Et Vanille
