Tag Archives: australian food blogger

Just over four years ago I published my first post on The Hungry Australian – a recipe for my dad’s Chinese Sausage Omelette.

At the time, I had no inkling that this blog would end up changing my life so dramatically. It all happened quite organically – after six months I was offered my first long-term client contract and my accidental freelance career grew from there.

Last year, something unexpected happened: this blog was judged Best Australian Blog 2014 by the Australian Writer’s Centre, over 1,100+ other blogs.

Winning the top gong was a tremendous surprise and while the recognition was lovely, the subsequent attention and unexpected self-consciousness that followed led to a case of Writer’s Block. Yes, it was extremely ironic.

Happily, a chance conversation on an overseas trip helped put things in perspective and got me back on track: I realised I had to stop worrying about everyone else’s expectations and just focus on creating the best work I was capable of.

Currently, I’m shooting a food and travel book — Flavours of South Australia for Smudge Publishing — working with a few select clients and focusing on my own writing projects. I also have a new agent — Kathryn Fleming at The Fleming Agency — and I couldn’t be happier as she’s extremely good at what she does and her representation allows me to focus on what I enjoy most: creating stories.

Between work, writing and family commitments, I’ve had much less time to blog this year than ever before. But I have a stack of blog posts that I’m doing final edits on and will publish shortly so thank you for your patience.

Most importantly, thank you for being part of The Hungry Australian. As a blogger, I hope to create stories that connect and resonate with people: the fact that so many of you have let me into your lives either via this blog or one of my social media accounts is something I find both astonishing and humbling.

Christina xx

About these photos

I shot these photos on the fly a couple of weeks ago at Nasi Padang Minang, a humble coffee shop at 92 Jalan Transfer in the historical Georgetown area of Penang, Malaysia. At the Nasi Padang Minang the 50 Indonesian and Malaysian dishes on the menu are cooked early in the morning and then left out, uncovered, for diners to help themselves. Australian health and safety inspectors would be having a fit but I knew that eating here would be fine because I was being hosted by Mark from Simply Enak Tours, which specialises in small-group tours of interesting places not usually visited by tourists.

Mark has been coming to this coffee shop for years so he knew exactly what to order. So we ate the delicious house speciality — whole fried fish with fried shallots (ikan bakar) — along with our individual choices of curries, vegetables, rice and salad (ulam) dipped into sambal (chilli paste). I’d never eaten the crunchy, deep-fried flat fish seen on the right side of the main plate before – they tasted like anchovies and were mind-blowingly good. As we ate and drank our iced coffees we chatted about Georgetown’s cultural and food history and I marvelled again at the power of food as both a form of legacy and a way to build new bridges.

For this week’s Meet A Food Lover post, I’m happy to be interviewing my chum Erin from Adelaide blog, She Cooks She Gardens.

I got to know Erin well last year when we were both on the organising committee of Eat Drink Blog 3 (the 3rd Australian Food Bloggers Conference). In real life, she’s just like she is on her blog – smart, funny, dedicated and passionate. On She Cooks She Gardens, Erin blog about two of her loves: cooking and gardening. As I’ve recently been reconnecting with my own garden, I thought it was a great time to have a chat with Erin about growing your own food at home.

Everybody, welcome Erin!

How did you get into gardening Erin? What inspired your interest?

I think I’ve always been interested in gardens and plants. My grandmother was a keen gardener and always had the most beautiful cottage garden. It was a labour of love for her and over the years I was exposed to her love and knowledge of plants and how to care for them. We also had a number of super productive fruit trees in the garden at my parents place; oranges, lemons, apricots, nectarines and figs, to name a few. I especially loved apricot season and at a young age I understood that there were few finer things in life than eating fruit picked fresh from the tree.

I’d love to grow edible plants that can cope with a little bit of neglect during my busy periods. Can you suggest some low-maintenance plants for me?

Herbs like parsley, thyme and oregano will grow like crazy at this time of year and will do so without much intervention. Chilli bushes, once established, will grow for years without much more than the occasional feed. Another really easy option is silverbeet, which will grow happily in a pot so long as it is planted in good soil.

