Food was the highlight of our March meetup. We heard the ins and outs of food blogging while eating lobster rolls and other fabulous food at AND Fish Kitchen + Bar in Pompano Beach.
Our speakers were two local food bloggers who’ve been in the game for quite a while now: Holli Ryan, our former chapter officer and the blogger behind TheSoFlaSage.com, and Tatiana Nicholls, blogger and founder of LokalEats.com.
Photo by @OmarShinez
Both spoke about their journeys as food bloggers and gave practical advice on how to succeed in that space. Although each approached it in a different way and focused on different areas, they’ve both done well and have worked with a variety of restaurants. It just goes to show there is enough room for everyone to succeed in their own unique ways.
Here are some tips from both:
Be Consistent
Tatiana feels the best advice is to maintain consistency in your blogging and social posting. If you stick with it and keep putting out content, you’ll get attention and will have a better chance of reaching your goals.
Photo & Video are Important
Both feel it’s worth taking time to improve your skills in photography or videography for food blogging. Holli is known for her photo skills and feels it helps her get opportunities with brands and PR agencies. Tatiana, on the other hand, is venturing deeper into video and partnered with a videographer to produce videos for restaurants. She also features local chefs in a chef video series she created for her site.
Reach Out & Don’t Burn Your Bridges
If there’s a restaurant you’d like to work with, just reach out. Tatiana usually sends a DM to ask if she can visit, while Holli often emails or tries to go through the owner or PR agency. Once you get known by local PR agencies, you’ll also get invited to events to launch new restaurants or new menus.
If you do commit to attending an event though, make sure you go. As Tatiana said, you don’t want to burn bridges with local PR agents by not showing up.
Spoiled by Our Sponsor
We were lucky to be among the first to try AND Fish Kitchen + Bar, a new restaurant in the Ft. Lauderdale Marriott Pompano Beach Resort & Spa. They spoiled us by going all out with a taste of their featured menu items, including Maine Lobster Rolls (!!), Thai Chili Sea Bass over miso broth, sliders with pork belly bacon and truffle aioli, NY strip steak, arugula salad with grilled peach, and strawberry shortcake.
Thank you AND Fish Kitchen + Bar for the wonderful hospitality!
Photo by @OmarShinez
Photo by @OmarShinez
Photo by @OmarShinez
Photo by @OmarShinez
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