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Food Blogger Stories Podcasts

Preserving Tradition While Scaling a Modern Business with Shen Chen from Just One Cookbook

Ann @ Food Blogger Pro
by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on May 6, 2025 in

Welcome to episode 517 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Shen Chen, who jointly runs the English-language Japanese food blog Just One Cookbook with his wife Namiko Hirasawa Chen. 

This week on the podcast, Bjork sits down with Shen Chen — one-half of the powerhouse duo behind Just One Cookbook. Shen shares the behind-the-scenes story of how a humble food blog grew into a multifaceted business, spanning YouTube, e-commerce, and digital memberships. He talks about the impact of shifting traffic trends, how COVID–19 changed the game, and why sometimes a business pivot isn’t just smart—it’s necessary.

Shen also opens up about his newest venture: a brand inspired by Japanese craftsmanship and cultural preservation. From navigating the complexities of physical products to using social media and SEO to fuel organic growth, this episode is packed with practical tips and thoughtful insights for anyone looking to build a meaningful, resilient business. You won’t want to miss this episode!

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How Britney-Brown Chamberlain Grew Her Food Blog to a $20K/month Business

Ann @ Food Blogger Pro
by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Mar 4, 2025 in

Welcome to episode 508 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Britney Brown-Chamberlain from Britney Breaks Bread. 

This week’s podcast features Britney Brown-Chamberlain of Britney Breaks Bread, who shares her inspiring journey from a $200/month blog to a $20,000/month business. Britney discusses the strategic approach to “active passive income,” offering practical advice on SEO, trend analysis, and maximizing online revenue.

Britney also dives into the power of authenticity and how it plays a huge role in building a loyal following. She shares her social media strategies, how she balances creating content she loves with what her audience craves, and the importance of high-quality content that reflects her unique style. Plus, she goes beyond blogging and talk cookbooks (yep, she wrote one!), brand partnerships, and the difference between marketing content vs. a physical product. Be sure to tune in to learn more about how to take your blog to the next level!

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Key Strategies for Taking Your Blog Full-Time with Alexandra Shytsman from The New Baguette

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Feb 25, 2025 in

Welcome to episode 507 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Alexandra Shytsman from The New Baguette.

In this podcast episode, Alexandra shares the ins and outs of becoming a full-time food creator and her reflections on what she would have done differently to meet her goals more quickly if she had the chance to start over.

Alexandra breaks down the strategies and decisions that have moved the needle over the years — from projecting expenses and investing in courses or audits to building a community of fellow food creators and batching your time. It’s a really practical and inspiring episode for beginner food bloggers looking to take your food blog to the next level!

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From Side Hustle to Full-Time Food Blogger with Amina Al-Saigh

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Jan 21, 2025 in

Welcome to episode 501 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week, Bjork interviews Amina Al-Saigh from Hungry Paprikas, where she shares recipes from across the Middle East with an authentic Arab voice.

In this interview, Amina shares her journey from starting out as a food content creator on Instagram while working full-time as an engineer to today as a full-time food creator with a brand new cookbook (Souk To Table).

Amina explains how she balanced her food blog with her full-time job in the early days, the importance of her niche in attracting brand partnerships, and the qualities that made her a desirable partner for brands, even when she had a small following.

Bjork and Amina also chat about the strategy of incremental stacking when adding tasks and processes to your workload and how workflow changes when you take your food blog from side hustle to full-time. This is a really inspiring interview for anyone, but especially those currently balancing a food blog with a full-time job.

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The Secret to Building a Family Business and Reaching 2 Million Pageviews

Ann @ Food Blogger Pro
by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Dec 17, 2024 in

Welcome to episode 494 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Echo and Erica Blickenstaff from the food blog Favorite Family Recipes. 

In this episode, Echo and Erica Blickenstaff dive into the ups and downs of running a family business. The key to their success? Dividing responsibilities and playing to each other’s strengths. After struggling with everyone doing everything (hello, burnout!), they sat down to figure out who would take on what. Once that was sorted, it was like a weight was lifted, and they were able to dive deeper into their areas of expertise.

They also talk about the challenges of growing a business while staying true to your roots. After taking a hit from Google’s algorithm updates, they realized the importance of diversifying their revenue streams and not relying too much on search traffic. With 2 million monthly page views (!!!) and a focus on authentic, family-driven content, they’ve learned to balance growth with staying genuine. Whether you’re running a family business or just trying to keep things organized, this episode is full of actionable tips and inspiring insights!

