What are the world's best food blogs?

I have my own ideas, but last I heard there are at least 200,000 food blogs in existence. That number's not decreasing and I don't think one person can know 200,000 of anything anyway, no matter who you are. If you have a strong view on this, feel free to voice it in the comment box. If you prefer you can email me. This is a for a feature I am writing this week. The end result will inevitably be subjective, but hopefully informed to a large extent by you. Beyond the knowledge picked up through the three or more years I've been food blogging, there are a few places I've already stopped by to help me with this piece,

• Food Blog Awards - 2004 - 2005 - 2006

• Food blog section at the Bloggies

• From the forums - Chowhound -  eGullet

• My (not at all up to date, but will update it...) copy of my food blog RSS feed.

• What are your favourite food blogs? - Serious Eats.

Plenty of other sources garnered over the years - foodpornwatch, kiplog, Elise, grabyourfork and the countless newspaper features, but I hope this post and my Twitter will throw a few pleasantly unexpected spanners into the final 10. I haven't written a word of this feature yet and I won't start it until, at the latest, Friday morning.

Comments

[The Guilty Carnivore]

When one considers, cumulatively, the quality of design, the tone of the writing, the knowledge of food and ingredients, the un-pretentiousness of the author, and the beautiful photography...I nominate MattBites.com.

[Robyn]

Probably for the serious food nerd only, but theoldfoodie.blogspot.com is quite a compendium of food history.

[Graham]

Thanks. MattBites is very good and I've never heard of theoldfoodie Robyn, will go peruse. Just for reference purposes there's also this page

http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/televisionforfoodies/tp/foodblogs.htm

and this brief discussion

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=printDiscussion&webtag=ab-gourmetfood&tid=21

[santos.]

imo, the best food blog ever is already dead: fatman seoul. everything about it was personal and informative without giving away too much personal information, nothing about it was soulless, even in seoul :) i never felt like it was a commercial site, nor that fatman was ever shilling for anyone nor anything. i didn't feel like he was using it as a personal resume, or as a platform to something else. it was just a really great journal about food.

[Graham]

Absolutely Santos - Always been my fave, always the one I refer to on every level and I found it just at the right time. I still read it, even though it's never updated. I keep in touch with Fats. And now I know what he looks like :)

I would love to list it, and I may, but. Hmmm... Wondering what reason there is for not listing an inactive blog. It still informs. I'm sure Fats still reviews new comments. And as you say, it's a fine example of the art. I think I might just have convinced myself :)

I should add that this feature is part of a far larger look at food blogging. Kind of a massive how to, how not to, here are some great practitioners and some cool tools etc.

[santos.]

there is nothing about food blogging i hate more than "how to"s about food blogging. i mean, it all just boils down to personality, doesn't it? i think most food blog tips are less about editing than conforming one's image to the mainstream.

[Graham]

Agreed. But... some folk don't know what a blog is. Wouldn't know where to start esp. this publication's demographic.

Pointing them to Blogger et al is basic, but neccessary. What they choose to do with the blog once they have one is, of course, entirelyt up to them.

We're not telling people what to do, just showing them the tools, explaining in simple words how they work and pointing to some good examples of food blogs.

BTW - I haven't really seen any 'food blog tips' beyond

http://foodblogscool.blogspot.com/

Do you know of any others?

And the thing about the msm. I was actually talking to Pim about this yesterday. 'Some' bloggers do aspire in that direction, but they're so miniscule in number for it to be meaningless. However, a 'few' of the 'some are highly visible and attract a lot of visitors.

On another related point we got talking about the food blog awards, which I'll readily admit I have not followed since 2005 or so. She mentioned a brouhaha around the same blogs always getting nominated. While I can see this is a bit of a pain if you've just started and you're desparate for links and recognition etc. But so what? the best are the best whether they started four years ago or one year. With more 'competition' it's harder to get noticed, win awards etc. But this is good, those that do get noticed, get linked to and talked about will have earned it, 'cos it is so tough.

Basically, whereas maybe we didn't have to try so hard back in the day. Now, you have to be fucking amazing.

All of this is of course irrelevant to 99% of food bloggers who quite rightly, like yourself and myself I think, don't give a shit about all that. It's about making connections and all that social media, web2 stuff :)

[santos.]

i think there are various discussions on different forums. still life with (101 cookbooks, matt bites to a lesser extent) talks about different technical and artistic aspects of food photography, and then there was that whole cheese sandwich thing which brought up what food bloggers supposedly should and shouldn't blog about (ludicrous).

why are there so many food blog awards anyway?

also, technically, it's never about the "world's best" food blogs; the whole blogging world is western/english-speaking-centric, so it's just about the food blogs people are willing to understand, both linguistically and culturally speaking.

