Why hello there! For those who don’t know me, my name is Joanne and I am from San Francisco. I started my food blog in April 2007 and I have learned so much in the last 3 years. By joining
Foodbuzz, I was able to attend awesome events, such as the
1st Annual Foodbuzz Festival, and meet some incredible people. I am grateful to even call some of them my
friends.
For the first time,
Foodbuzz started Project Food Blog - a 12-week contest consisting of 10 food challenges. This is the very first one, friends! The ultimate goal is to be the winner of this blogger competition and the prize? $10,000 and a special feature for one year on foodbuzz.com. The judges are the Featured Publishers and three esteemed individuals in the food world: Dana Cowin - Editor-in-Chief of
FOOD & WINE Magazine, Nancy Silverton - Founder
La Brea Bakery, Co-owner
Mozza and Pim Techamuanvivit - Author of
ChezPim.com and The Foodie Handbook.
Starting Monday, 09/20/10, you can start voting. Hint: click to vote.I was excited to join because my blog is different from the ones that are mainly focused on recipes and making the food look like it came out of a magazine. Though I am NOT a pro,
I do know HOW to cook. My blog is dedicated to the dining scene - whether it be at home, at a restaurant, on the sidewalk, or halfway across the country. If something is served to me, it is worth to be blogged about. The pictures are not perfect. The experience might not be either, but the surprises, emotions, and reality of each dining excursion is what ignites my passion. I don’t need anything to be perfect. Where's the fun in having every single dinner perfect? If that does happen, things get boring. That’s why I like to try different restaurants and dishes. Eating at a new place opens my mind to learning new things.
I am eager to see everyone’s material as well as creating my own. For the first challenge, Foodbuzz asked us contestants to create a blog that
“defines you as a food blogger and makes it clear why you think you have what it takes to be the next food blog star…”What defines
me?
There are two parts to be a food blogger:
Food - the required love for it. Without this passion, you’re doomed.
Blogging - the ability to document through words and pictures. I have a quirky way to writing. I actually write how I talk. That's how I like it.
Let’s start with the basics and get in touch with my roots.
My home defines me. I was born and raised in San Francisco, the mecca of foodielisciousness. Sustainable, local produce from farms close by. Artisan food products from breads, cheese, and charcuterie. Some of the best restaurants in the world all here right in my own backyard. In addition to the quality food we have, SF also has a wide range of food from around the world. San Francisco is my playground. I enjoy spending time with those in the SF food industry to learn what inspires them. The more I understand them, the more I enjoy and appreciate my food.
My culture defines me. Aside being a native of the Bay Area, I am a Filipina. My grandmother (aka
my Inang) let me watch her sauté onions, garlic, and ginger for the base of her aromatic soups and stews.
Tinola, lauya, arroz caldo, pancit. These are the foods of my home country.
Fish sauce, soy sauce, mango, bagoong, calamansi, coconut. These are the flavors of my ancestors.
My family defines me. As well as instilling knowledge in me, they have brought me up to be an individual who appreciated food and knew how to make it too. My mother was a single mom, and it was at times up to me to cook for my family. My
grandma and mom are the two women who had the most influence in my life. Without them, there would be no food blogger in me.
The people around me define me. I have friends of all walks of life. We all mEAT up, chat, laugh, and of course, get our grub on! It feels great to know there are others who share the same passion for food as I do. Each food adventure always leads to an experience to remember:
One day, I can be out with friends at a cool restaurant chatting it up with the kitchen master trying to get the secret recipe out of him.
The next, I can be at home with my cousins making pancakes in our Hello Kitty pajamas.
The next day, I can be at a fun event sharing bites with other food lovers in the industry. Would you count Andrew Zimmern’s head sweat as “bizarre foods?”
All I know is that I love to eat, especially with others. I don’t care if it’s from a Michelin star restaurant or from the back of a pickup or if it is being cooked by one of my street food friends. If it’s good, bring it. Life is too short to take food TOO seriously. You have to have fun with it, too!
What defines me as a food blogger? I invite you to explore my website and decide for yourself. I can only say so much, but I feel that a food blogger is also defined by their readers. If you like what I wrote, the question is easy to answer. If you don’t like what I wrote, that’s okay too! Being able to have an opinion and a voice and using it is awesome.
Now really…What defines me?
There is no concrete answer as things are always changing. The seasons change, food changes, I change. Besides, why should I, as a food-lover, limit myself? The world is my oyster…please pass the mignonette. Thank you for taking the time to peek into my little corner in this vast foodie universe and I hope you come back very soon!
xoxo,
Joanne
PS: Voting starts on Monday, September 20th, so if you like what I have written,
please vote for Jo! v(^_^)v
Hmmm...still here? Want more? Let's see.
I like to
submit my writing to magazines and
enter my blurbs in contests. I enjoy
writing food-related poetry. I like to
be in the kitchen, especially
baking cookies. I like
meeting people and
helping people. I love
covering food events and I occasionally relish in
talking to godly figures...most of all, I like being
ME.
I don't know how far I will go in this competition, but if there is one thing I want to accomplish, it's to be memorable to my readers because there are so many great food bloggers out there. If I did that for you, I've done my job. =)
Check out my Project Food Blog Profile!Cheers (for real this time),
Jo
