Will Write for Food
Food Bloggers Storm the Port City
SINCE THE INTERNET MAKES RECIPES easy to find, it’s no wonder food blogs have become so popular. Blogs about food give a personal touch to recipes that just can’t be found in most cookbooks. It’s a voyeuristic way to enjoy food— with a side of life and personality from the chef.
Food bloggers have even become authors and movie subjects such as the blog-turned-film Julie & Julia by Julie Powell, which chronicled the aspiring writer’s year tackling Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Other blogs sprinkled with mouth-watering photos and descriptions of plates, like Deb Perlman’s Smitten Kitchen created and baked to perfection in her Manhattan apartment kitchen, garnered a following that earned a book deal.
The Port City, too, has become a top spot for food bloggers with its do-it-yourself sub-culture and appreciation of good food. The food blogging trend has evolved here naturally.
Just over a year ago, KIPPY FICKEN decided it was the next natural step for her as well.
“My mom is an amazing cook and always insisted everything be made from scratch,” Ficken says.
A few years ago, Ficken created a Christmas gift for her sister: a cookbook filled with special family recipes.
“What started as a seemingly simple project became my obsession. I meticulously tested and photographed every recipe and it sort of expanded into a creative process where I was making up new recipes,” Ficken says.
After she finished, Ficken realized she’d found a love in creating and photographing food, so she started her own blog, Young and Entertaining: Social Sips & Cooking Tips. Ficken’s blog is classy-chic in white, black, and pink and has a sophisticated air.
The Young and Entertaining blog is approachable specifically because Ficken creates recipes with easy-to-follow steps and admits when she finds a task particularly intimidating, such as baking bread from scratch.
Before Young and Entertaining, there was Dressing on the Side: Confections of the Closet and Kitchen, created by KATIE COX in 2011. Cox was inspired by other bloggers, including JOANNA GODDARD’s A Cup of Jo and MELISA RUSSO’s The Lil Bee.
“I really loved the sense of support from all over the country from a community made up of mostly women,” Cox says.
Dressing on the Side includes recipes with long lists of ingredients, but each plate is mouth-watering enough to send the reader straight down the grocery aisles and into the kitchen. From Southwest Pulled Chicken Burritos to weeknight Mac and Goat Cheese, Cox covers every palate.
She posts food photos with a few do-it-yourself projects on the side such as baskets for food organization and easy fall decorations. She was posting three-to-four times per week before deciding to take a little time off this past February.
“I was trying so hard to keep up with the pace of the big established blogs that it became more of a chore than a hobby,” Cox says. “I see how silly it was to put that pressure on my little blog.”
Cox plans to start blogging Dressing on the Side again this fall.
Ficken started Young and Entertaining in 2012 and posts one new recipe per week. She’s always looking for new recipes; the first time she makes a new dish, she’ll read five or six different versions before adjusting the ingredients to fit her taste. Between recipes she includes posts about outings with friends, parties, favorite books, and new restaurants.
Ficken’s other love is preparing food for others. When she’s not cooking for her fiancé, she’s cooking for a crowd. She hosts frequent dinner parties and finds any excuse to gather friends for a night of good food and fun.
For those interested in hosting their own parties, Ficken recommends preparing hors d’oeuvres that can be enjoyed at room temperature or prepared in advance to leave plenty of time to mingle and enjoy the company of your guests.
Both Ficken and Cox agree their blogs are just for fun for now, but Cox would love eventually to create a cookbook from the Dressing on the Side recipes. Her hope is to inspire others to cook with confidence.
If you’re looking to start your own blog, Ficken highly recommends hiring a blog designer. But when it comes to writing, Cox says to just be yourself. Gain inspiration from other bloggers, but be true to yourself, she says.
Just remember, everyone has to start from scratch.
To view more of photographer Will Page’s work, go to www.willpagephoto.com
