Blogging is becoming increasingly popular. Numerous sites are now out there in the bloggersphere dedicated to food, ranging from healthy eating to cake porn. NottinghamLIVE spoke to two Midlands food bloggers to see what gets their tummies rumbling and what advice they would give to wannabe bloggers.
Ellice Atkin from Nottingham is currently a Catering manager for Baxter Storey, but also a keen food blogger. Her blog lotusflowereats.blogspot.com concentrates on healthy food and recipes.
Tell us about your blog i.e. what is it about and what can readers expect from it?
I think a lot of people now work longer hours and have busier lives. My aim is to encourage people to eat healthy but cook quick dishes. I talk about healthy simple dishes you can cook when you come in from work that take 10-15 minutes. I’ve been doing that for about two months now and focusing on low carbs and using things like a Spiraliser to do courgettie
Why did you decide to start a blog?
I cooked from a young age and I’m a qualified chef as well. As a catering manager I’m around food constantly and I’m one of those people who gets excited about food. I’m constantly taking pictures I post on Twitter and my Facebook and I felt I needed more to go with the picture to explain why I posted it and more detail so I thought a blog would be beneficial.
How often do you post?
At the moment three times a week but I want to start doing it daily, not just on healthy recipes but on healthy changes in my lifestyle and more like a diary for me as well.
How do you decide what to include in your blog? Where do you get your ideas from?
Trends, seasonal food and ingredients, social media and things that I do myself. Things I’m doing at work, and also when I go on holiday I like to take in the local culture. I’ve just come back from Spain so I’m doing a lot of Spanish cooking at the moment.
What’s the best thing about blogging?
Being able to express what I think and knowing that if people want to read it they can do, it’s not just me whining on. On Facebook and Twitter its short snappy things about what you’re doing whereas with a blog, I feel like I’m writing something that people are really interested in.
and the worst? I’ve not come across anything negative to be fair but I’m quite new to it. There are a lot of people blogging though and I look at their sites thinking how much they’ve done.
What’s the best thing that’s come from writing a blog? Little things like this – talking to you, and the Nottingham Post wanted to use one of my pictures for an article. I don’t know which direction I want to go with my career but more into healthy eating. I’m considering doing a nutritionist course. I’ve only been blogging for a few months but it’s changed what I want to do with my life. Just from people reading my blog and looking at my food pictures and being interested – it’s just opening up doors.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting a blog?
Just do it, even if your unsure. I think people worry too much about how to write it and how to make it look good. At the end of the day it’s you doing it, it’s got to be personable to you, it’s got to be individual, so however you want to do it, do it. I adopt a bit of humour and write as though I’m chatting to a friend. I don’t make it sound really professional, I want someone to be able to read it and relate. I don’t want someone to read it and think I can’t do that, it’s too professional or these recipes are too difficult. I want to make them simple and snappy, so just write what you want, that’s what I’d say.
What’s your own favourite type of food or cuisine? I like everything from modern British to Oriental food, I absolutely love oriental food and Spanish food but everyone’s like ‘Oh typical Spanish food’ but I like to look at what the locals cook. When I go, we visit local Spanish bars and have slow cooked meats, dishes that people wouldn’t expect are Spanish food. I’m not keen on fatty American food. I did a lot of travelling in America and didn’t like the food.
Where is your favourite restaurant?
In Nottingham I really like La Rock and Sat Bains but obviously you can’t go there all the time.
What item couldn’t you live without in the kitchen?
At the moment I would say my spiralizer but I think my slow cooker, especially in winter. Me and my partner work really long hours, so the night before I just throw all the meat in and get it all ready and you come home to a ready-made dinner.
Pan fried sea bass fillet & squid with roasted cauliflower leaves on a bed of carbless cauliflower risotto
What’s your signature dish?
I like cooking a range of dishes. It I like doing risotto, things like that, with sea bass fillets. I did one not long ago with a cauliflower risotto and pan-fried salmon. I don’t have one set dish that I do because I’m constantly experimenting.
22-year-old Hannah Webster is a Lincoln based blogger and is completely obsessed with food . Her blog is hannahbakesthings.co.uk.
Tell us about your blog ie what is it about and what can readers expect from it?
Hannah bakes things is where I share my recipes, and favourite food and drink finds from restaurants to products. A lot of the blog is about cake, but also my love of tea, gin, brunch and street food.
Blueberry Tart
How do you decide what to include in your blog? Where do you get your ideas from?
I usually don’t post a recipe unless I’m proud of it, or I feel that readers could get something from reading the experience. With reviews I try to keep it positive, I want it to be a space where I share things I love.
What’s the best thing about blogging?
It’s cheesy but the community around it, everyone is supportive and even though your blog is your own people share ideas and feedback and it becomes quite collaborative in a sense.
and the worst?
You can put a lot of pressure on yourself to keep up a schedule or meet the same standards as other bloggers, people get disheartened quite often but there’s usually a lot of support available to help you keep perspective.
What’s the best thing that’s come from writing a blog?
Being able to learn new things, develop new skills and talk to amazing people.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting a blog?
Do it for the right reasons and don’t worry about the ‘rules’
What’s your own favourite type of food or cuisine?
Does cake count?
What item couldn’t you live without in the kitchen?
My electric whisk, I used to make meringues or whip cream by hand but I’ve no idea how.
What’s your signature dish?
Enchiladas
By Tanya Raybould
