A Writer’s Perspective on Food Buzz 2010

Everyone has their own way of seeing the world. No one perspective of a moment in time is more true than another. Where and how we stand defines the perspective we have. Some of us feel comfortable in the corner, far away from the swarm. Others love to be in the center of activity, drumming up the energy of the event. Some of us are in bodies that are strong, frail, tall, short, thin, or wide. We are fearful, fearless, energetic, slow, curious, and apathetic. All these differences make us who we are and how we see things.

The soup of reality is what makes living in the world so damn fascinating. We’re all in it together, but we all add something different to the pot.

I think that’s why I love reading wrap up posts of food blogging events so much. It doesn’t matter if I was there, center stage, or watching from the side lines, I get so much from reading and seeing the differing perspectives.

I scan the photos and think—I didn’t see that! Ooh, I remember seeing this happen!—and read the words—How come I didn’t taste that! I wish I had a moment so affecting—and find a well of knowledge I didn’t know I was missing, filled up.

How I come to these conferences is constantly changing. Sometimes I have high expectations, other times I walk in anticipating nothing. Either way, I’m always surprised by what I discover—be it in the form of a new acquaintance or experience—regardless if it’s a positive or negative.

With just one day separating me from my life changing week of training at ZingTrain in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and my trip to FoodBuzz in San Francisco, I didn’t have much room for day dreaming about what would happen once I arrived.

As I boarded the plane to SF with my LA friend Jen (of Devour the World), I began organizing my thoughts for the trip. Though I wasn’t sure what to expect, I did know I was excited to be part of a food writing panel. Even more, I was looking forward to sharing a quiet moment in time with a handful of foodbloggers, to see what we could create with words. Continue reading “A Writer’s Perspective on Food Buzz 2010”

October 20December 4

Sometimes When You Lose, You Win: On Competitive Food Blogging

My raison d’être of becoming a blogger almost three years ago was simple: I needed a place to tell stories about food and what I knew about the restaurant business. My blog wasn’t created to change the world. It was built to describe it.

Because my goal for this website wasn’t to become The World’s Most Popular Food Blogger, or make millions off of advertising, there have been a lots of things I don’t do. I don’t use a computer program to tell me how to search engine optimize my posts for key words. I don’t write about topics I think will gain me advertisers’ dollars or corporate clients. I don’t go to blogging dinners just to get free meals. What I do is write. I write about things that fascinate me and make me want to learn more. I celebrate the underdogs. I enjoy the company of passionate people. I participate in this blogging world in order to participate in a virtual salon on food and expression.

I do, however, come from a background of acting and doing improvisational comedy. My training in saying YES to every challenge I’m faced with makes it very hard to to ignore the voice I have inside me that demands I do things that are well beyond my comfort zone. This internal voice—the quiet champion’s whisper that said it was a good idea to quit my job as a screenwriter and take up blogging—often asks me to do things that scare the hell out of me. Things like auditioning for food shows, speak at conferences, network with big time food bloggers, go after big dreams, and enter myself into food blogging competitions, like Project Food Blog.

In choosing to enter the Project Food Blog competition—an ten week competition to see who would be the Next Food Blogging Star and something that I’ve been writing about for the past month—I decided to take a chance on myself because it would push me to be the best I could be under unusual circumstances. I knew the competition would be a difficult and full of impossible deadlines, odd tests of skill, trials of character, and tests of stamina. I learned there was a certain amount of campaigning involved, and while I tried to ignore the feeling of competing in a popularity contest—I enjoyed discovering the voices of other food lovers and writers.

Continue for more words »

October 13December 23

A Call to Arms: Celebrate the Prep Cook!

Step into a restaurant kitchen in the early morning hours and you will find a machine of dull silver and aluminum-can grey. Its moving parts are meat slicers, oven doors, dish washing machines, and flesh and blood. Men and women, fresh from their beds, stand shoulder to shoulder in the uniform of pressed whites. Hidden are the rock tee shirts, tattoos, and scars from sharp knives. Bandannas and skullcaps conceal the full glory of a multi-color Mohawk, spaghetti curls, and the zig-zagging of a buzz cut.

