Food Blogs and the World of Food Porn

I launched this blog several months ago after carefully considering the idea for several years (having kept a personal recipe blog for several years that I only shared with friends and family). I had idealistic hopes and dreams of creating a blog full of quality recipes while sharing techniques to teach and revive the art of home cooking. I was tired of seeing junk recipes on Pinterest. I loathed the popularity of recipes that simply combined several cans of this and that and called it good. I craved quality recipes that helped develop cooking skills and brought restaurant-worthy meals into homes. 

And then I entered the world of professional food blogging.

Where I had envisioned joining the cause to revive the art of cooking, I found out that the art has been shoved aside in favor of food pornography. Just like sexual pornography this world plays on your lusts and visual appetite. Food gets its own implants and cosmetic surgeries. Many times what you see isn’t even real. It is injected, plumped, drizzled with glycerin and otherwise staged in a variety of ways. The world of food blogging isn’t so much about the food as it is the picture. You don’t have to know much about cooking at all, but you do have to know about photography. Have you ever tried a recipe from a blog that just looked completely drool-worthy only to have it turn out tasteless and unappetizing? The problem probably wasn’t you. It was the recipe itself! Even if it tastes good, it may look nothing like the recipe. Don’t feel bad about that! You are supposed to be a cook, not a food stylist. 

We loved Julia Childs because she taught her viewers how to cook. She didn’t try and make us into something we will never be. We are not food porn stars. We are home cooks. We don’t need photos of food with elaborate staging. We don’t need to see the powdered sugar dusted on the “counter” with the carefully crumpled napkin and the fork carefully tilted and the carefully blurred background elements. I don’t need the blond with the face lift, botox, and implants. I don’t need food porn. What I crave is food reality. 

Cook with me. I will teach you what I know. I don’t know everything, but I do know a lot and I know I can help you on your own journey as a home cook. This blog is a part-time job for me. It is hard to fight against the food porn industry. I am often tempted to join in. If you see me stray, call me out on it. I pledge to bring you real food with quality recipes. I believe in the basics of cooking. I believe in technique. I believe in you.

This is a completely candid shot my husband took of me making a regular Sunday dinner. This is the real stay at home chef.  That is my real kitchen. 

I welcome your comments and thoughts. If you like this idea then join me! Subscribe to this blog, like me on facebook, follow me on pinterest, and follow me on twitter. 

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