Food Bloggery: My Cunning (and completely unnecessary) Plan to Stalk Dianne Jacob

Tonight I finally made it to 18 Reasons (the amazingly active educational arm of Bi-Rite Creamery). As I've just started blogging, I figured I could use some help, and what better way to start than with a workshop on How to Write a Food Blog? Even more exciting, Dianne Jacob, whom I've been dying to meet, was teaching the workshop. 

I use her classic, Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More, for teaching both food writing and memoir (it's that good). Turns out it's just been seriously updated and expanded, with a huge section on the whole crazy Food Blogging Phenom. It also turns out that Dianne Jacob alone is completely worth the price of admission - opinionated, hilarious, friendly. 

Case in point: Just as I was taking my seat, I heard a woman marvel, "Half Nigerian and half Norwegian!" 


"Hey, that's me!" I blurted, hopping up (despite the fact I'm Finnish, not Norwegian). It was Dianne herself and we were soon making plans to meet. How lovely is that? (Clearly no need for bloggery plottery.)


Though apparently my interest in food blogging does not extend beyond photographing my meals with my BlackBerry and posting them on Facebook (along with the occasional photo of my cats eating popcorn), I did get tons of ideas and inspiration for how to design and focus a blog. Dianne: "Your blog has to say more than I LOVE FOOD!" (jazz hands)!

The only downside was that the man sitting next to me, a loud, fidgety, know-it-all, bellowed in my ear for two hours (where's a desperate housewife with a pocketful of Ritalin when you need it?). So after getting my book signed, I had to head straight to Bi-Rite Creamery for some seasonal ice cream therapy (eggnog with brandy). The peppy man in line behind me was moved to say that I was a beautiful curly-haired Nigerian-Finn and that I could (and should!) try every flavor, no matter how many folks were in line. 


Aww, how Santa is that (if Santa were a jolly South Asian man with a weakness for salted caramel ice cream, and why not)?