The light is bright and the polished steel hurts tired eyes. In the kitchen, there are few words exchanged. Covered paper coffee cups and Mexican sweet breads sit untouched. The slicing of onions, the trimming of vegetables, the deboning of fish, and the stirring of stockpots require mindfulness and patience. Every motion is a working meditation. Everything in its place is the unspoken mantra of the kitchen.

Before customers arrive, the world inside the kitchen is deep-forest quiet. Then comes the axe to that serenity, with the rat-a-tat-tat sound of the ticket printer spitting out an arms length of orders. Despite exhaustion from early morning prep time, a busy service gives the kitchen staff a boost of energy that allows them to push through.

Maybe this is a culinary preamble you’re used to hearing. But what if I told you the kitchen I describe is in the corner diner you go to when you don’t want to dress up, or at a culinary school you’ve never read about, or a restaurant that’s never been photographed by a very-famous-photographer?

Is a chef not a chef, even if you don’t recognize them? Why can’t we celebrate the prep-cook? Food bloggers may be champions of ingredients, farmers, cooking techniques, specialty food makers and celebrity chefs—but what about remembering the underdogs for their humility and hard work and commitment to making our daily food?

October 10December 23

How to Go to a Food Blogging Conference

A huge and humble thank you to my new and returning readers for voting me through to this fourth round of Project Food Blog, a multi-round blog competition to see who will earn the title of food blogging star and $10,000. Thousands of men and women entered the competition, and now there are just a hundred. I am honored to be one of the remaining blogs. Thanks for reading and for your continued support. If you enjoy this post, please vote for me to make it to the next round!

seminar at blogher food — Finding community at food blogging conference--Kim (Cook IT Allergy Free) and Tia (Glugle Gluten-Free)

When you become a food blogger, it’s a solitary art form. In the beginning there’s just you and the Big Idea. Perhaps the spark to tell your story and share ideas is so strong it only takes a few short moments to publish that first post. Or maybe it takes a painful cluster of days, weeks, or months to thrash through the inspiration and recipes and just get your blog going. All the while, the process of creating The Next Great Blog makes you realize that there are many, many obstacles you must face in order to continue your blogging journey. You must find time. You must have a voice. You must have a certain style. You must become a student of What Bloggers Do. You need to get out of isolation.

This is how you come to the decision to pony up some hard earned cash and sign up for a food blogging conference.

And besides, there are words to learn like SEO, blogging platform, hosting, DSLR, blog network, point and shoot, categorizing, tagging of posts, photography, lighting, lenses, and even something called food styling. You’ve already spent hours on the subject, but can only get so far on your own. Maybe there’s a partner, a loved one, a friend, a kid, or a fish-in-a-fishbowl who witnesses your process. Perhaps these trusted folk (or fish) even offer help when you fall into a deep pond of uncertainty and technical difficulties. Perhaps there is no one. Regardless, as you struggle to define what it is your blog is, you start to realize you can’t do this blogging thing alone. You need qualified help. You need inspiration. You need mentoring. You need some food blogging friends.

One of the fastest ways to find answers, shore up weak spots, and find community is to go to a food blogging conference. Granted, going to a conference isn’t cheap–between conference tickets, transportation (airfare, gas money), lodging, and other associated costs the entire event can cost you hundreds if not thousands of dollars–but if you know how to make the most of your time you can push the value of every dollar.

Choosing a food blogging conference that works for you and your budget might not be an easy thing–there are plenty of factors like cost, location, and schedules to consider. But once you decide to surround yourself with like-minded people who also have the same passions as you, the world of blogging doesn’t feel so isolated and lonely. Thankfully with the explosive growth of the food industry as entertainment, there are plenty of opportunities to find a food blogging conference that fits your needs and budget. There are local events, luxury getaways, camps, festivals, and conferences (Foodbuzz, Food Blog Forum, and IACP) that bring together food bloggers for intensive training and networking.

Regardless of what form of food blogging gathering you pick–be it a one-day seminar or multi-day getaway–there are a few key things to keep in mind in order to make the most of your time there. For this week’s Project Food Blog Challenge, I offer you my step-by-step tutorial on how to getting the most out of a food blogging conference.