[Graham]

Don't knock the cheese sandwich chronicles. That did an awful lot of good.

http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/in-the-belly-of-the-blog

It woke a lot of people up out of their slumber

http://technorati.com/search/www.foodandwine.com%2Farticles%2Fin-the-belly-of-the-blog?sort=authority

I said my piece at the time, but it quickly made me realise just how many food bloggers couldn't actually read. And, moe importantly, it started a debate, made some folk look at themselves a bit. Just got folk talking, which is always a good thing. Even if they shout a bit now and then.

You're absolutely right of course about the 'world's best' thing. But, editorially it sounds a darned sight better than the "Some of the world's best English language food blogs" Even if that is factualy accurate :)

it is obviously only about the food blogs people can understand linguistically, but I disagree about the cultural bit though. Although, I guess some folk might have a hard time getting their head around some blogs they find a bit too *foreign* for them.

[santos.]

i'm not knocking the actual article, i just found the debate afterwards to be more shouty than introspective.

i can read, i just can't write.

[Graham]

Volume was indeed an issue, this was the a bit more balanced

http://foodmusings.typepad.com/food_musings/2006/02/on_the_cheese_s.html

[Graham]

Just to say a quick thanks to all who contributed to this either here, in email or on Twitter. It definitely informed the process. Several suggestions were included and a large number of blogs outside the ten were included in the accompanying 'guide' pieces. I'll post a link when the feature has a hyperlink.

[Elise]

Hey Graham,
BTW that 200,000 number was, in my opinion as a long time market analyst and former Boston Consulting Group consultant, erroneously derived. A food writer came up with it based on some back-of-the-envelope calculations extrapolating out from a survey, and then got quoted all over the place. I do believe that there are easily 200,000 bloggers who occasionally write about food, but would they qualify as food bloggers? I think not. Those sites who write primarily and consistently about food? Probably a few thousand, though of course that number is growing every day.

[Elise]

BTW, Pete Wells didn't win that many friends with the way he knocked a lot of food blogs with his article. What he failed to recognize was that most people who are writing food blogs are doing so for the joyful personal expression of something they love. Not everyone is a gifted writer, or photographer, or chef. They don't necessarily aspire to be professional food writers. They're just telling their personal stories. Given the sad state of home cooking these days, in other words, people don't know how to cook anymore and they don't have time, we should be celebrating people's interest in food, not dismissing it.

Regarding the best food blogs? What a weighted subject. I would suggest that it has mostly to do with what you as the reader want from a food blog. Is Everyday Food magazine a better magazine than Saveur? Perhaps it is if you are trying to get food out on the table for your family in an hour and you're on a budget, but not if you are exploring the finer aspects of food and cooking. It all depends on what you want.

[Graham]

Hi Elise, I emailed the journalist who quoted the figure to find out more and they mentioned the survey etc.

It's an impossible figure to come up with. My feeling is it's possibly on the low side, if you consider all languages and of all bloggers who mention food a fair bit. Resources like yours and the others I mentioned above are a What the figure does do, kinda like the current 60+ million blogs Technorati figure, even if it is not accurate is let people who are not really aware of blogs know that this is a widespread and spreading phenomenon. Not a freakshow for food geeks.

[Graham]

Thanks for yr second comment Elise, which I missed with the above reply. Points taken on the Pete Wells article, but... what I think was interesting about the massive reaction was the defensiveness of many bloggers. If we're all honest about it, most food blogs are not very well written and don't have very good photographs. Pete was kinda stating the obvious. Good writing, good photography might not matter to many, but if you're gonna put it out there for all to see be prepared for some to criticise. That's all Pete did. If a blogger wrote that piece it might have been better received and debated. Bloggers took umbrage 'cos of Pete's platform as much as anything else. There's a lot of backslapping in food blog world. Pete shook that up a little bit for a short time. It was a good thing.

Your point about food blogs and the state of home cooking is a very good one. I'd qualify that and say 'state of home cooking in western society'. In my experience home cooking in SE Asia is doing very nicely thank you very much. Something went wrong in the west, dunno exactly how, why or when. Even those people who think they know about food, often do not.

As for the weighted topic of the world's best food blogs I've changed the angle slightly to fit in with the whole piece. It's more a 'ten good examples of food blogs'. 'Good' meaning writing, snaps, design, quantity of content, linking etc. Now I know, I know... you can shoot this down as easily as the next list, but... it's aimed at folk who probably don't know what a food blog is, but might possibly be open to getting involved. Following interesting and engaging food blogs and following the links they provide is a very good way of getting started, of getting to learn about the food blog world. It's how I started.

