Food blogging

7 Most Common Recipe Writing Errors

May 17, 2010 by diannejacob

In the last week I’ve been editing recipes for two books by food bloggers. Both have short deadlines, and I’ve been working long hours.

That’s okay. It’s so much fun to see such creativity and invention, to fantasize about which recipes I’m going to try, and –yes– to nitpick. Such is the job of an editor. For one book, I make comments in pen and add little colored stickies to the paper copy. For the other, I make comments using Track Changes within the Word document.

And here’s what I’m finding: errors and inelegant phrasings. I thought you might want to know about the most common mistakes. First though, let’s review the terminology: The list of ingredients is called (funnily enough) the “ingredients list,” and the directions are called the “method:”

1. Ingredients out of order. This is by far the biggest error. List ingredients in the [Read more…] about 7 Most Common Recipe Writing Errors

A Lone Food Blogger Takes On the Big Blogs

May 12, 2010 by diannejacob

Hank Shaw of Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook got a double dip of validation this year: his blog was a finalist for the 2010 best food blog award from both the James Beard Foundation (second year in a row) and the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP).

What’s interesting is that the other finalists were not other individual bloggers, but compilation food blogs on large websites. Compilation blogs are defined by the number of people who write for them: usually the editor writes posts, as do staff writers for the website where the blog appears, and then there are freelance contributors who get paid per post.

For the IACP award, the other two finalists were blogs from alternative weekly newspapers: the SF Foodie blog of San Francisco Weekly; and Eating Our Words, the food blog of sister paper Houston Press. The SF blog includes posts from award-wining restaurant reviewer Jonathan Kauffman. The Houston blog includes posts from award-winning restaurant reviewer and author Robb Walsh.

And wouldn’t you know it? Hank won the IACP award, beating out these two compilation blogs, including content from two distringuished writers.

Then it was on to the Beard awards, where Hank competed with Serious Eats and Grub Street New York. Again, both are compilation blogs that are part of large websites. Serious Eats has a staff of seven plus three interns. A large stable of paid contributors includes Mario Batali. Grub Street has a smaller staff: an editor, a senior editor, and an assistant editor. The staff contributes content and the blog pays for freelance posts. Serious Eats won the Beard award.

Like other bloggers, Hank writes all his own material. A former commercial fisherman, line cook, and newspaperman, he’s a one-man show, writing about hunting, fishing, gardening, and cooking.

So the question comes up: Is it fair for an individual blogger to compete with compilation blogs? Should there be one category for individual blogs and another for compilation blogs? Or will the best writing triumph, regardless of how the blog is structured or staffed?

I’m for two categories. I was on the executive committee of IACP the year we put compilation cookbooks (best recipes compiled by a magazine) into their own category. Now the compilations compete with other compilation books, rather than with individual authors.

Now tell me what you think.

(Thanks to Amy Sherman, who started a Twitter war on this subject, for bringing it up.)

Photo by Elise Bauer, used with permission.

Exclusive Offer! Only 1000 Food Bloggers Qualify

April 27, 2010 by diannejacob 89 Comments

When three big food bloggers forwarded an email invitation to me within minutes of each other, I had to take a look. All three were insulted by this offer but knew that other food bloggers would take the companies up on it.

Here’s a condensed version of the invite, with sponsor names deleted:

“We enjoy your culinary blog, and share your passion for cooking and fine cuisine. To provide a fun way to try new recipes with your friends, we offer you the opportunity to host an Easy & Elegant Dinner Party in your home.

“Here’s how it works.You and 1000 fellow foodies across the country will simultaneously host Easy & Elegant Dinner Parties. If selected as a host, you will receive a generous party pack – including [Read more…] about Exclusive Offer! Only 1000 Food Bloggers Qualify

I Have an Ad and I'm Okay With That

April 18, 2010 by diannejacob

$fractal cauliflower$ You’ll notice something new. It’s an ad, on the right, from BlogHer Publishing Network.

I know. I’ve crossed over to the other side, and I’m thrilled. It’s because I have redefined myself. I’m no longer just a blogger whose subject is food writing. I’m the publisher of my blog.

Being in charge overall is new for me. When I was a magazine editor, I [Read more…] about I Have an Ad and I'm Okay With That

Bloggers Fire Back on Working for Free

March 31, 2010 by diannejacob

Remember this guy from the movie “Network?”

Three food bloggers are mad as hell and they’re not going to take it any more.

I’m speaking of the idea put forth to them, in our social media-crazy world, they should be honored to work for nothing in exchange for exposure. (I’ve covered this subject before, from Putting the Free in Freelance to Links are the New Currency.)

In their responses, two writers use humor to get their point across, and one goes for it directly:

1. Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites made his point gently in a letter to a tire company, suggesting he [Read more…] about Bloggers Fire Back on Working for Free

Adapting a Recipe Doesn’t Make it Yours

March 17, 2010 by diannejacob 273 Comments

“My wife was browsing for a good burrito recipe and stumbled on a blog that posted a recipe strikingly similar to one on Food & Wine without giving any credit,” said my friend Ethan in a recent email. He didn’t know that we call it “adapting a recipe.”

“The blogger had modified the recipe a bit,” he continued, “but clearly a lot of the recipe was cut and pasted.” “I made a comment, as polite as I could, asking the blogger about it, but I suspect she won’t approve it.”

(I’m not providing a link because I don’t want you to tear this food [Read more…] about Adapting a Recipe Doesn’t Make it Yours

21 Ways to Get Comments on Your Blog

March 15, 2010 by diannejacob 19 Comments

Recently I asked food bloggers to tell me which posts received the most comments and why. I’ve analyzed the responses (thanks to everyone who commented) and created this simple list.

The next time you’re wracking your brain to come up with a blog post idea, choose a number below and see what develops. Or try one of the strategies to draw more people to your blog and increase your chances of comments.The suggestions are in no particular order.

Ask a question: “How do you use this vegetable?”
Write an essay that expresses your passion for cooking, such as how cooking connects you to your past, [Read more…] about 21 Ways to Get Comments on Your Blog