Continue for Ten Tips for Making the Most of a Blogging Conference »

October 5March 14

Foodbuzz 24×24: A Tasty Care Package for Kids

easy care package food — Sending a care package to kids can be fun and healthy

Not everyone has children of their own, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be plenty of great kids in your life. Nieces and nephews, best friends’ kids, and neighborhood rug rats can all be part of your life. Though I’m married, I don’t have children. But between my brother and my husband’s two brothers, I have four nieces and four nephews who own a nice chunk of real-estate in our hearts. The problem is, I live several thousand miles away from those beautiful eight kids. Sure, Skype is great for capturing the magic of face-to-face conversation, and photos keep me up to date on their newest growth spurt, but I’m the kind of aunt that wants to cook for her nieces and nephews.

That’s where care packages come in. Just because I live thousands of miles away doesn’t mean I can’t cook for your family. An old-fashioned care package gives my far-away family members a tangible treasure from my west-coast world. Ship a box of food and treasured objects to a loved one and—like our ancestors did before us—the beloved recipient gets a precious treasure to cherish and/or devour.

A care package is like magic: what was once with us is now with them.

Distance Cooking

Perhaps this is why I’m glad I was selected to be one of this month’s cooking for kids Foodbuzz 24×24–a sponsored event that brings together twenty-four food bloggers from around the world to write about a particular topic. I knew that my perspective on cooking for kids would be much, much different than a full time mom or grandparent.

As a full time professional and childless married person, the only option I have for baking for kids is when I put together care packages for friends and family. Since I’m a food person, putting together homemade treats for a care package is a great way for me to share my love of food and for my faraway family. Granted, I wish I had more time and money to hop a plane and go visit, but putting together a care package is a good alternative.

So if you are considering putting together your own care package for young friends or family, here are some things to think about:

Choose healthy ingredients (whole grains, dried fruit, nuts, and natural sweeteners)

Choose recipes for items that store well for a few days. This is especially important when shipping an item far distances.

Baked items like granola, fruit or nut bars, hearty cookies, and jellies are all great treats that will ship well if packaged well.

Choose baked items that don’t weigh a lot. Shipping heavy jars filled with goodies may look cute, but the more an item weighs the more it will cost to ship.

Choose a shipping company you trust.

Food Care Package — What could be in the box?

Continue for Great Care Package Recipes for Kids »

October 2February 25

Impromptu Ramen Bowl Party, Project Food Blog Challenge #3

Having a night off from work is a luxury for most restaurant professionals. Since bars and restaurants earn most of their income after the sun goes down, most food industry employees keep vampire hours. We punch in after dusk, work when most people are relaxing (or sleeping), and are left to spend time with friends after the witching hour. I’d even venture to say that if you were to chart the hours of chefs, sommeliers, waiters and bartenders you’d think you were looking at Vampire Bill’s stats.

So when I got the exciting news that readers had voted me through to the third round of Project Food Blog*, I knew I didn’t have much time to prepare. Luckily, I’ve held plenty of impromptu dinner parties in my adult life, so I knew just what to do. I would throw a party where all my friends could get creative and eat some delicious Asian-inspired comfort food.

Party Tip: Throwing a great dinner party doesn’t have to mean spending hours and hours getting ready. Stay focused. Stick with a theme.

Make-Your-Own-Ramen Party

Since my dinner party would be held during after hours, I would need to serve dishes that were simple and straightforward, and would have to be easy enough to accommodate everyone’s post-restaurant/food writing schedules. I decided to offer two courses that would give guests a fresh new look on two of Asia’s most convenient comfort foods–Vietnamese spring rolls and instant ramen.

fish balls at the market — Fish balls at Thai Town Market *insert giggle*

Keeping in mind the advice from chef friends–cook what you know—I purchased fresh ingredients at the local Asian market in Hollywood’s Thai Town. I kept my eyes open and my creativity sharp in order to find unique ingredients for my dinner party spread. I sought out complimenting items that could add texture and interesting flavors to Vietnamese hand-rolls (my take on a wrapper-less spring roll) and bowls of instant ramen. I grabbed fresh Thai basil, jalapeno, bean sprouts, pressed/fried tofu, Sriracha, and for fun, I took a chance and added to my cart a package labeled “fish balls” (a kind of rounded fish cake).