I think the most important aspect of gardening is soil prep – the time and effort you put in initially will reward you later on. I work some pretty crazy hours these days and my garden chugs along without much intervention because I’ve set a good foundation.

Say I’m keen to grow my own food but I don’t have a lot of space in my garden, or I live in a flat. What can I grow in pots?

You can grow pretty much anything in pots, even small fruit trees; it all depends on your budget, how much sunlight your plants get each day (ideally you want about between 4-6 hours) and your patience. I would recommend growing things that you use a lot of which don’t tend to last very long in the fridge, things like baby spinach and bok choi are two in particular that spring to mind, as are herbs like parsley, coriander (though this can be a fussy plant to grow) and mint.

A Meyer lemon tree is a lovely addition to a courtyard or balcony as is a bay laurel (bay leaves) and will reward you for years to come.

If you’re growing in pots then it’s important to remember that your soil won’t last as long as would if you’re growing in the ground because of water run-off. You will need to top up and change your soil regularly, and probably feed a little more than you would in an in-ground garden bed. This shouldn’t deter you – it’s just something to bear in mind.

Of the herbs you grow yourself at home, which ones do you use the most? Can you suggest some good recipes using these herbs?

Herbs are awesome additions to any garden as they taste great and are pretty easy to maintain. They also act as insect repellents keeping nasties like aphids and caterpillars at bay and, when left to flower, attract good bugs to the garden which is really important if you want to reduce the amount of chemicals you’re using.

During the summer months I love basil and put in as many plants as I can find room for. It’s a great herb to grow and comes in a variety of flavours including the standard Genovese or ‘sweet’ basil you find in traditional pesto, lemon and lime variants, Thai basil (great for Pho!) and the more unusual (but lovely) cinnamon basil which is great in summery fruit salads. Basil pairs beautifully with tomatoes and you’ll often find people grow these two together as basil is said to improve the flavour of tomatoes and also helps to keep whitefly at bay. Despite its savoury profile, basil goes really well with raspberries and I thoroughly recommend adding a little basil to raspberry ice cream.

I also really like growing chives which will grow year round but are at their best in the cooler, wetter months. They are a member of the Allium family (the same family as onions) and so are quite useful in the garden as many bugs don’t like the way they smell. Chives make a wonderful addition to pretty much anything including salad dressings, soups, scones and marinades. One way I like to make use of a glut of chives is in herb butter. Soften a stick of butter and add a ½ cup (or so) of chopped chives and churn it together. Re-wrap and store as you would regular butter and add it to boiled potatoes and roast veg, spread it on bread with a little garlic and dab onto fish and chicken.

Dill is another brilliant herb which I always make sure I’ve got in my garden. It is a great plant to have because it tastes wonderful and also repels cabbage moth (which are responsible for those pesky green grubs that eat everything in your garden). When left to flower, Dill will attract beneficial insects to your garden (which in turn will eat aphids and other unwanted visitors). My favourite way to use dill is in a pesto with pistachios and a squeeze of lemon.

I’m thinking about installing some portable garden beds into my back yard to grow vegetables. What would you suggest I do in terms of soil preparation and compost?

As I’ve mentioned already, soil preparation is really important and will make a huge difference to the success of your garden. One of the biggest mistakes gardeners make is thinking they can skip out on soil prep, but I actually see it as being more important than plant selection. There are a couple of ways to approach it.

The first is to buy pre-prepared soil and top up with cow manure and compost at the change of season and the second is to build your own soil using the soil lasagne method championed by people like Stephanie Alexander.

There are pros and cons to each approach. Buying pre-made soil  is costly if you buy it by the bag and won’t last much longer than a season. The upshot is that all the hard work has been done for you and so is a good starting point if you’re short on time or are growing in pots. If you’re going to invest in some beds then I’d suggest finding a landscape supply yard and buying your soil in bulk. You will save yourself a small fortune doing it this way – for example, three bags of premium vegie potting mix will cost between $10-15 a bag and you’ll need about three bags to fill a small bed, add in the cost of plants, fertiliser and mulch and it becomes a very costly enterprise. Compare this to about $8 for enough soil to fill a large bed (and some leftover for pots) and you’ve got plenty left over for other, more exciting things like plants.