[Elise]

Hi Graham,

I couldn't agree with you more about the "western society" qualification. I really meant to target the state of American home cooking in particular. We know longer know where our food comes from. I lived off of street food when I spent a couple months traveling through SEA, so I'm with you there. Gained 10 pounds in just 2 weeks in Thailand. ;-)

What irked me most about the Wells article was that he completely missed the point. 8 of the 10 or so blogs he highlighted were written by professional journalists or writers, so of course they are going to be a leap above everyone else in terms of writing quality. The real story is that thousands of regular people are expressing their passions for food with their blogs. Even with crappy photos and less-than polished writing the passion comes through. He also missed the point about the community aspect of blogging. At least one of the blogs he ridiculed has hundreds of other blogs linking to it and more traffic, comments, and activity than most of the other blogs he praised. This level of blog liveliness often occurs when the blogger starts participating more in the blogging community by reading and commenting on other people's blogs and by participating in community events. Friendships are developing all around the world as people find their food-loving brethren through their blogs.

Like the new angle on 10 good examples. In addition to the geographical list of food blogs on my site, I also spotlight a select few here: http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/food_blogs/. There are some great ones there.

[Graham]

Have you read Shopped?

http://www.fireandwater.com/books/default.aspx?id=27116

It looks at the UK supermarket supply chain, but what it says could equally be true for the US, if not more so. I think you would like it. And as for SE Asia, you should have a peek at Real Thai, if you don't already.

http://realthai.blogspot.com/

Back to Pete... Hmmm... the communtiy aspect is, as we know, probably the most important point about blogs. That said, i don't think it's unfair to expect those that could improve to take a look at what they're doing? And to hold up a few examples as something to aspire to whether they be professional writers or not.

I mean, if you're regularly writing online for all to read, you must think you can write, you must think what you have to say is worth other people's time to read.

I don't care what all the naysayers say, if you're publicly blogging and yet you say it's just for you and your friends I simply do not believe you. It's easy to set up a blog just for friends, or close access so only you yourself can read it. If the bloggers Pete pissed off in this article really believed they blog just for friends they would have taken immediate steps to make sure it was just friends and family allowed to see the blog. As far as I know, none of the bloggers Pete mentioned did this.

The other point related to this that Pim pointed out to me the other day was some kinda fuss about food blog awards always going to the same blogs. New blogs not getting recognition etc. Someone commenting that perhaps they should call the awards the best no-name blogs or sommit.

Again, if folk are not that bothered by all this and that the community aspect is the only true important aspect why would anyone care if Elise, Chez Pim, Clotilde etc. win every award? They're voted the best for a reason, no?

The funny thing with blogs is I read some badly written ones and I enjoy them for what they are. The bad writing occasionally has me grimacing, but I get through it 'cos there's something in there I like. Whereas, on the other side of the tracks, bad writing in a newspaper has me seething :)

Thanks for your foodblogs spotlight. The raw copy I sent to the editor - not just the ten good examples piece - includes links to at least 5 folk you mention. And following your photography link there's another five I also link to in the piece. Of course, the editor's axe could fall on any of them at any time...

[Elise]

I think if he were just dismissing the great majority of food blogs it wouldn't have been so bad. But he called out at least one blogger who anyone who had spent time in the food blog community would recognize personally.

I've been trying to think of what it is that so offended me by his article and put it into words, so bear with me if this horse died last week and I'm still beating it.

Do you tell a mother her baby is ugly? No. You do not. You may think it. But you certainly don't say so. Blogs are our babies. If you don't like mine, don't look at it. These blogs are intensely personal. When you are invited into someone's home do you insult their decor? No, of course not. Blogs are more like a personal invitation into someone's life than they are journalism.

Reading Pete's article felt like a slap in the face.

Just because Pete Wells didn't find the vast majority of food blogs appealing, doesn't mean that those blogs don't have an audience. Most of them are home cooks sharing stories, and doing so in a wonderfully human way - imperfectly.

For a journalist the web may be just another medium, another platform for one's work. But for most us, who aren't professional writers, it's a way to express ourselves to those who might be interested. And even if the Pete Wells of the world are not interested, there are others who are, even if all we are writing about is what we had for lunch.

Now, this is not to say that I disagreed with Pete's points. I did agree with much of what he said. I just think he not only missed a very powerful aspect of what is going on, but how he made his points humiliated people, including one person I personally know and care about. Not professional chefs with solar system-sized egos who could probably use some humility, but neighbors, teachers, homemakers, friends.