Party Tip: If you don’t live near an Asian market, you can find many great ingredients on line. You can even order an exoti assortment of ramen through RamenBox (a Los Angeles-based company that specializes in selling some of the world’s tastiest instant ramen noodles via the internet)

Continue For More Tips and Tricks for Throwing Your Own Ramen Party »

September 25

Jook, Love at First Bite (a Project Food Blog Entry)

Project Food Blog congee — Project Food Blog's Second Round Entry

When you move to Los Angeles from small town USA, the culture shock is great. The weather, the cultural diversity, the dominance of the entertainment industry, and the abundance of revealing clothes is all quite astonishing. What’s more, if you want to know anything about food and are curious by nature, every day in Los Angeles can be an opportunity to move outside of your culinary comfort zone.

For this week’s Project Food Blog Challenge (more about that in a bit), the contestants were asked to create a classic dish from outside their comfort zone. What better dish to make than Jook, a rice porridge comfort food from a culinary culture I know very little about.

I first learned about Jook from Jonathan Gold, one of our city’s most famous culinary journalists (and the only winner of the Pulitzer for food writing). Gold is what you’d call L.A.’s poster boy for strip-mall ethnic food. His craft for sculpting words and ability to describe uncommon meals in the most mundane locations has created something of a culinary fad where LA food lovers seek out the most unusual, ethnic eats across the city in our city’s trashiest of locations.

All this is to explain how it came to be that this white girl from Massachusetts has been craving a Korean comfort food I’ve never even tasted before.

congee bowl — The first bite is the greatest

Rice porridge, or Jook in Korea, Congee in China, Okayu in Japan, is a popular comfort food throughout all of Asia. Known for its restorative powers for both the sick and the hung-over, the slow-cooked rice dish is a savory oatmeal that’s eaten for breakfast, a late night snack, or during the lean times. Jook is a creamy porridge that’s both comfort food and a kind of blank canvas for all sorts of great flavors and textures. Slow simmering short grain rice for several hours in water or chicken stock results in a creamy pap that is the perfect food delivery device for the flavors and textures of sesame oil, fish sauce, crunchy pickles, spicy condiments, herbs, meat, seafood, and even a fried egg.

Eating a dish for the first time on a very empty stomach is often the best way to imprint a taste in your memory. I’ll never forget that crusty French bread slathered with rich butter that time I was a starving student in Paris. Nor will I ever forget the flavor of Congee after a day of shopping at the Korean market and rushing around to be ready in time for this Project Food Blog Challenge.

But oh! The jook! It was just beautiful the way the soft fried egg oozed onto the porridge. Or how the sesame oil pooled onto my spoon with a drop of salty fish sauce, creating a fishy vinaigrette. And the salty crunch of the bacon and pungent hit of chopped scallion gave every bite a satisfying texture. The soft porridge is the kind of comfort food that–regardless of your cultural heritage–you immediately want to adopt once you’ve tasted it.

Continue for the easiest Congee Recipe Ever! »

September 18

So You Wanna Be the Next Food Blog Star

chef tattoo — A view from inside restaurants

Hi, my name is Brooke and I’m a restaurant blogger. I’m not a Yelper, nor a restaurant reviewer, not a food-fanatic, or even an angry waiter on a rant. I’m a food writer and a restaurant professional with a strong point of view on what it is to work in the business of food.

For those of you just tuning in here at Food Woolf, this is a literary blog which offers a non-fiction account of a restaurant professional living life from inside of some of Los Angeles’ best restaurants.

Like a chef who produces food that she loves to eat for her customers, I work hard to create something beautiful here—first for myself and then for others. At Food Woolf, I want to give you something more than just a simple recipe and a fast paragraph.

I want to craft appetizing phrases—like ones I’ve discovered in the fine writing of M.F.K. Fisher and Michael Ruhlman—and delectable sentences you’d like to roll over your tongue a couple of times. I work hard to weed out unnecessary tirades and focus on the insightful behind-the-scenes moments that speak to bigger issues that affect diners. Sometimes, I even snap some photographs of great meals that make people want to dive through their computer screens and get eating.