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Differentiating Your Content in a Crowded Market with Brian Watson

Ann @ Food Blogger Pro
by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Nov 5, 2024 in

Welcome to episode 488 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Brian Watson from Thee Burger Dude. 

In this week’s episode, Brian Watson from Thee Burger Dude shares his inspiring journey from posting on Instagram to building a successful blog on WordPress. He’ll reveal his secrets to standing out in a crowded digital landscape — including tips on simplifying your content creation process, focusing on versatile recipes, and the power of blogging and why it remains a vital tool for content creators.

Plus, he’ll debunk the myth of chasing numbers and encourage you to be gentle to yourself to prioritize your mental well-being. Whether you’re a seasoned blogger or just starting out, this episode is packed with practical advice to help you grow your audience and build a sustainable online business!

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The Importance of Building Community with A Couple Cooks

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Oct 8, 2024 in

Welcome to episode 484 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Alex and Sonja Overhiser from A Couple Cooks.

Alex and Sonja first started blogging at A Couple Cooks over 14 years ago and have navigated countless changes in the food blogging landscape over the years. In this interview, they share the things that kept them going before they achieved success with their business, and the importance of having an accountability partner in the early days.

They also discuss more about key decisions they’ve made in their business: why they’ve chosen not to build a team, why they don’t prioritize Instagram, and how they pivoted their cookbook strategy after initial rejections. Bjork, Alex, and Sonja have been friends for over a decade, and it’s a pleasure to hear them catching up as people who have been around the block in this industry.

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The Art of Cookbook Publishing with Danielle Walker

Ann @ Food Blogger Pro
by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Sep 17, 2024 in

Welcome to episode 479 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Danielle Walker. 

Danielle’s journey to becoming a cookbook author is anything but ordinary! From a chance encounter with a publisher to releasing her seventh (!!!) cookbook, “Make It Easy,” she’s learned so many valuable lessons along the way that have propelled her into the successful cookbook author she is today.

In this episode, Danielle shares her insights on building a strong community, understanding your audience, and prioritizing mental health and work-life balance. You’ll discover how these strategies have helped her create successful cookbooks and maintain a fulfilling career. For aspiring cookbook authors and anyone looking to build a successful online community, this episode is for you!

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470: How Working as Ina Garten’s Assistant Kicked Off Lidey Heuck’s Career as a Food Creator and Cookbook Author

Emily @ FBP
by Emily @ FBP on Jul 16, 2024 in

Welcome to episode 470 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Lidey Heuck.

Lidey’s first job out of college was as Ina Garten’s assistant — yes, you read that right! After 7 years working as part of the Barefoot Contessa team, Lidey has gone on to grow her own business as a food creator. She is a recipe contributor to New York Times Cooking, runs her own food blog, and recently published her first cookbook, Cooking in Real Life.

In this interview, she shares more about her experience working at Barefoot Contessa, how she balances creating content for different platforms, what it’s like to contribute to NYT Cooking, why she might want to open a brick-and-mortar shop, and so much more.

This is an enjoyable listen that will get you thinking about the many different routes a career path as a food creator can take. Hope you enjoy this fun episode as much as we did!

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468: Breaking into the Private Chef Industry and Sharing What You’re in Pursuit of with Celebrity Chef Kenneth Temple

Ann @ Food Blogger Pro
by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Jul 2, 2024 in

Welcome to episode 468 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews celebrity chef and food blogger Kenneth Temple. 

Kenneth Temple started his food blog in 2017 and has been a private chef since 2009 so he’s got a lot of great insights to share with us in this interview. He now finds himself cooking for NFL, MLB, NBA players, and Grammy artists. On the blog side, he qualified for Mediavine in November of 2023—a huge milestone!

In this interview, Kenneth and Bjork discuss how he broke into the private chef industry, landed his first celebrity client, and why he chose to go down this route over working in a restaurant. They also talk about the importance of putting yourself out there and sharing your aspirations with others and the power of word-of-mouth marketing. They also chat about what blogging as a chef looks like and how he had to adjust his strategy after learning about SEO and searchability.

Even if your goal isn’t to pursue a career as a private chef, we find Kenneth’s advice on managing your time and promoting yourself extremely valuable and think you will too. We hope you enjoy the episode!

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