Back and Better Than Ever

My dear friends, my fellow food-lovers,

It has been a long time. I won’t try to deny it. It’s been about six months. Now, I could ramble on about a busy schedule, a lot of changes, and no time at all, but you probably aren’t interested in that. What you might be interested to hear is that the real reason I haven’t been around lately is because for a while, it seemed like I had lost my food-blogging footing.

I still was, and still am, doing a lot of cooking, but chronicling it in pictures and words and posting it for all to see was starting to feel a little pointless. I wasn’t enjoying it anymore because I had no real goal in mind, nothing really of worth to share, other than “Hey, this recipe is really good!” I needed more of a purpose. I needed a point of view. Of course, I’ve had a point of view on food and cooking all along, but I haven’t really been sharing it.

In the six months that I haven’t been blogging about food, I have had two major food-related experiences: I have been through two quarters of culinary school, and I have had my first job in a restaurant kitchen. These experiences have certainly broadened my knowledge and improved my abilities. They have also helped me to develop and strengthen that culinary point of view that I am hoping to talk about more here on Bring Your Appetite. I feel like I have more to share now than I did before, and I am eager to do so.

So, to help me to keep on track and to help you to get an idea of what this blog is all about (from now on), I would like to put forth some goals I have in mind for Bring Your Appetite, a mission statement of sorts:

I will write each post with the intention of sharing something specific: an idea, a bit of information, a theory, or an opinion. I might share something concrete, like things you should know about making your own stock, or something more contemplative, like why we so often associate food with important memories. It might be something controversial, like my thoughts on veganism, or something more black-and-white, like the traditional cuisine of a particular culture. Whatever the subject, I will approach writing each post with the intention of sharing something that I think will be of interest to whomever might be reading this, something that I believe is truly worth sharing.

I hope that isn’t too vague. I’m still figuring this out myself. All I know is that I want to continue this blog, and I want it to be a better reflection not only of what I know about food, but also what I think about food, and what I am interested in talking about on the subject of food. I would love for this food-centric monologue to become more of a dialogue, so readers, if you have something to say, please jump in and say it. I want to hear if you agree; I want to hear if you disagree.

There is one thing that certainly has not changed since I started this blog a little less than a year ago: you mustn’t forget to Bring Your Appetite.

Love,

Jessica