Micro pigs, selfie stick injuries and Mary Berry versus Fanny Cradock. Hot topics at the blogger’s brunch hosted by Yelp London and About Time Magazine on 7th March at The Newman Tavern.
Head hostess with the mostess, Angelica Malin, Editor-in-Chief at About Time Magazine, and her sister, Alicia, brought together 30 of their favourite London food bloggers, added 5 experts on all things digital, mixed with some speed networking, a sprinkling of advice and rounded up with a lovely brunch. What better way to spend a sunny Saturday morning?
Angelica Malin, About Time Magazine
Speed networking
I was on Team Fanny Cradock and our first fling was with Alex Shebar, Community Director for Yelp London. He had some useful advice about making connections and growing the readership on a blog.
Alex Shebar, Yelp London
His top tips were:
- Talk to the people who read your posts, not just other bloggers
- Social is the first word in social media – you have to engage with people
- Don’t do paid content without admitting it
and my personal favourite:
- Life is 30% hard work and 70% luck, but without the hard work, it’s never going to happen.
True that.
Team Fanny Cradock in action
Our next dalliance was with the hostess herself, Jelly Malin. She was all about encouraging discussion rather than dishing out advice and I learnt a bit about my fellow bloggers in the process. I was most impressed by Lauren Purnell’s beautiful culinary canvases – take a look yourself – and Frankie Winter’s dedication; 4 posts per week, if only I could find the time!
Looking at Lauren Purnell's (left) culinary canvases
When I asked Jelly about content strategy, she said the timing is really important, for example, healthy food at the beginning of the week when people are feeling guilty about their weekends and naughtier things towards the end of the week. Clearly my mind works quite differently to the rest of the digital generation. Greasy stuff at the beginning of the week when I feel lazy, tired and in need of comfort. A short bout of greens around hump day, maybe. More grease to accompany my beers come the week end… by which I mean towards the end of the week.
Michael Zee, Symmetry Breakfast
I couldn’t help being a little star struck when it came to my brief encounter with Michael Zee of Symmetry Breakfasts. I saw his pictures in a Guardian article a little while back and, along with181,000 other people, I was stunned. Michael does one thing and he does it very well. This was the essence of his advice, which I must admit I have heard before and still not heeded, being partial to a little bit of this and that with a large helping of all things nice.
Rebecca Reid, About FCKING Time Magazine
Rebecca Reid writes for various newspapers and magazines and is Editor-in-Chief at About FCKING Time Magazine. She had some great tips on pitching and when to ask for money. There was a bit of a debate within the group on this, but the general consensus was if you can afford it and it is going to benefit your portfolio, do it for free the first few times, then ask for a fee once you have established a relationship. OK then.
Niamh Shields, Eat Like A Girl
Lastly, Team Fanny Cradock’s got lucky with the lovely Niamh Shields, from Eat Like A Girl, who “actually has a selfie stick injury”. She gave us some tips on how to incorporate sponsored content. Her main point was that you need to draw a distinction between native and sponsored content. Also, sponsored content needn’t be bland – come up with something unique, it will be better for the brand and for you.
Brunch
After all that chat we were keen for some brunch. On the menu, pancakes with rhubarb and crème fraiche:
Tempting, but I fancy something salty - surprise!
How about smashed avocado and spinach on toasted sourdough?
Yummy, but no thanks; not if there’s something fried and eggy on the menu. Ooh, Fried potato, chorizo, onion and fried egg, you say? Yes ma’am:
One perfect orange yolk cooked to perfect oozy, runny, dip-worthy deliciousness. And what to dip? Nuggets of paprika-spiced potato - some crispy, some soft - studded with the occasional, but very much coveted slice of chorizo. It was the best brunch I’ve had in a while. My only complaint is that I could have eaten it twice or even thrice over.
Micro pigs
So where do micropigs come into it? I hear you ask. There is a perfectly logical explanation. Sort of.
From 21st -25th May, Yelp London will be holding a ‘pignic’ (#LondonPignic) at The Proud Archivist Gallery on the canal between Shoreditch and Dalston. There will be micro piglets, of course, as well as plenty of pig-themed activities. However, the main point of the event (I was pleased to hear) is to raise awareness about the size micro pigs can grow to in the hope that fewer pigs will end up being abandoned.
Cat café? That’s soooo 2014, darling! ;-)
Photos of the event courtesy of About Time Magazine and Yelp London. Food photos are mine.