You like it, you blog. You dislike it, you blog. You know it, you blog. You need it? Blog. People blog about anything and everything but very few topics that remained constant and actually saw an upward trend in 2014 , especially in the number of followers.
This new breed of netizens are foodies — they love to share about what they eat and where they eat. Virtually. Food bloggers have turned new age food critics, guides to good meals, new eateries or even to just new dishes.
At the same time, they make a star out of a humble cup of tea at an inconsequential road side or make a meal presented for the Gods bite dust, thus making food the all-new battlefield. ‘Get the bloggers’ tops the wishlist of professionals marketing food chains and ‘please the bloggers’ seems to be the game plan of some food chains.
Clearly these self-styled critics can provide more than just reviews and suggestions to dine out. So what do they offer? Recipes, options, cooking help and of course some general gyan in the world of cooking, eating, buying and so on and so forth.
So 2014 was the year of food bloggers. Many blogs made it big and many more are discussed every day. This year also saw an organised meeting of the food blogger community and the blogosphere has given a new lease of life to some forgotten foods, introduced some new dishes and a few lesser-known foods.
How else would regional cuisines of the North East and Bihar create a buzz, with netizens reading and enquiring about ingredients for the dishes and the destinations to source them from.
New writers : Blog followers feel the genre of food writing has touched a new high thanks to blogs. To state an example, Priya S says, “In the US food writing is a big thing, there is Rachel Ray, Michael Ruhlman, Julian Barnes etc whereas in India this genre is catching up now and is spurred by food blogs and the names to look out for are Kalyan Karmakar, Monica Bhide and Sandeepa etc. In 2014, blogs gradually evolved from just writing to churn out new offshoots like food photography and food styling.
A new boom : Blogging has given a new breed of food reviewers a boost.
This has in turn enabled the opening of newer, smaller eateries that hope to make ends meet with marketing through just blog reviews and online publicity.
The USP to survive this game in the new found market: go against the norm. ‘Instead of the usual chicken curry, offer something from the kitchen. Instead of giving customers what is known, offer a dish which has a regional touch,” says Rahul Saridena a restaurateur.
Easy on experiments : Food experiments are not everyone’s cup of tea, so when someone experiments and shares the procedure, step by step, the outcome is variety on the table. Several bloggers like cookingandme , bongmom and finelychoopped have established themselves as trustworthy ones. It would also pay to follow a blog that looks and presents things in a professional way.
The baker : ‘Oh! This requires baking!’ has been a roadblock to many recipes. But what has helped many overcome this fear is help from home bakers from their blogs, that come with an assurance of no failure.
Then there are blogs which almost hand hold beginners with not just recipes but tips on getting the perfect roast chicken and then how to clean the oven and present the table.
Those who shied away from baking with an excuse of ‘I don’t own an oven’ have also been offered alternative suggestions in basic baking in the cooker to build their confidence.
Those who know their baking have even discovered the entrepreneur within.
The city has a number of home bakers who bake unusual bread, healthy cupcakes and the like and yes, blog about it.
What’s up next : Video food blogs.