The other method is to build a ‘soil lasagne’ which is explained in detail over at my blog and involves building layers of mulch, compost and cow manure to create an excellent growing medium in which your plants will thrive. This method is a bit more complex but, I believe, has much better results than buying pre-made. It’s a bit like comparing a cake made from scratch and one made from a packet mix, I suppose.

I want to teach my kids about growing their own food. What plants would you suggest for them?

I think it’s really important that kids get to know where their food comes from and one of the best ways for them to learn this is through growing their own produce. It encourages them to take an interest in their food and I’ve heard that it can also help encourage kids to try foods they might not have been inclined to eat before.

Strawberries are a great option for kids as the end result is a deliciously sweet reward. I remember growing strawberries as a kid and being really stoked when my first lot ripened. Now is the time to plant strawberries and I’d recommend buying seedling from a nursery rather than planting seeds.

Another great option for kids are peas and snow peas. They are fast-growing, relatively resistant to bugs and can be eaten straight from the plant. They do well in pots (though you will need a trellis for them climb up) and pretty much the entire plant is edible including the flowers and the leaves.

Finally, I would suggest a pot of chocolate mint which, as the name suggests, smells (and tastes!) just like an after dinner mint. If nothing else your kids will love picking and smelling the leaves of this easy-to-grow plant which will encourage further growth. Be sure to keep this in a pot though as mint has a bad habit of taking over gardens if left to roam.

(c) All photos by Erin from She Cooks She Gardens. The top recipe is Erin’s Pan-Fried Gnocchi with White Bean and Kale. The second recipe is her vegan Eggplant and Chickpea Curry.

The Hungry Australian recently celebrated its second birthday. So here are some of my favourite photographs I’ve blogged over the last year.

It’s hard to explain everything The Hungry Australian means to me and how it’s changed my life. But I’m going to give it a go.

I began this blog in mid 2011 with a post about my dad’s Chinese sausage omelette after my dear friend Kerina suggested it. At the time I had recently moved back to my home town of Adelaide, following a stint in Melbourne as a SAHM which in turn followed a successful overseas career.

I was also a freelance writer — I had my first piece published in 1994 — but back in 2011 I wasn’t finishing anything because I had lost my confidence. So I saw blogging as a way of dipping my toes back into my writing again – it would be an outlet where I could safely practise my craft until I was brave enough to jump back into the deep end.

I didn’t realise that a blog can be a deep end in itself.

Fast-forward to two years later and my blog has helped create a new career for me as a consultant, freelance writer, recipe developer, food photographer and stylist. Just try fitting that onto a business card! What began organically through my blog with companies contacting me to do work for them is now my full-time gig.

Blogging has meant that I can work flexibly from home while my kids are small, which is basically my ideal setup. It’s meant that when my husband and I separated last year and I had to get a job after being a SAHM for so many years, the tools and skills to do so were already at my fingertips.

The Hungry Australian has taken me to places I never dreamed I’d go. It’s meant I’ve been invited to be part of some incredible food experiences in Adelaide, interstate and overseas. Last year, it led me to start up the Adelaide Food Bloggers Group and to co-chair Eat Drink Blog 3, the third Australian Food Bloggers Conference. Earlier this year, I was also invited to join the Servved network, sitting alongside some extraordinary bloggers who I’ve admired for years.

Blogging has also brought all sorts of amazing people into my life. People I used to only read about or cyber-stalk (in a non-creepy way) are now friends and colleagues. Some I chat to online but I’ve never met in person, some I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy meals and experiences with, and some have become close and treasured friends. If you’re one of these people — and you know who you are — I am so glad to have you in my life.