Continue to Read Up on Project Food Blog »

July 1

Food Styling and Food Photography Tips

I love food. I love to eat it and dream up new ways to engage with all its different ingredients. I enjoy playing with my food, photographing it, telling stories about it. Clearly food is much more than a source of nutrition and sustenance. For me–and many more people like me–food is art.

My food obsession has reached an all time height, thanks to the accumulation of decades working in restaurants and writing this blog. Because of my heightened interest in food photography (and incessant questions about how he does what he does), my friend Matt Armendariz generously offered to allow me to sit in on his recent Food Styling and Food Photography class with the ladies of Food Fanatics at his studio in Long Beach.

Between jokes and colorful industry gossip, Denise Vivaldo and Cindie Flannagan offered students a handful of tricks learned over the years (nay, decades) they’ve been working in the food styling business. Vivaldo and Flannagan gave students insights into making food ready for camera and how to think about food styling as a career.

Food Styling Tips from the Pros

Use non-edible (but not poisonous!) items to prop things up.
Just because you use a cosmetic sponge to prop up a piece of meat before you shoot it, doesn’t mean you can’t eat the meat. Take the picture, remove the sponge, and dive in! The ladies at Food Fanatics suggest that if you don’t have a lot of an ingredient (say pasta or rice) you can fake a false bottom with wet paper towels to give a bowl or plate additional height.

food styling tools 2 — Frozen syrup and cosmetic sponges help maintain a food shot for longer.

Continue for more Food Styling and Food Photography tips »

April 13January 4

National Food Blogger Bake Sale

On Saturday, April 17th, hundreds of food bloggers from across our country will combine baking talents for the first annual National Food Bloggers Bake Sale. This first annual fundraiser–part of the Great American Bake Sale–will give food lovers from Massachusetts to California the chance to buy treats from their favorite blogs and rais money to support of Share Our Strength’s efforts to end childhood hunger in America.

The event is the result of private chef and food blogger, Gaby Dalkin of WhatsGabyCooking.com. Thanks to her organizational skills and clever ideas, this year’s nation wide food blogging bake sale promises to raise thousands of dollars to feed our country’s hungry children. Nearly 17 million—almost one in four—children in America face hunger. Despite the good efforts of governments, private-sector institutions and everyday Americans, millions of our children still don’t have daily access to the nutritious meals they need to live active, healthy lives.

Here in Los Angeles, some 50 food bloggers will team up to put together a notable collection of sweets for the bake sale. Hosted by the generous people at Morel’s French Bistro (a former employer) at The Grove, my friends and fellow bloggers like Gaby, Matt from Matt Bites, Erika from In Erika’s Kitchen, Rachel La Fuji Mama, and Esi from Dishing Up Delights will be on hand to talk about their baked sweets and their love of food.

If you live in LA, I look forward to seeing you there! I’ll be bringing the spiced caramel corn. Recipe to come soon!

April 6January 4

Touchstone Cookbooks

girl reading Betty Crocker Cook Book — Betty Crocker Cookbook, an influential cookbook to generations of food lovers

Maybe it’s because I’m approaching a somewhat noteworthy age, but I choose to believe that perhaps the most significant of all my birthdays was my fifth. Why? My fifth birthday marked the day that my obsession with food (and food as an artform) was born when my mother gave me my first cookbook.

I was in the kitchen, watching my mother fuss with something in a drawer, when she gave me a copy of Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for Boys and Girls.

“Go sit at the table and look through the pictures,” she said. “Figure out what kind of cake you want for your birthday. Draw it for me.” I took to the challenge right away. I sped to the kitchen table, grabbed paper and wax crayons, and went to work. In between pages of subtle advertising, black print, and Gloria Kamen’s clever illustrations, I found vibrant color photos of party foods and ornate party cakes.

Even then I was a fool for clever food styling.

extra special drinks cocktails for kids — “Extra Special Drinks” for kids from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook

Continue To Read More about Touchstone Cookbooks »

February 5January 4

Food Blog Ethics in Columbia Journalism Review

It’s been nine months since my writing partner, Leah Greenstein, and I created Food Ethics and our controversial Food Blog Code of Ethics. In those months, much has happened here in the world of online food writing and criticism. The Federal Trade Commission has made it punishable by law for big (and little) companies to give money and gifts to bloggers without being transparent about it. One blog offers badges to denote a commitment to honesty and integrity. Blogs that once skirted the issue of freebies and comps, now openly state their affiliations, biases, and disclose freebies.

