1. Perfection takes time.
“The visual is as much a part of a food experience as the taste, so I take my time when shooting photos. Only when I’m happy with the photos can anyone dig in, by which time the food is usually going cold.” – Eshé Brown, Foodie Eshé
2. Food bloggers don’t own hundreds of pretty tables.
“Most backgrounds in my Instagram pictures are fake. I use print-outs, scrap wood, tiles, wallpaper samples – anything.” – Charlotte Clarke, The London Blog
4. It’s a blog-eat-blog world.
“I constantly have to make sure my blog is saying or doing something a little bit different so that it stands out.” – Jane Cook, Hungry City Hippy
5. Restaurant launches are pantomimes.
“When restaurants have invite-only launches, they rarely serve anything that resembles a full menu. It’s like judging the whole of David Bowie’s career by The Laughing Gnome.” – Jonathan Swain, The Plate Licked Clean
6. More food = more squats.
“Eating as much as I do, I have to work out. I will gladly try any dish – for the benefit of my followers, of course.” – Eshé Brown, Foodie Eshé
7. Eating is the fun bit – there’s a lot of behind the scenes work that needs doing.
“Most of my spare time is spent doing blog admin (planning, emailing, social media, travelling etc.), not to mention going to restaurants, photographing meals and writing posts.” – Lauren Archer, Scran on the Tyne
8. Leftovers are never left over.
“I feed my dog as I cook. His name is Waffle and he’s a big boned baby. It’s a bad habit but I’m in no rush to break it.” – Michael Bell, Mikey and the Kitchen
9. Less is more.
“With recipe posts, what you see is never all that was made. It’s plated up sparingly for aesthetic purpose. After I’ve taken photos, I chuck everything left over on top.” – Michael Bell, Mikey and the Kitchen
10. There’s no such thing as free time.
“So much in-person networking goes on, usually at evening events. It’s tough when you’ve been at work all day.” – Chris Gower, Eating Exeter
11. Being a food writer doesn’t guarantee culinary skill.
“We’re not all great cooks. My homemade Crema Catalana had a carbon-covered top and un-set custard underneath.” – Ellen Manning, Eat with Ellen
12. Ingredients are a luxury, but fancy props aren’t.
“I have loads of lovely props, but they’re mostly second-hand. The most I’ve spent on a pretty plate or fancy bowl is 50p.” – Hedi Pavelcova, Hedi Hearts
13. Posing for phoney action shots isn’t really much fun.
“You see photos of me scattering ingredients from great heights mid-laugh, but I’m not really laughing. It’s so awkward, but it adds life to stills.” – Michael Bell, Mikey and the Kitchen
14. Building followers is all about interaction.
“Building an audience is a hard slog. You spend hours engaging and interacting with followers on Twitter and Facebook and pushing posts on Instagram.” – Chris Gower, Eating Exeter
16. A whole night eating means spending the next day on the toilet.
“Sometimes, restaurants want me to try a variety of things, bombarding my stomach with spicy, savoury, sweet and acidic dishes all at once. I’ve suffered for my restaurant indulgences the day after.” – Eshé Brown, Foodie Eshé
17. Creative licence can be stretched.
“I have stolen recipes, but I’ve never published a stolen recipe without crediting or tweaking it as necessary. A recipe only exists if it’s being passed on.” – Michael Bell, Mikey and the Kitchen
18. Blogging is for love, not money.
“Any money I make goes back into the blog for things like props, camera equipment, ingredients, designs and overpriced raw smoothies to photograph for Instagram.” – Charlotte Clarke, The London Blog
19. Pets sometimes force their way into the action.
“My cat always tries to tuck in to the dishes I create at home, mid photography session.” – Megan Hallinan, Got To Be Gourmet
20. Where food bloggers gather there’s always booze.
“I always accept event invites if there is free booze. I broke my Dry January thanks to an event promising a free bar.” – Natalie Brereton, Stuffed
21. Whatever needs blogging needs eating.
“I regularly eat cake for dinner, biscotti for lunch or fruit crumble for breakfast. I spend so much time recipe testing that the results often replace my meals.” – Lucy Burton, Pudding Lane
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