I’ve been hovering around the fringes of the @fdbloggers Twitter community for a while, watching the #foodbloggersGTK posts. So I’ve finally decided to join in the party, with my own responses to the questions below…
Name?
Gavin
Blog?
brainfoodstudio.com (the little egg)
What was your reason for starting a blog?
I started taking photos of food I made, and posting recipes on internet forums about 7 years ago. When I was looking for something to do with my time, that I would find challenging and rewarding, starting a food blog was the logical progression and I’ve been doing it a year now. Since then I’ve found blogging to be a lot of fun and sometimes utterly exasperating work.
What’s the dish you’re most proud of?
The individual Labneh cheesecakes because they’re a genuinely tasty and uncompromising no added sugar dessert. I remember the elation when tasting them and realising they had worked, really, really well, I think that enthusiasm carried over to the photos as I’m particularly pleased with those as well.
What one kitchen utensil could you not live without?
A knife, because it can do so much, it makes almost everything else seem a luxury.
You’re stranded on a desert island. What three ingredients would you take with you?
Smoked paprika, bananas, olive oil. That almost sounds like a recipe idea, hmmm…
Who do you take inspiration from?
The two people I’ve taken the most inspiration from are Yotam Ottolenghi and Edouard de Pomiane. Ottolenghi has played a big part in my culinary life in recent years because his recipes truly turned my head, allowing me to look at vegetarian food in a completely new light. I’m also extremely fond of Edouard de Pomiane, because he’s possibly the most loving and humble food writer I’ve ever read who talks to the reader in the most endearing, candid way.
Your favourite social platform?
Twitter, because it’s focussed around words, rather than images, although the latter plays a big part.
Biggest disaster in the kitchen?
When I was a teenager, I tried to make jelly in a blender to speed things up and didn’t put the lid on it. We were lucky to escape without burns and fortunately, the mixture cleaned off the walls quite easily. In adult life, I once threw a banana loaf which wouldn’t seem to cook across the room at the bin in a petulant rage.
Favourite spot for coffee?
At home. I don’t have any special coffee-making paraphernalia, but I find noisy and busy coffee shops unrelaxing. However, I do visit them when I am out ’n’ about, or meeting someone and Artisan in Chiswick stands out as being one of the best I’ve had.
Favourite photo you’ve taken?
This is hard, so I’m cheating, these are my top three… Labneh cheesecake with no added sugar, sweety salty lime soda and chargrilled aubergine bites.
Most successful blog post and why?
In a literal sense, my spelt rough puff is the page with the most views, so one could argue that is the most successful. However, my sweet potato with avocado and lime is the dish that I’ve made for myself the most times, becoming a weeknight staple, so feels like the true success story to me. I’ve eaten it almost every week since posting, meaning it’s easy, tasty and accessible, which is what I’d love for all my recipes to be like.
Now nominate three food bloggers you’d like to get to know more.
I don’t feel that I know any other food bloggers well enough to nominate them, and would rather not name someone I don’t know! So I’ll skip this one, sorry.
And to all those who made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope you know a little bit more about me now!