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Food Blogger Stories Podcasts

How The Modern Proper Built a Brand That’s Bigger Than Its Founders

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Nov 3, 2026 in , ,

Welcome to episode 595 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer from The Modern Proper.

Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer started out with their own food blogs and a catering business they ran together. In 2013, they teamed up to launch The Modern Proper, partly to keep each other accountable and consistent. When Instagram took off for them in 2016, the brand really started to grow. Today, they run a business with a team that includes a writer, a project manager, a photographer, and a recipe developer.

In this interview, Holly and Natalie share what they’ve learned from working as business partners for over a decade, why their first hire was a writer, and what it’s like working with an executive strategy consultant. They also talk about letting go of some of the mental load, how they deal with negative comments, and why they launched Weeknight Dinner Club on Substack, which has grown to 90,000 subscribers. This is a great listen for anyone thinking about a brand beyond their blog, or looking for a new way for readers to find them.

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How Justin Ellen Went From Camera-Shy to 3 Million Social Media Followers

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Sep 22, 2026 in

Welcome to episode 589 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Justin Ellen from Everything Just Baked.

Justin Ellen started decorating and selling cakes in high school, with the dream of one day opening his own bakery. At the encouragement of his sister, he hesitantly started posting photos of his cakes on Instagram, but didn’t like being in front of the camera. He slowly but surely overcame his fear of being on camera, and now has 1.4 million followers on both Facebook and TikTok, and over 800,000 followers on Instagram.

In this interview, Justin shares how he transitioned from selling cakes to building a business as a content creator, what his first few brand deals looked like, why he decided to launch his website last year (and how he has already grown to 400,000 monthly pageviews!), and dives into the process of self-publishing his first cookbook (out this month!). This is a really fun and inspiring interview for food creators at any level — we hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we did!

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Reinventing Yourself as a Creator with Timothy Pakron from Mississippi Vegan

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Sep 1, 2026 in

Welcome to episode 586 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Timothy Pakron from Mississippi Vegan.

Timothy came to food blogging by way of studio art and his passion for fresh produce, not the blog itself. He started sharing his photography and vegan recipes on Instagram first, built an audience there, and landed a cookbook deal before he ever put much focus into a blog. In this conversation, Bjork and Timothy talk through what it looks like to build a body of work around a strong personal point of view, and why story and connection have carried his career from Instagram to cookbooks to now, a second book (Garden Variety), and a thriving blog.

They also chat about the practical side of running a content business today: how Timothy uses AI tools as a strategy partner for auditing and refining old posts, how he’s adjusting to a search and social media landscape that keep shifting under everyone’s feet, and how he thinks about his blog less as a static archive and more as an ecosystem that needs constant tending. If you’re trying to figure out how to stand out with your story or navigate a creative career that has real ups and downs, this episode is for you.

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How to Keep Creating Without Burning Out with Ashlea Carver from All the Healthy Things

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Apr 7, 2026 in

Welcome to episode 565 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Ashlea Carver from All the Healthy Things.

Ashlea Carver has been creating food content for ten years, and in that time she’s built a well-rounded and financially diversified businesses. But longevity in this industry isn’t just about strategy — it’s about learning how to navigate the harder parts of being a creator online.

In this episode, Ashlea and Bjork dig into the mindset shifts that have kept her going — how she handles comparison and how she’s made a deliberate choice to lead with joy in her business decisions to avoid burnout.

They also get into the practical side of her business — why her blog is still her most valuable platform and biggest revenue driver, why she’s prioritizing email, and how she thinks about Instagram in an era where personality-forward content is so important. It’s an honest conversation about building a business that lasts — one that doesn’t burn you out, doesn’t make you dependent on any single platform, and actually feels good to run.

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Reinventing a Food Blog After an 80% Traffic Drop with Carrie Forrest from Clean Eating Kitchen

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Mar 31, 2026 in ,

Welcome to episode 564 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Carrie Forrest from Clean Eating Kitchen.

Carrie Forrest has been blogging since 2009 and has experienced the full range of highs and lows that come with building an online business. When Bjork first interviewed her in 2018, she was already growing Clean Eating Kitchen with simple, healthy recipes and a strong foundation in SEO and keyword research.