Along the way The Hungry Australian has been honoured with all kinds of recognition. I was especially thrilled to be a finalist in the Best Australian Blogs 2013 competition earlier this year and to win the Outstanding Use of Photography award for my post Exploring Dubai: Spices, Diamonds, Gold, Fruit & Vegetables – see photograph below.

The Hungry Australian is a work in progress – I’m still finding my feet and working out what kind of blogger I want to be and what kind of things I like to blog about. And I’m not always as regular as I’d like to be with posting content and engaging with readers because of my work and family commitments.

However I do read every comment left and I do feel a warm glow inside every time you share my work. I really love hearing from you, too – I especially enjoy it when you respond with your own stories and experiences because it’s like a little window back into your world.

I am just so grateful for everything that has happened because of this blog. I could never have predicted any of this and I guess that’s what makes it all so exciting.

As to what the future holds, well, I have a few ideas. Which idea I’ll eventually decide on is still up for debate. But I can promise you it’s going to be fun. And there will definitely be food – lots of food. So I do hope you’ll continue to come along for the ride.

Thanks for reading.

Christina xx

Posts from top to bottom:

• A Fathers’ Day Brunch
• Fleurieu Peninsula: Willunga Farmers’ Market, Coriole and The Elbow Room
• Bellini Sorbet
• Chocolate Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce
• Cockling at Goolwa Beach + 4 Cockle Recipes
• Grilled Figs
• A Lovely Afternoon Tea
• The Breakfast Rave, Barossa Valley
• 8 Favourite Things (Delicious Power Crackles)
• J’s Chocolate Banana Cake
• Exploring Dubai: spices, diamonds, gold, fruit & vegetables
• Bruschetta with Quail Eggs, Truffle Paste & Asparagus
• Blood Orange and Pomegranate Salad

A few weeks ago I visited Melbourne and had dinner at Pabu Grill & Sake with a group of local food bloggers, Winston, Ashley, Bryan and Adrian. It was a wonderful evening full of great food, laughter and merriment, and I marvelled again at how blogging has broughts all sorts of lovely new friends into my life.

I hadn’t met Adrian before but during the night it emerged that Adrian’s debut cookbook, What the heck is Filipino food? had just been awarded Best Asian Cuisine Book for Australia by the 18th Annual Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

This would be a great achievement for any cookbook author. For a first-time cookbook author/food blogger, who self-published, it’s a feat nothing short of extraordinary. So I was excited when Adrian agreed to share the inside story on the awards, what inspires him and how his cookbook came about. 

Everyone, meet Adrian!

Adrian, you’ve just got back from the 18th Annual Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Paris. How do you feel? 

Thanks, Christina! Honestly, I’m still in shock. Happy and excited, but still in shock. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that a Filipino cookbook uniquely designed like a comic book would be recognised internationally by such an iconic culinary institution like Gourmand, let alone win an award!

Just getting the cookbook out there was enough for me, but this was ‘out of this world’ unexpected especially considering 171 countries participated this year. It was the only Filipino cookbook on the finalist list so I was humbled and honoured to have represented both Australia and Philippines at the ceremony. I hope I did both countries proud.

What was the Awards ceremony like?

I would describe the ceremony as being the Cookbook Oscars, well, it certainly felt that way and many people I spoke to that night described it the same way. It was a red carpet shindig filmed live with 1,500 attendees not including media and was held at the Louvre Museum so we were surrounded by so much history and art. I had just been to see the Mona Lisa the day prior so knowing we were in the same building was simply incredible.

The organisers did such an amazing job. The most memorable part of the evening (apart from the hefty amounts of foie gras) was seeing my cookbook displayed on the massive screen when my category was announced. I wanted to jump up and down right then and there. In that moment, it made all the hard work of putting the book together and all the challenges that came with it, worthwhile.

Did you get some serious eating done in Paris? What were your most memorable meals?

I did nothing else but eat. Well, there was the sightseeing but I always made sure I had something edible in my hand whether it be a fresh berry tart or a warm croissant from the endless boulangeries around the city. I followed my food compass which was going bizerk!