But when Leah and I first decided to write our statement of purpose nine months ago—for the sake of being clear on what we stood for in online writing—the topic of ethics in the blogosphere was something that was whispered between online writers. Many had opinions, but few were willing to publish their thoughts on the matter. So, when Leah and I decided it was time we write out our five-point manifesto on food blog ethics, our words and point of view caused a lot of controversy. We were shocked at how many people got engaged (and enraged) and suddenly everyone was talking about ethics. In a time when most people were interested in new iPhone apps and the birth of Twitter, we were ecstatic that we were surrounded by people arguing about philosophy. Getting people to think about the effect of their words before they hit PUBLISH was our goal.

So it was with great pleasure that Leah and I discovered Food Ethics was mentioned by Robert Seitsema, the author and food critic for the Village Voice in his comprehensive Columbia Journalism Review article, “Everyone Eats…But that doesn’t make you a restaurant critic”. In it, he masterfully charts the history of restaurant reviewing in the United States since the 1970’s and the effect of a handful of people on food writing.

Continue to Read More about Food Blog Ethics in Columbia Journalism Review »

January 15January 4

Club Med Food Blogger Camp Tips and Insights

Thanks to a food writing scholarship and the generous support of friends, I am writing this post from Ixtapa, Mexico’s Club Med Food Blogger Camp. For one week, a small group of food bloggers gather together to enjoy the tropical weather, warm ocean breezes, and food blogging sessions taught by some of the most respected online food writers in United States and France.

Club Med’s resort is reason enough for the trip–with its beautiful architecture, friendly staff, warm ocean waters, balmy weather (the tropical climate ranks nearly perfect for more than three hundred days a year), beautiful vistas, and outstanding food.

In a word, Club Med Ixtapa is paradise.

Continue To Find Food Blogging Tips from Club Med Ixtapa’s Food Blogger Camp »

December 31

Goodbye to the 'Naughts

This first decade of the new century has been a doozy. In just ten years, life stories have been written and re-written by time, chance, good fortune, and circumstance. These first ten years have been marked wonderful little moments, joyful surprises, and gut wrenching incidents. There have been great meals, new flavors, old recipes, new techniques, and great innovations for the kitchen.

In this decade I have photographed more food than faces.

Continue to Read More New Year’s Wishes, Find Hangover Cures and Chef Resolutions »

December 14

Menu for Hope 6: Wire Sculpture from Food Woolf

As we wade deeper into the holiday season, the more many of us think of ways to give back. Donating to a local charity, helping out a friend in need, and giving handmade gifts are wonderful ways to contribute to those that are in need.

This year, I am proud to say I am participating Menu for Hope, an annual campaign–started by food blogger and writer Chez Pim–to raise funds in benefit of the United Nations World Food Programme and its Purchase for Progress initiative. Not only will I be eagerly bidding on other great food blogger’s donated items (like MattBite‘s Food Photography Class or Jen Yu of Use Real Butter’s beautiful photography) I will be donating a wire sculpture to the event.

Menu For Hope Bid Item: UW35

The sculpture I’m donating is called “Bistecca,” an ode to the great animal that has inspired many a great recipe.

Continue to Read More about Menu For Hope »

December 12

Food Blogger Gift Guide

Food Blogger Holiday Gift Ideas 2009

It seems like everyone I meet nowadays is a food blogger. We’re a unique bunch of people that obsess over food, eat like it was our job, snap pictures of everything we eat, and collect cookbooks like they were trading cards. We’re the kind of people that hope we get gift certificates to our favorite restaurants or Williams Sonoma.

But when it comes to unique gifts for a food blogger–things start to get difficult. Gadgets, tchotchkes, and other random food related gifts don’t always hit the mark. So should you be hoping to find a little guidance this holiday season, this food blogger offers her gift giving guide for the culinary obsessed. Because it takes one to know one.

