Food blogging

Blogger Stalks and Copies Another Food Blogger

July 19, 2011 by diannejacob 103 Comments

Strawberry Rhubarb Smoothie. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Strohmeyer of Virtually Vegan Mama.

What do you do when another blogger copies your recipes, ideas, and even gets the same freelance gig? That’s the situation food blogger Jennifer Strohmeyer of Virtually Vegan Mama found herself in recently, when another blogger took Strohmeyer’s recipe ideas for her own blog, and even got the same freelancing gig at the same website where Strohmeyer contributes.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. We’ve had lots of discussions here about adapting recipes. Everyone modifies everyone else’s recipes, it seems. Maybe Strohmeyer was imagining things?

I think not. Let me tell you what happened.

But first, a little background on Strohmeyer. She started her blog in mid-January (full discloser: Strohmeyer is a former client), sending photos to Food Buzz and [Read more…] about Blogger Stalks and Copies Another Food Blogger

Food Blogs Should Inspire and Surprise, says Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle Et Vanille

June 22, 2011 by diannejacob 70 Comments

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

Back from Austin, Y’all!

June 8, 2011 by diannejacob

Just me and a steer outside the opening IACP reception. I’ve already been corrected after calling it a “cow.” (If you took this photo with my camera, please remind me.)

I’m just back from Austin, Texas, land of 1600 food trucks, endless barbecue, hipster farmer’s markets, and 100 degree temperatures that weren’t supposed to start until July. I was there to attend the International Conference of Culinary Professionals (IACP) annual conference, and to spend a few days afterwards with a friend.

My booth at the book fair was next to Jacques Pepin’s. This guy brought every Pepin book in his library for Pepin to sign, and Pepin did it!

The IACP annual conference is one of my favorites, and I’ve only missed one in the last decade or so. At this year’s conference, my only official task was to sell my book at the culinary book expo. I’m happy to report that Will Write for Food sold out.

Here are a few observations and confessions:

1. At the annual awards, every single winner of the Bert Green Awards for Food Journalism was a man, in a female-dominated field of food writers for publications and the web. (I’ve made the same observation before with the Beard awards.)

I corralled Saveur magazine’s Deputy Editor Beth Kracklauer in the foyer of the historic theater afterwards, to get her thoughts. The poor woman was trying to savor her two Saveur awards, and there I was, harshing her high. Though judging is blind (meaning bylines are removed), most of the finalists were men too. Kracklauer wondered if this trend has something to do with who gets story assignments in the first place. We vowed to talk about it more.

2. Views differed about attending sessions. Everyone had a different strategy about diligently showing up versus networking, sightseeing, running around the city eating, drinking or biking. At the start of the last group of sessions, one guy joked about whether he should go to his first one. That seemed a little extreme! Then there were secondary arguments about whether to go to sessions because you should go, versus sessions that you thought were fun.

3. Lots of people were talking about my recent post about conference anxiety and some tried to gauge whether this conference was similar to BlogHer Food in that respect. The BlogHer crowd is younger, but the usual cliques were apparent. I’ve decided that popular and successful people like to hang out together because they understand each other. That is my latest theory.

From left at the Ate.Cafe: Amelia’s granddaughter Delfina; Amelia’s former assistant, blogger Nealey Dozier; Amelia Saltsman; Deborah Madison; Deb’s friend Emily; Joy Canovsky from the Sustainable Food Center (SFC); Amelia’s daughter Rebecca from the SFC; and me. Photo by Ralph Saltsman.

As for my own popularity, before the conference, cookbook author Amelia Saltsman invited me join her at a dinner of family and friends. To my delight, Deborah Madison, a longtime friend, came too. The three of us met and befriended each other at the Greenbrier Professional Symposium for Food Writers 12 years ago. Amelia’s daughter and son-in-law run the restaurant Ate.Cafe, and they spoiled us with course after course of exquisite tapas.

Cookbook author Martha Hopkins also contacted me beforehand because we had not met and we’re going to teach a class together soon. We went out for appetizers and drinks at Paggi House with the always hilarious food stylist Denise Vivaldo, discussing our upcoming class in Los Angeles on cookbooks while feasting on exceptional mussels and fries, beef tenderloin skewers, and fried calamari. The three of us will join forces to help you make your dream project a reality. Hope to see you in L.A!

4. The best part about attending conferences is [Read more…] about Back from Austin, Y’all!

When Your Partner Reads Your Work

May 30, 2011 by diannejacob 81 Comments

Last week at a panel on writing at BlogHer Food in Atlanta, David Leite said he never asks his partner to read his drafts.

“My husband cowers in the corner when I ask him to read something,” he confessed. He suggested people find someone else to review their writing, or just read it themselves.

“Do not give it to your partner to read,” he cautioned. “They’ll either fawn over caca or critique everything.”

I took the mic and respectfully disagreed. My husband reads almost every blog post I write. And I’m thrilled that, after 23 years of marriage, he is still willing to critique my work in a constructive manner.

It takes discipline to be just as respectful as he delivers the news, however. I’m still working on that. If I get out my annoyed voice and say, “What are you talking about? Of course readers will understand,” it doesn’t help.

Here’s what Owen reads for in a blog post:

1. Am I talking to myself? Sometimes I assume readers know, and he has no idea what I mean. In the rewrite, I back up and explain a situation or fill in a gap.