It may sound clichéd, but eating beef bourguignon whilst watching little snowflakes trickle down at the cosy local favourite, Les Mauvais Garçons was exactly what I wanted to do in Paris.  Another highlight was the Seafood feast at Huîtrerie Régis. I randomly found this boutiquey secret near the market where all they do is wine and seafood.  They have four kinds of oysters, the sweetest prawns and a large selection of wine to guzzle down.

Le bar à huitres by Garry Dorr was another hit with their seafood from  crispy sea bream served with buttery mash, seafood platters so high you almost need a stool to grab the sea snails to reinventing how olive oil should be served – via a cologne bottle along with the simple things like grabbing a punnet of the most juiciest blackberries from the market to gorging on fresh bread, butter and pate. I also brought back a year’s supply of terrine after tasting a particular brand at a restaurant.  Paris is truly a foodie’s dream. I was in bliss and didn’t want to leave.

Tell us about your blog, Food Rehab. When did you start blogging and what kinds of things do you blog about?

I started Food Rehab in early 2009. Over the years, my blog has evolved. I now focus on things I like writing about the most – Filipino food of course, reflective pieces on being a food blogger and my thoughts on blogging in general like How I turned into the EATER I am today, the crazy Cafe Hopping series where I run around Melbourne devouring as many breakfasts as possible within a 48 hour period (kinda like the Amazing race but with food), my CHAT series involving a mixture of interviews with culinary greats and charity driven entrepreneurs changing the landscape which I’m really passionate about from Shane Pereira – who creates 5000 meals a month for the hungry, The Reading Room Cafe who not only serves the best French Toast in town but also gives back to the community, Adam Liaw and my latest interview with the now famed Candied Bakery. I also document my travel adventures from eating sushi alive (eep!) in Japan, Fried Chicken hunts in the US to unofficial Filipino Food tours across California.

My style of writing is at times, unconventional. I guess being one to stick to the norm just isn’t in me and that side of me comes through into my posts. I think that’s really important that your blog is written in your own voice and style. I don’t take myself too seriously and tend to blend my love for comics into the blog which you may notice in the blog’s header as well as my cookbook’s front cover.

How did ‘What the heck is Filipino food?’ come about?

Inspiration for the book was definitely from my mum. She raised two rowdy boys on her own yet managed cook us the most amazing meals that had us running back home for Merienda after school.  Unlike most kids, we skipped the milk bar most days, yet none of her recipes were written down. Mum ruled the kitchen. I offered to put them up on my blog as a tribute to her recipes and for her friends to read but Mum was a little skeptical.

“BLOG? Can you show my friends how to use a blog?”

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To kick off my new Meet A Food Lover series I’m proud to present this interview with Sydney blogger Karen from Citrus and Candy.

When I started blogging in mid 2011 Citrus and Candy was one of the first food blogs I stumbled across. Karen’s mouth-watering photography immediately caught my attention and I remember being struck by how artfully she used light and shade to create drama in her photographs.

Later, I met Karen at Eat Drink Blog 2, and remember feeling slightly awestruck in her presence. At dinner we discovered we shared a passion for Penang Asam Laksa. Now anyone who loves Penang Asam Laksa as much I do immediately qualifies for lao peng you or ‘old friend’ status with me.

So without further ado, let’s get up close and personal with Karen from Citrus and Candy!

*Drum roll*

Karen, you’re an Australian born in England to Malaysian parents. So what’s on the menu when you catch up with your family? Who cooks?

Me! My mother is a great cook but she’s lost the love for it and sees it as a chore now so she doesn’t make a lot of the dishes I grew up with (gawd I miss her salted fish fried rice!). So I tend to take over but I only ever make assam laksa, congee or nasi lemak. And when it comes to English food, it’s me again. But I still rely on her for bak kut teh, beef rendang and curries.

What are your top 5 Malaysian dishes?

 Only five? How to choose?!