Read a Complete List of Gift Ideas After the Jump! »

December 1

The Hero's Journey, Through Food Blogging Part II

[This is Part Two of a Previous Post]

“If what you are following is your own true adventure…then magical guides will appear to help you.”–Joseph Campbell, The Hero’s Journey

In celebration of my two year anniversary, I’ve decided to take a look at my journey through blogging through the lens of the mythic structure*. Starting mid act two of The Blogger as a Mythic Hero, the most valuable gift a beginning blogger can give to themselves is finding a food blogging ally. Perhaps you forge a friendship at a food blogging conference. Maybe you meet someone at a food related event. Regardless the venue, seeking out like minded food writers is important in your heroic journey to self discovery, through blogging.

Continue Reading Part 2 of The Hero’s Journey »

December 1

The Hero's Journey, Through Food Blogging (Part one)

“The hero’s journey always begins with the call.” –Jospeh Campbell

Joseph Campbell, author of The Heroes Journey, called this significant shift, the “inciting incident” within a character’s story. This event in a real person’s life is called a turning point. Or in Oprah-parlance, the “Aha Moment”. For some people the call is to leave a certain social situation. Get a new job. Start a new life. For me, it was starting this food blog.

Any great story begins with a single, significant event–a special power is discovered, an accident occurs, a dare is initiated, a large some of money is won or needed, a move to a new town begins, someone dies, someone is born, a planet is discovered. But once the hero is given the call, they are plunged into a new and unfamiliar world that will change them forever.

I’m not the only one that’s been irrevocably changed by blogging. Just ask Molly of Orangette, Jaden of Steamy Kitchen, Elise of Simply Recipes, or Shauna from Gluten Free Girl how this online art form has made them the heroes of their own life stories.

ACT I: THE INCITING INCIDENT

My inciting incident happened two years ago this week when I decided to start this blog. Like any hero crossing the threshold into a whole new life, I had no idea what was in store for me. Ignorance, as they say, is bliss.

If you have a new blog or are thinking of starting one, this is the time to dive in fearlessly and embrace your own heroic journey of self-discovery. With a little bit of planning and a lot of faith in yourself, the journey to creating a successful blog (whatever that means to you) is just a few acts away.

Continue Reading the Blogger’s Mythic Journey »

October 15March 14

Moving from Blogger to WordPress

flowers cu

Home feels so much better after a really good clean. That’s true for this blog, too. Maybe you noticed a few changes. What’s different? Thanks to lots and lots of help, I ripped out all the old Blogger wiring and installed shiny, hi-tech Word Press tools to streamline the whole darn thing.

Along the way to making this blog a bit more pro-style, some things were lost (please re-sign up for my RSS Feed!!!). And some were gained (Yay, SEO! Stats! Organization!)

Truth be told, the actual move from Blogger to WordPress didn’t take that long–maybe two or three full days in front of a computer with a couple of tech savvy friends–but a whole lot of life got in the way. There were four months of waiting for the work of a designer I hired that, it turns out, actually had no intention of doing anything. A month to rebuild my confidence. And then, thanks to the nudging of my good friends Todd and Diane, I was able to realize I was playing the classic game of avoidance.

What was I afraid of? Other than flipping some switch and everything going *poof*, I feared the technology. Or more specifically, my lack of knowledge. So in order to get over my fear, I decided gut the thing myself. With LOTS of hand holding and guidance from my friends.

October 6January 4

Food Woolf Nominated for Foodbuzz ‘Best Writing Voice’ Award

I got the news today that I was nominated for Food Buzz.com’s food blogging award for “Best Writing Voice.” Amy, my editor at the LA Weekly’s food blog, emailed me with the news.

First of all, it should be stated that I still can’t believe I’m getting paid to write about food. Add to that, the fact that I’m getting paid to write about food at a Pulitzer Prize winning weekly newspaper that won that award for the incredible food writing of Mr. Jonathan Gold. Then, sprinkle on top of that, the fact that the only reason my food editor agreed to interview me for a job was because of the writing found here on this blog–it’s officially mind blowing what this blog has done for me.

I’m jump-up-and-down happy. Just typing the sentence “my editor emailed me the good news that I was nominated for Best Writing Voice” has my heart racing. I can’t believe it. It’s such an honor to be considered.

Continue Food Buzz Blog Awards »