Between 2022 and 2024, that strategy paid off in a big way — Carrie grew her site from a few hundred thousand monthly pageviews to nearly one million. But with the rollout of AI Overviews, many of the keyword-driven and how-to posts she relied on were hit hard, leading to an 80% traffic drop almost overnight.

In this episode, Carrie shares how she’s navigating this rebuild season — from leaning into her email list and YouTube to focusing on what AI can’t replicate: human connection, empathy, and transformation. It’s an honest conversation about the shifting landscape for online creators and what reinvention can look like after years of success.

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Strategically Launching a Food Blog with Jessica Wine

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Mar 3, 2026 in

Welcome to episode 560 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jessica Wine.

In this episode, we’re chatting with Jessica Wine about what it really takes to launch a food blog from the ground up. Drawing from her background in the tech start-up world, Jessica shares all of the details about her launch process and why she intentionally built in a learning and development phase before ever hitting publish.

From branding and backend tech to time management and AI, this conversation is packed with practical insights for anyone preparing to start — or restart — a food blog the right way.

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Trusting Your Creative Instincts to Build a Million Follower Food Brand with Claire Dinhut

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Feb 17, 2026 in

Welcome to episode 558 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Claire Dinhut from Condiment Claire.

Claire Dinhut first started sharing food content on TikTok when she lost her job working on a food and travel docuseries during the pandemic. Since then, she has grown to over 1 million followers on TikTok, published a cookbook, and started a Substack blending food, travel, and history into a cohesive content brand. Claire’s journey is a good reminder that you don’t need to follow a rigid formula to succeed online. By leaning into what felt natural — documenting her interests, telling stories she genuinely cared about, and creating without overthinking — she built a business that feels aligned, sustainable, and creatively fulfilling.

Whether you’re curious about Substack, growing on TikTok, or finding your own creative rhythm, this episode is packed with insight and encouragement to trust the way you create best.

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Monique Volz On Reinventing Ambitious Kitchen Over 14 Years

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Nov 11, 2025 in ,

Welcome to episode 544 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Monique Volz from Ambitious Kitchen.

Monique launched Ambitious Kitchen in 2011 as a passion project and now it has grown into her full-time business (with several employees) and a New York Times bestselling cookbook (and another cookbook on the way). In this interview, Monique shares how she has adapted to all of the changes in the food creator landscape over the last 14 years, how her priorities and definition of success have changed, and the different “eras” of her business.

Due in part to an incredible season of growth during the pandemic, by 2022, Monique was burned-out. The pressure of keeping up with constant content demands — especially in the age of TikTok and Reels — prompted her to take a step back and refocus. She shifted away from the pursuit of virality, re-centered her creative goals, and leaned into the process of writing her first cookbook. In recent years, Monique has downsized her team so that she can focus on creating content (as opposed to managing a team) and returned to what she loves most: creating from a place of joy.

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The Journey to Reaching 30 Million Views a Month with Jeanine Donofrio of Love & Lemons

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Sep 16, 2025 in

Welcome to episode 536 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jeanine Donofrio from Love & Lemons.

In this episode, Bjork chats with Jeanine Donofrio, the creator of the massively popular vegetarian food blog Love & Lemons, which now receives over 30 million monthly pageviews (!!!). Jeanine shares the story behind her blog’s evolution — from a personal creative outlet that she started in 2011 to a thriving business with multiple employees.

Bjork and Jeanine also talk about how Jeanine balances creativity with content strategy, manages the pressure of staying consistent, and how she navigates seasons of burnout.

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From Pandemic Hobby to Full-Time Hustle with Danny Dobrzenski

Ann @ Food Blogger Pro
by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Sep 2, 2025 in

Welcome to episode 534 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Danny Dobrzenski from Cooking in the Yard. 

In this week’s episode, Bjork interviews Danny Dobrzenski, a food creator who turned a pandemic hobby into a full-time content career. After getting laid off in April 2020, Danny took a leap of faith and leaned into sharing his cooking journey online. With some serious hustle and smart use of platforms like Instagram and Facebook (particularly Facebook!), he built an engaged audience and started landing brand deals that helped turn his passion into a paycheck.

Danny also reveals what it really takes to grow as a creator, from staying consistent with content to learning how to navigate ever-changing social media algorithms. He discusses how delegating and “buying back time” helped him scale and why building a strong creator community is at the heart of everything he does. Now, he’s launching a new project to help other creators do the same: monetize their content and grow with intention!

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