1. Assam Laksa (see below) – a thick murky fishy noodle soup that’s sour with tamarind and lemongrass, spicy, sweet and salty. It’s fresh, aromatic, pungent and flavoursome.
2. Har Mee (Prawn Noodle Soup) – a spicy prawny bisque-like noodle soup with pork.
3. Malaysian Chicken Rice – rice cooked in chicken stock with a tinge of ginger and fried shallots and served with either super tender poached chicken, roast chicken or char siu and siu yoke (chinese bbq pork and crispy roasted pork belly pieces).
4. KL Hokkien Mee – fried egg noodles with a thick dark slurpy gravy flavoured with pork fat, cockles and sweet soy. A bib is recommended.
5. Apam Balik or Ban Jian Kuih – Malaysian peanut pancakes/crepes; can be either crispy and thin or thick and bready. Like a pancake omelette folded over a mound of ground peanuts, sugar and melted butter (sometimes cream corn but that’s a big no for me!).

With lots of food blogs focusing on healthy food – not that there’s anything wrong with that! – I love the fact that your blog celebrates the joys of fat, sugar and salt. What are your favourite dessert recipes?

Oh gosh it’s terrible right? Whenever I’m brainstorming or looking at recipes, I automatically start thinking, this needs more butter/caramel or how can I turn this into a chocolate dessert?

I always tell myself to eat better but I have to be realistic (or rather accept that I’m weak-willed) because there’s no way I could ever live without dessert and fried foods so it’s everything in moderation (well at least try).

My favourite desserts are tarte tatins, chocolate fondants or anything with brioche. Actually anything with gooey chocolate, crème patissiere, salted caramel and lots of butter is fine by me!

What are the kitchen items and gadgets you can’t live without?

I love my chinese cleavers like they’re my family. I never realised just how valuable having a super sharp cutting instrument was until I cooked in other kitchens and had to use their crappy dull knives to chop (from then on I vowed to always travel with my cleavers if I’m going to someone else’s kitchen!).

I also couldn’t live without my silicone spatula, Pyrex measuring jug, measuring spoons, digital scales and Kitchenaid mixer.

What are your favourite cookbooks and blogs?

The books that I’ve thumbed through most are Heavenly Cakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum, Flour by Joanne Chang, Jamie’s Great Britain and Cooking For Friends by Gordon Ramsay.

For blogs, there are so many that I love that I can’t possibly list them all. Raspberri Cupcakes and Spicy Ice Cream are good friends of mine but they are just the most brilliant bakers and I’m always in awe of their work. I also adore Souvlaki For The Soul, David Lebovitz, Desserts For Breakfast, Bakers Royale and Call Me Cupcake.

Congratulations again for being a NuffNang Best Photography Blog Finalist for 2011. What was it like attending the awards ceremony in your home town of Malaysia? 

Thank you! It was a huge surprise but I was thrilled to fly home to KL! It was a bit of a surreal Alice-in-Wonderland kid of night with the whole glitzy Hollywood-esque ceremony and the buzz around some bloggers who are like celebrities over there.

The blogging industry is so huge, intense and competitive in Asia whereas it’s still a new thing in Australia and for most of us, it’s a thing we do quietly on the side. So it was a little bizarre but all in good fun. I’m just grateful that I was able to pop in a quick visit to my grandmother who I haven’t seen in 3 years (plus I couldn’t wait to get my fixes of iced milo and assam laksa!).

Karen, you are still using the same camera — a Canon EOS 1000D with a Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 lens — that you began blogging with in 2008. How did you teach yourself about photography? 

You should’ve seen me on the first day I got my Canon 1000D. I was so lost with all the buttons and I had no idea what anything meant so it took me 5 minutes of fiddling before I threw the DSLR aside and pouted for my old point-and-shoot. Luckily I forced myself to pick it back up!

I made sure to read up on digital photography and the technical stuff; from online tutorials on photography blogs and websites to checking out photography groups on Flickr (there’s a lot of good advice and tips to be had from other photographers). Then it was just practice practice practice. I took photos everywhere I could under different lighting situations; outside, inside, portraits, pets, dinners and low light.

