Project Food Blog Challenge #1: Ready, Set, Blog!

You may have noticed that little widget on the left side of the page. Well, Foodbuzz is holding a contest for its Featured Publishers, which I have been for the last two years. Project Food Blog pits bloggers against one another in a series of challenges for a chance to move on to the next round and hopefully win the ultimate prize, a one year special feature on the Foodbuzz website and $10,000. This is not for the faint of heart, as there are many great bloggers vying to be crowned the next food blog star.

Am I nervous? You bet.




So here is the first challenge: “create a blog post 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.” I’ve been thinking of my answer on and off for the last few weeks, but it just kept alluding me. Worried I was overanalyzing, I took a step back and thought, “why did I start a food blog?”




I started food blogging in the summer of 2005. Before then I had been reading a handful of food blogs, and thought I could do the same thing. I had just gone back to school and as a way to keep costs down, I was cooking more. So at that time the blog was a means to keep track of all my cooking adventures and when I did go out, a way to remind me of all the places that I liked… and disliked.




And here I am, five years later, and still at it. The blog name and some of the faces have changed, but my interest in food remains the same. In some ways, it has increased… and I think it is because of this blog. While I still retreat back into my comfort zone from time to time, I have taken strides in stepping out from it.

I understand now when Julie Powell wrote how the Julie/Julia Project saved her life. In her instance, in mine - and perhaps the same holds true for many others – food led to our Aha! moment. That moment of clarity where everything makes perfect sense, and we just… get it.




What defines me as a food blogger is my continued interest, curiosity, and my desire to learn more and do more. If it wasn’t for this, I wouldn’t be frantically writing to make the deadline. I’m not saying food defines my life, but it is merely a prominent fixture as I go through it.

Do I think I have what it takes to be the next food blog star? Absolutely. My reasons that define me as a food blogger also explain why I would be able to make it to that next level. I write a blog that doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. It’s sometimes smart, sometimes informed, sometimes funny, and sometimes none of the above. I write because it’s what I like to do… and something that can only get better with time. I blog because I like food.

I blog because, well… everybody eats, so why not write about it?