What Rhetorical Criteria Make Up A Good Food Blog?

1. What Rhetorical Criteria Make Up A Good Food Blog? A Critical Photo Essay By: Cameron Lothspeich April 2018

2. Identity Foodie • Food Bloggers develop and illustrate their identities through presentation on their own websites • Identities are identified through ethos, a component not always directly thought of when creating a blog. • Expertise, invention and goodwill are self identity comparisons adhered to food blogs (Downs, find pg. #) • Blogs might even incorporate their own introductory narratives that lead to a recipe • Resonance and a sense of pride can be found through food blog posts P r d e

3. Identity (cont.) • One of the most popular blogs out on the web right now is Half Baked Harvest, formed by Tiegan Gerard in 2012. • Her main inspirations before developing her food blog were to help feed her family of nine. • She developed a love for food and began experimenting with recipes surrounding her lifestyle living in a house (converted horse-barn) in Colorado. • She carefully creates narratives surrounding the food she presents on her website. In the following link, Tiegan presents a narrative surrounding shortcuts she made in creating a ravioli meal she prepared for her family, whose flight was delayed, visiting during the Christmas season. https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/mushroom-cheese-ravioli-rosemary-butter-sauce/?highlight=ravioli

4. Aesthetics • Food bloggers must pay attention to food aesthetics, as well as the narratives that surround their food • The presentation of a photo of a food display has a striking and holding effect on an audience, it draws them further into the post. • Aesthetics can include various differentiations of display including: angling, lighting, filtering, proximity to plate, plate presentation, creative innovation, garnishment etc.

5. Aesthetics (cont.) • There are a lot of aesthetically appealing food blogs but I chose to portray Cookie and Kate’s food blog (Cookie is Kate’s dog). • Cookie and Kate’s food blog focuses on natural whole foods with a photographic flair that knows no bounds! • While she does focus on vegetarian meals, she works hard at making whole foods pleasing to the taste buds and the eye (see garnishment, lighting, plating, etc.) • See the link below to analyze how she can make foods like soup look incredibly appetizing (https://cookieandkate.com/category/food-recipes/soups-and-stews/)

6. Experience • Experience has a long and multi-faceted definition in adherence to food blogs. • Consumption is largely one of the best ways to come up with experience for new recipe ideas for food creation. • Longevity of an active running food blog shows the time one has put into the food creation process. • Sponsorship can transpire from a large occurrence of followers and a career can blossom from what was once a leisure activity.

7. Experience (Cont.) • A great example of a food blog that has gained a lot of attention from advertisers over time is the Pinch of Yum blog. • Lindsay and Bjork are a young married couple living in Minnesota who started their food blog in 2014. • Over the years, Pinch of Yum has gained a large amount of popularity amongst users and advertisers have taken notice. • Below is a link to a page on their website where they detail their economic/financial experiences that are produced through sponsorship. • (https://pinchofyum.com/november-traffic-income-report)

8. Health • A common concern for many in the foodie community is the health and well-being surrounding the food they consume. • Healthier food has proved to be helpful to create longer and more able-bodied people. • A well-balanced diet has also led many foodies to feel they have an improved sense of self-esteem. =

9. Health (Cont.) • Alison Wu has created a blog surrounding healthy recipes, self-care and total body wellness. • She focuses on well-balanced eating practices, generally eating organic fruits and vegetables. • Alison’s recipe index alone shows the type of healthy recipes that she creates to bring about a better self. (https://wuhaus.com/recipes/recipe-index/)

10. Global Concerns • For the more socially conscious foodie, global and local concerns surround the food we choose to eat. • Environmental sustainability is an issue for many, not only in terms of food waste but in terms of recycling containers we use to carry and display food. • Community support is often crucial for local growers and community-based businesses to succeed.

11. Global Concerns (Cont.) • The Community Food Co-op in Bozeman, MT is a great example of a community driven establishment based on local growers and sustainability. • The Community Food Co-op focuses on creating as little food waste as possible and their containers are either recyclable or biodegradable. • Environmental commitment can be seen in articles provided in their blog space, like this one: (https://www.bozo.coop/co-op-blog/front/co-op-climate-commitment) • They provide a large list of community support as well. (https://www.bozo.coop/deep-roots)

12. Creative Oddities • Various food blogs have become popular because of a certain uniqueness coined by the designer. • These blogs “bring something new to the table” so to speak. • Themes can encompass: bizarre foods, new information, cross-ethnic food mixtures and any number of things society hasn’t yet seen.

13. Creative Oddities (cont.) • The Austerity Kitchen blog is a great example of a refreshing food blog facelift. • Christine Baumgarthuber created this blog out of an intriguing thought that struck her during the financial crisis of 2008. • The Austerity Kitchen combines simpler recipes that historically were used during times of economic disparity. • Christine’s blog shows economically simple recipes that follow a historical timeline (https://theausteritykitchen.wordpress.com/)

14. The Big Picture • The best food blogs seem to incorporate as many of these qualities as they can: • Identity • Aesthetics • Experience • Health Concerns • Global Concerns

15. Works Cited • COMING SOON!