Interview With Alanna from The Bojon Gourmet

A short interview with Alanna Taylor Tobin about her new book, blogging and much more.

Alanna Taylor-Tobin, the gorgeous lady behind “The Bojon Gourmet”  is one of the food blogger I admire for a very long time. She is not only a experienced blogger, but also an amazing photographer. Her work is pure art and her posts are reflection of her life – you can get lost in her website for hours! I can blindly trust her post and try a new recipe/product just because she has said it.

All photographs in this post are by Alanna Taylor-Tobin.

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Thank you Alanna for doing this interview with me. First of all, congrats for your new book. I can’t wait to see the gorgeous photographs and your signature recipes. Thank you again for doing this second Interview with me. Folks, you can pre order it from Amazon today.

Alanna has done a gorgeous interview on Food Photography before at Story of Cooks. Click here to read more.

Please Tell us about your new book, Alanna!

Alternative Baker: Reinventing Dessert with Gluten-Free Grains and Flours is all about baking delicious pies, tarts, cakes, cookies, and breakfast pastries with flavorful, whole-grain flours that just happen to be gluten-free, too. Some of my favorite recipes include Maple Bourbon Peach Cobbler with Cinnamon Teff Biscuits, Buckwheat Pear Galettes with Salty Caramel, Cherry Chestnut Chocolate Chip Cookies, Muscovado Mesquite Banana Cream Tart, and Coconut Tres Leches Cake with Mango and Rum. I styled and shot over 150 photos for the book and I’m very excited for its release this September (2016) by Page Street Publishing Co. under Macmillan.

1. Why did you start food blogging?

In 2009, I had a recipe I wanted to share (these crackers:http://bojongourmet.com/2009/09/spelty-sourdough-crackers/) and my boyfriend suggested I start a blog, so I did! That was nearly 7 years ago. A few years ago, I left my job as a pastry chef to see where blogging would lead, and since then I’ve photographed and published a cookbook (Alternative Baker, Sept. 2016) and begun styling food for The New York Times.

2. Most of your recipes are influenced by your previous work. How do you develop your recipe and content? Is there any particular reason behind focussing on gluten free recipes?

I’m sensitive to gluten, meaning that I can eat a little but not too much, so I like to cook and bake GF when possible. As for recipe development, I usually start with an idea, look for a base recipe from a cookbook or the internet, and tweak as needed, sometimes testing a recipe 5 or more times before it’s just right.

3. What’s your procedure for a blog post? I mean what are the steps behind each curated, beautifully crafted post?

4. How much time do you spend on each post?

A good 2 full work days, plus time for grocery shopping and recipe testing.

5. How did you build over 5 million page views and a successful blog over the span 6.5 years?

I try to post at least once a week, and over the years I’ve accrued around 450 recipes on my site. I get a lot of traffic from Pinterest and Google searches. I also try to cultivate relationships with my readers so I have a medium-sized but loyal following, and I try to make my recipe titles and content SEO friendly to the best of my (little) knowledge.

6. There are a lot of good commercial blogs (Note: like Simply Recipe, Half Baked Harvest) out there where I see 5-6 recipes coming out from them every single week when you work on 1 – 2 posts every week. Did you ever feel pressurized by your fellow blogger?

Quality

8. How much important for you to do a sponsored post? How do you choose which brand to work for?

I have mixed feelings about sponsored posts, and I only work with brands whose products I like and who have a nice manner.

9. When you started your blog, how did you promote your content? How do you promote your content today?

Just the usual – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’. Self-promotion makes me uncomfortable, but I know that a little bit is necessary

10. How did you get the book offer? Any suggestions for the bloggers who is trying to get an offer?

There are a couple of long stories that led to the book offer; one that I declined (http://bojongourmet.com/2014/05/cumin-and-honey-roasted-carrots-ricotta/), and one that I accepted (http://bojongourmet.com/2015/06/white-nectarine-prosecco-sangria-ginger-elderflower-cookbook-announcement/). My suggestion is to keep building your following through putting out great content, find an agent, learn how to write a good book proposal, and be choosy about what you accept. Picking a publisher is a little like picking a father of your child – you will be connected with them for many years to come, so you want someone who treats you with respect and kindness.

Much thanks Alanna for taking time from your busy life to do this interview.