2. Is he bored? My post is exciting to me, but I notice if he’s not getting into it. While he is not my target reader, if he finds it difficult to concentrate, I figure out how to pump up the language, make the beginning snappier, or tighten the delivery. (Miraculously, he found this post riveting.)

3. Do long sentences need untangling? Sometimes he trips over them. That lets me know that I need more variety in my sentence lengths, to establish rhythm and interest.

4. Do I have typos, spelling or punctuation errors, or extra spaces? He’s great at finding them.

I don’t ask Owen to read everything. For a cover story on food writing for the May/June Writer’s Digest (sorry, it’s only available on a newsstand), I enlisted two colleagues, both bloggers and freelance writers, to review a draft for me. I promised to read something for them in return.

Ironically, I realized recently that Owen doesn’t ask me to read his stuff (he writes product reviews for a Mac website as a hobby). When I asked him why, he said I’m too busy editing other people’s work. Sweet!

If you don’t have someone to read your work, try reading it out loud to yourself. And if you do use a partner or spouse for feedback, I’m curious to hear how, or whether, it’s worked for you.

Photo from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

5 Notes to Self for Coping with Conference Anxiety

May 24, 2011 by diannejacob 203 Comments

Remember the cool kids at school? I was not one, and that sometimes comes back to me at conferences.

As soon as we sat down, tears streamed down her face. At the last event of Blogher Food 2011 Saturday night, the 40-year old, successful food blogger had asked if we could talk privately. We found a room upstairs, away from the throbbing dance party music.

“Some of the women at the conference are so mean,” she said, wiping away tears. She had met them before, yet they walked right by her without acknowledging her. Feeling overwhelmed, she said she’d rather be home gardening, or spending time with her children.

“It happened to me too,” I said. I was talking to a Famous Person when another Famous Person came up and discussed who they were inviting to dinner. Right in front of me.

And just like that, we were two high schoolers again. We desperately wanted to be adored, part of the in crowd and part of the cliques that gather. We wanted the cool people to notice us. We wanted to be cool too.

Feeling bad about her state of distress, I said most of the people at the conference felt the way she did (resisting adding “aside from a few clueless rude people.”) We’re all in a stressful situation, even though we’re thrilled to be there. That’s why we gather. According to the BlogHer Food folks, the number one reason attendees come is for the “community.”

But we don’t know all these people, and we’re not used to gathering like this. Who’s used to spending 15 hours a day or more with 500 people you hardly know? Who’s used to other people evaluating whether you’re worth sitting next to, talking to, rooming with, or inviting to a private event? It’s easy to get annoyed.

Even though I’ve attended writing and culinary conferences for more than 10 years (see liveblog of my session on recipe etiquette at BlogHer Food), I can’t always escape the anxiety that [Read more…] about 5 Notes to Self for Coping with Conference Anxiety

Five Reasons to Go to a Food Blogging Conference

May 17, 2011 by diannejacob

I’m packing for BlogHer Food in Atlanta this weekend. Going to conferences always energizes me. I get new ideas for posts, learn from the best, reconnect with old friends and make new ones. And I always have a blast.

Jackie Garvin of Syrup and Biscuits asked how to pick the best food blogging conference to attend. Each is a little different, but basically, all give you the opportunity to hang with other bloggers and get crushes on a select few. You’ll also learn about SEO, branding, writing, photography, marketing…all the stuff you’re trying to master.

Best of all, blogging conferences are fun. This is critical if you’ve been writing alone in your bedroom. You need to get out! I say pick a conference and get involved with a smart, energetic group of (mostly) women who are going through the same things. You’ll get inspired, refreshed, and energized. Even if you don’t have a blog because you’ve been focusing on other kinds of writing, it’s worth a look to understand the blogging phenomenon.

BlogHer Food 2009, in front of the bookstore.

This year I’ll be taking about recipe etiquette on a panel with David Leite, moderated by attorney Lisa Barry-Kessler. At BlogHer, the moderator and audience have as much to say as the speakers, so I look forward to discussing adapting, copyright, and other issues I write about on this blog.

Please come say hello if you’re attending, and tell me about your blog. I like to know who’s reading Will Write for Food so I can say thank you. (I’ll be one of the senior people there among the 30-somethings. That’s my photo in the right-hand corner. )

No matter which food blogging conference you choose (including Food Blogger Camp; Eat, Write, Retreat; International Food Blogger Conference [two locations this year]; Camp Blogaway; Food Buzz [if you’re a member]; and Food Blog South), there are valuable reasons to go:

Become part of a community of hardworking, intelligent writers. This includes meeting bloggers you admire, bloggers you can relate to, and bloggers who become friends
Learn how to make your blog more successful and meaningful through the workshops and classes. You’ll get tons of new ideas and feel energized about your blog
Increase your skill level as a photographer, sometimes with hands-on classes
Party at evening events where you have to wear something other than sweats and pajamas, and
Collect swag. Some people leave room in their suitcases for freebies they want to lug home.

If you’ve already been to a few blogging conferences, maybe you have your own list of benefits. Tell me whether you think it’s valuable, and what you enjoyed most.

* * *

For more on attending food blogging conferences, see:

How to Go to a Food Blogging Conference (Food Woolf)
Etiquette (5 Second Rule)