What’s the point of blogging?
I’m back from a short break and during that time I chatted with three fellow Caribbean bloggers, Chennette, Trinigourmet and Cynthia to explore the reasons why Caribbean food bloggers do what they do.
I’ve found that although our blogs have very different styles, the underlying reasons for why we blog are basically the same.
I started blogging in February 2006 with the intention of getting the discipline and inspiration I need to start writing a cookbook. There was no idealism about it, no grand illusion of becoming rich off blogging; it was just something I wanted to do for fun.
Plus, I know I can string two sentences together and I figured that it would be a good way to convey my passion for food. In the year and a bit since I’ve been blogging, it’s become more and more obvious that there are several reasons why my fellow bloggers and I must continue doing this.
1. Recording our food history
Most of the recipes we call favourites or classics, have been passed down orally through the generations and as a result, there isn’t a lot of consistency in the way that most of our favourite dishes are made. Trinigourmet pointed to an established cuisine like French cuisine and noted that there are standard ways of making certain dishes, like soufflés, for example. However, if you’re looking for a classic Caribbean recipe, you’ll often find many variations depending on who gave you the recipe or where you got it. We can use our blogs to exchange information and arrive at consensus at some of those recipes. Another important task is making a detailed pictorial record of techniques, something that isn’t done very much for Caribbean food.
2. Our chefs don’t write
Unfortunately, not many homegrown chefs have published in any serious way. In the US and the UK books by chefs like Anthony Bourdain, Ina Garten, Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver practically dominate the market but in the Caribbean, not many of our chefs have published any books you can call ‘top notch’. Using the medium of the Internet, people like Cynthia Nelson who is already a passionate food writer, can use her blog to write about food topics that aren’t generally covered by our chefs or any other writers for that matter. Cynthia, who has a food column in Guyana’s Stabroek News says she hopes to write several cookbooks and is already using her blog to explore some of the ideas she wants to put into a book.
3. Owning our food culture
Too often, foreigners who don’t totally understand our context have written awful cartoon books posing as books about Caribbean food. As far as our cuisine goes, there are no better connoisseurs than us! We know how the food should look, smell and taste and as part of the new generation of food writers I feel we’re in a great position, given the technology at our disposal to give the world a true representation of what our cuisine is about. As Chennette said, “I just want to give helpful information on Caribbean life.”
4. Building pride in our cuisine
We love our food and we’re proud! It’s time for Caribbean people to step up and boast about what we have to offer and also, to correct the errors we often see when others have written about our cuisine.
According to Trinigourmet, “part of the problem has been a sense of inferiority, an inappropriate amount of gratitude when we get mentioned (in foreign media) – even if they are wrong,” she said. “We shouldn’t be so hungry for external validation that we settle for things that miss out basics. Bloggers don’t have to bother with the traditions of the food world because we’re making our own and setting the rules.”
April 13th, 2007 at 23:31
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI’m back from a short break and during that time I chatted with three fellow Caribbean bloggers, Chennette, Trinigourmet and Cynthia to explore the reasons why Caribbean food bloggers do what they do. I’ve found that although our blogs … [...]
April 14th, 2007 at 04:40
Now I can’t wait to hear more of what TriniGourmet and Cynthia said
I have been thinking more and more of what I want to do with my blog and while it’ll take some time, it’s great to know that there are others out there with the passion and sometimes the same experiences.
April 14th, 2007 at 07:43
This is just a prelude to the other article. Yep, we got to continue just because we can!
April 16th, 2007 at 13:01
[...] Can Cook, Must Cook recently had a discussion with three other Caribbean food bloggers – the happy outcome was that “it’s become more and more obvious that there are several reasons why my fellow bloggers and I must continue doing this.” Share This [...]
April 16th, 2007 at 13:24
Excellent idea to do this. Looking forward to reading more.
April 16th, 2007 at 14:02
Hi,
Good to see ur blog..loved it.
For good Indian dishes do find some time to check my blog!!
http://indianfoodfusion.blogspot.com/
Cheers
April 16th, 2007 at 16:30
Great site, great ideas. Yes, I love this!
April 17th, 2007 at 03:32
yuh givin’ meh goosebumps gyul!
April 19th, 2007 at 02:53
I’m echoing Chennette’s thoughts – can’t wait to read what the others said.
The timing for this story could not be better, as we become more globalized, it is time to speak up, write up, and cook up more of what makes us who we are.
April 24th, 2007 at 17:14
Man, I must say, every word expressed here is exactly how I feel. I mean, I was born in Brooklyn, Ny but raised in Las Vegas, Nv. so by trini standards I would be considered a yankee through and through but I am trini to de bone! Both my parents were born and bred there so regardless of location I was raised in trinidad and as a trinidadian. What I mean by that is you are raised the trini way regardless of what country you live in. Anyways, with this in mind, I firmly believe we have one of the best if not THE BEST cuisines on the planet! I have a dream to one day(hopefully)open a nice west indian themed restaurant with very strong trinidadian roots to show the world that we can hang with any cuisine on the planet because our cuisine is the result of what happens when we combine some of the world’s best cuisines! If you feel the same way keep blogging and let’s remind the world who truly has “Sweet Hands” when it comes to cuisine.
Jevon
http://pholouri.blogspot.com
April 26th, 2007 at 08:53
Jevon, I’m really touched by your words. We need Trinis everywhere to recognise the richness of our cuisine, but it goes deeper than Trini – the Caribbean is a place of fantastic diverse tastes and there’s a great history behind those tastes and we who have the opportunity and the technology have to reveal it and put it there for the world.
May 1st, 2007 at 04:16
[...] I was also quite flattered to be interviewed recently by Can Cook Must Cook for an article she is developing on Caribbean food bloggers and what drives us to do what we do. She compiled her developing thoughts into a very interesting post which you can read here. [...]
May 14th, 2007 at 04:25
[...] Aloo Pie, Pigeon Peas & Rice, chow-chow… Trinidadian food still is not well-known internationally, largely in part to a lack of published documentation (a fact which Trinifood expounds on here). Fortunately Ramin Ganeshram’s Sweet Hands: Island Cooking From Trinidad And Tobagowas released in 2005 and is probably the most internationally available cookbook devoted to traditional Trinidadian fare. [...]
September 19th, 2007 at 16:41
[...] at http://www.cancookmustcook.com/?p=88 delivered by [...]