There is enough room on this blog planet for all kinds. Of course if semi-homemade food blogs start to take off I'll have to shoot myself. And the "Made-for-Adsense" blogs can hang for all I care.

Okay, I think I've said my peace finally on that one. Enough already!

Thanks for the link to Real Thai (great photos), I've added it to my list. Also thanks for the pointer to Shopped - looks like Joanna Blythman is the Michael Pollan of the UK. I believe the real problem is that we don't cook anymore. People don't know how. We don't know where our food comes from. So we eat this processed junk and think if we just read the labels and avoid (fill in the blank - fat, carbs, calories) we'll be okay. Uh oh, I see another rant coming. I'll sign off now...

Cheers,

Elise

[Graham]

Not flogging a dead horse here Elise, it's an interesting debate. The cheese sandwich saga remains very interesting to me. And I think you articulate very well where one side of the argument is coming from. I know what you mean when you say,

"These blogs are intensely personal. When you are invited into someone's home do you insult their decor? No, of course not. Blogs are more like a personal invitation into someone's life than they are journalism. Reading Pete's article felt like a slap in the face."

I think this is where the worlds of old and new media clash. Bloggers might think their personal blogs are above criticism. But, if it's in the public domain that's impossible. Nor, I would argue, desirable.

To carry your baby analogy a little further. I wouldn't parade pictures of my son on my blog or anywhere else *too* public online or offline. He's not public property. If you choose to make your blog public then you've got what's coming to you. What's coming is usually good, great even. But it's a free for all out there. As I said earlier, if you don't like the knocks, keep your blog private. If you do want to be intensely personal online and never receive any criticism, keep it private. You simply cannot put everything out there and expect everyone to love you. It's impossible, unrealistic and daft.

If I remember back to when I started this blog I do remember being very tentative. I kept it vaguely anonymous for a while and then anonymous unless you could be arsed to look through the about page etc. That was due to slight paranoia from living in Vietnam, but the other part was probably the part you articulate. And my blog is not intensely personal, will never have pics of me or my family on or any other details I deem too private.

Flickr have private/friends and family buttons for a reason. I use them sometimes. Some bloggers/flickr users have become my friends over the years and I'm happy for them to see that side of my life, but I don't want the world to see it.

I think after you've been blogging for a while you see the knocks some people get in blog space and you half expect it to happen to yourself one day and when it hapens, you take it on the chin. It just doesn't happen very often in the food blog world :)

I've said this before, but if I'd come to Comment is free - The Guardian newspaper's comment blog - with zero blogging experience I think I'd have been pretty shocked, and a bit put out, by the venom that always appears in the comments even to the most innocuous columns. See this one for example:

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/graham_holliday/2006/08/hygiene_hell.html

I totally agree with you about what's going on with blogs and other social online media - people talking, making friends, connecting, doing stuff together etc. - but I'll keep coming back to my point that if you wanna bare all for all not all will like it. And yes, some people will take the time to criticise.

[Elder]

The only valuable and objective criteria is the number of visitors a food blog gets, everything else is highly subjective.

The bloggies 2007 are out and the best food blog is a blog I have never heard of, one who has almost no readers according to Technorati/comments and thus a broken layout. Will you add it to your list?

[Dana]

Regarding being chosen, dismissed or ignored in a best food blog list: Essentially, Elise wants us to celebrate mediocrity. If you can't say everyone is special, then don't say anyone is special. So Graham, you and Pete Wells need to put together a piece about the World's Best Food Blog and simply list all 200,000 of them. Right, Elise?

[Curmudgeon]

I don't know of any food blogs which censor as much as Chowhound. I think it is because of Cnet and their advertisers? Recently I’ve had postings about concern over using food ingredients from China and displeasure about the long lines at my local TJs and their discontinuation of stoned wheat thins censored. Once you’ve been censored once I think you go on a hot list and they carefully discriminate against everyone of your postings. The SF hounds have a picnic each year and this year the Chowhound Community Manager Jacquilynne Schleisier flew down from Toronto to attend. I had a chance to talk to her and what a piece of work! While food is obviously her main main interest (see the photo at http://www.ample-knitters.com/jacquilynne.html ) She also talked about going on cruises with her parents. On her blog she talks about her thoughts about her main interest http://www.jacquilynne.com/mt/mt-static/diet/reasons_why/ I hope this gives some consolation to those of you who have been censored. Now on the other hand she evidentially is taste testing all the food that is mentioned.

[Lastri]

this is by far the most addicting food blog on the internet...I dont miss a post..lol

http://chibbqking.blogspot.com/