How long did it take you to get to know your camera and feel happy about the photos on your blog?

It wasn’t until recently that I was happy with the photos but then again, I’m always striving for more so even though I’m happy now, I know that I can push myself to do better. I’m not even a perfectionist by nature but having great photos is a huge motivator and there’s always more to learn. Just learn the basics then practice your butt off (and consider each ugly photo a learning curve).

Are there any camera accessories that you think are essential? 

A diffuser and reflector are my best friends. Whether I’m using natural light through the glass door or artificial lamps, the light is always too harsh so a diffuser softens the blow and helps with over-exposure. If you don’t have one, translucent white fabric or tracing paper works too. And I need the reflector for bouncing light onto dark spots. This can either be a simple white cardboard, mirrors or (like me) one of those silver foil cake boards.

I also recommend a tripod if you have shaky hands and iffy light but personally, I don’t use it too often.

How do you get that beautiful lighting in your photos? Do you have any food photography tips you’d like to share? 

Natural lighting is the way to go. It shows off the food beautifully and it means less work tweaking with camera settings and photo editing. I like to do most of my photos in front of my big glass door around the late afternoon where the light is the softest and most diffused. Although lately I’ve been working with artificial light but I’m still a beginner with that.

As for the food photography tips, start with the fundamentals – ISO, exposure, aperture, shutter speed, light metering and white balance; how to adjust their settings on your camera quickly and knowing what each one does for your photos.

The other important thing is how to use the available light. This took a lot of trial and error for me because I don’t have an awesome studio, my house isn’t very well lit and I have ugly sponged yellow walls. But with a bit of diffusing, reflecting and white balance adjustment, I learned to co-operate with my house. I must’ve taken photos in all the rooms to figure out what worked best for me but everybody’s “studio” is different so you’ll have to see what works for you at your place.

You’re a proud Photoshop whore. Can you take us through the steps you’d typically go through when editing one of your photos? 

Oh I love, love Photoshop because frankly, photos never look as nice straight off the camera without some kind of post-processing. I don’t do anything fancy, just noise reduction, sharpen, brightness and contrast, white balance, colour boost and resizing. Sometimes I love playing around with filters.

What’s next for you Citrus and Candy?

A holiday will be nice! I still ache for Malaysia like crazy. But for now, I miss my blog and kitchen so I really ought to pay more attention to it.

All photographs (c) Karen from Citrus and Candy. Republished with permission. 

Last November I was lucky to attend the second Australian Food Bloggers Conference in Sydney – see my write up here. This invite-only event was a fantastic way to glean blogging tips and advice from the experts and meet food bloggers from all over Australia.

Although I was a new food blogger at the time, I remember the thrill of being in a room full of people taking photos of food, and talking about all the issues that come up when you embark on a food blogging journey.

The sense of camaraderie was wonderful and I made many friends who I’ve continued to stay in touch with. We share tips and advice,  feedback on each other’s work and provide support and encouragement. I also knew just who to call for advice when I started getting approached to sell my photographs and when sponsorship and advertising opportunities presented themselves.

Back in Adelaide, I was aware of a number of other food blogs but there was no sense of community as I had experienced in Sydney. So after chatting to a number of Adelaide food bloggers online and organising a couple of meetups I decided to set up the Adelaide Food Bloggers Group on Facebook. Here members post details of meetups, food news and food events and share tips and advice.

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I’m excited to be guest posting for Kristy Bernado at The Wicked Noodle this week.

Kristy began cooking seven years ago after her children were born and she had to adjust from a life of DINK (Double Income No Kids) to OIWK (One Income With Kids). Prior to having kids she was VP of Human Resources at a large restaurant chain and ate out every meal so it was quite a lifestyle change, but one that led her on a journey to where she is today – a successful private chef and award-winning blogger.

Of her new, food-focused life, Kristy says she finally understands the old saying: “if you find a job that you love, you’ll never work another day in your life”.

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