The inspiration: Creating my food blog, Feeling Hungry, was an easy choice because I have always loved being in the kitchen and helping out with cooking meals. It wasn’t until the beginning of the COVID pandemic lockdown that I challenged myself to keep my days productive. Cooking and baking for my family were one of the ways I kept busy. When Junior Workshop rolled around, I wanted to create something that I would be passionate about and that also made me step out of my comfort zone. Therefore, a food blog would allow me to do something that I love but also allow me to learn many new skill sets along the way.
The process: I was already aware and familiar with the countless food blogs out there that I used and loved. My first goal was to create a blog that was different from the rest of them. Feeling Hungry does this by categorizing recipes by one’s mood. For example, I created sections named: feeling cozy, feeling light, and feeling vegan, among others.
To create this blog I had to learn how to craft my own original recipes, as I have never tackled doing so before this project. While doing this, I learned so much more about how ingredients work together and I began to trust myself more as a chef. I also had to learn the nuances of adapting recipes that already exist.
I also had to learn graphic design, how to create a blog, food styling, food photography, marketing, social media presence, and even fundraising skills! I learned so much doing this project, and the best part is, that I now have a platform where I can share delicious recipes with others.
What I learned: I learned that creating a food blog and every little component of it requires so much time, patience, and dedication. I am so grateful that Calhoun gave me this opportunity to create Feeling Hungry. This experience was valuable for me because I loved the challenge and specificity of creating recipes, starting from scratch with skill sets that I had never used before, and learning how to put all of the components together into a working blog.
Perhaps what ended up being an unexpected and valuable part of this experience, was that while I was buying food and making recipes over and over again, I couldn’t help but stop and think about how there are so many people worldwide that live with hunger and don’t have access to homecooked meals. So, I did some research and came across World Central Kitchen, a non-profit organization, founded by Chef José Andrés, with the goal to provide meals to communities worldwide in the wake of natural disasters. To date, WCK has provided 70 million freshly cooked meals across the globe. Therefore, I created a Feeling Generous page on my blog where people can learn about WCK and donate to my fundraising page for it.
What's next: Although Junior Workshop is now over, I still spend lots of time in the kitchen cooking and creating recipes that I am sharing on a weekly basis with Feeling Hungry subscribers. I am also working hard to spread the word about WCK to get as many people to donate as possible. I imagine that I’ll keep this blog up and running for a long time. I will always appreciate what I learned from Junior Workshop, as it helped bring out my inner chef and love for making and sharing recipes.