VOTING IS OPEN TILL SEPT 23th 6pm PST…vote here for me

I am so very excited! For what you ask? Why today is officially Day 1 of the Project Food Blog 2010. And what is this challenge you ask? Organized by Foodbuzz, “the Project Food Blog is the first-ever interactive competition where thousands of Foodbuzz Featured Publishers are competing in a series of culinary blogging challenges…”.

Participants have been fussing over their contest profiles (you can see mine here) for some weeks. But today we can submit our very first of ten challenge entries: #1 Ready, Set, Blog! No recipes to prepare yet, no meal to host. No, our first challenge is a very simple yet a so daunting one: sell ourselves in words…or as we say in Quebec ‘vendre sa salade‘. I have to tell you, my reader, why I think I am Food Blog Star material.

Not only is this going to be an hard personal exercise but only 400 out of about 1800 participants will move on to round 2. Think about it: 80% of the participants will be eliminated in round #1. I am going to give it my best shot…here is my (not so) humble submission for you dear readers, voters, bloggers, Dana, Nancy and Pim.

Foie Gras Pizza, Pho Soup, Nepalese Momos

Voting will begin Monday, September 20th, I hope I can count on YOU to vote for me.

A Food Blog Star Menu

Exquisite menus, just like food blog stars, are the result of a delicate balance of taste, timing, experience, exotism, small portions, comfort and surprise!

Hors d’Oeuvre

I have been eating since the day I was born for one thing. And my parents made sure I was exposed to as many tastes and smells as possible. At 3 my main meal in restaurants was garlic snails. My dad loves telling the story of one of his biggest mistakes with me: taking me for lobster a second time: the first summer I hated it but the second summer I loved it. To my mother’s surprise – and a bit of fear – I made muffins one Saturday morning as my parents were sleeping…oh I must have been 8. By the age of 14 I was inviting friends over for 4 course meals. Cooking and eating for pleasure is in my blood.

Appetizer

Although food has played an important part my entire life it really took a precedent about 3 years ago when I started a dinner group called Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Now with over 250 members, for the past 3 year I have organized bi-monthly dinner outings to reasonably priced restaurants. It has been a wonderful experience turning strangers into friends over a wonderful ethnic meal. This dinner group was a perfect channel to mingle my love of food with imparting my knowledge to others.

Homemade Mascarpone, Peach Salsa, Ice Cream Petit Four

Main course

Soon followed the Cheap Ethnic Eatz blog where at first I would review the restaurants we visited during these organized group outings. Over the years the blog has greatly expanded and now includes recipes, food challenge entries, exotic food discoveries, contests, articles and kitchen gadget reviews. I have also written several articles on food related websites. As the name of the blog suggests I lean greatly towards ethnic recipes and foods. I am of, and also have always had friends, of very a diverse ethnic background. Lately I love going to ethnic grocery stores  to buy an item or two I am not familiar with and I run home to research my discovery. I love sharing my new treasures on my blog and I hope I can inspire others to go out and eat outside their boundaries.

Granita

It is wonderful to introduce new foods to people…but it is just as important to give back to my inspirations. For the past 2 holiday seasons I have run a fund raising campaign in the name of the dinner group and donated the money to an organization called Kiva. Third world entrepreneurs apply for loans with Kiva so they can start a business. Once the money gets paid back I just reinvest it in a new applicant. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

Salad

I am no stranger to food challenges and socializing with other foodies. In fact I partake in a few monthly online friendly food challenge groups. I participate in both the baking and cooking challenges from The Daring Kitchen. I even co-hosted one challenge. Another fun monthly challenge is the International Incident Party where we can run wild with our imaginations as long as we stay within the month’s theme.   Online is fun but I wanted to meet the local Food bloggers. I searched them out online and sent out a brunch invitation. Twelve people showed up at the first outing and we have been meeting up about once a month for the last year now. Other local food bloggers have joined our secret group since then. We all instantly bonded and can talk about food for hours.

Playing with the unknow: Black Horn Nut, Palm Sugar, Sesame Leaves

Cheese platter

Through a simple food swap and a blog post another project saw light: the Foodie Exchange. This group is for foodies from around the planet who wish to exchange their local food specialties as a care package with other foodies. I built and manage a forum website facilitating foodies to find a fellow partner with whom to have a care package exchange. This has been a truly rewarding project.

Dessert

Never ask the cook before the meal even begins what the dessert will be. Dessert should always be a surprise. I like to tease a lot and leave things in suspense. And I love making little jokes and keeping the mood light. This is a perfect recipe for leaving them wanting more. I hope my personal dissertation has shown you how passionate I am about food, teaching and sharing with others. In other words I think it makes for a perfect recipe for a Food Blog Star. So what is the dessert? Hopefully being in the top 400 and having the opportunity to complete challenge #2.

Citrus Mezcal Sherbet, Homemade Bread, Orzo & Pomegranate Salad

VOTING IS OPEN TILL SEPT 23th 6pm PST…vote here for me

Click the box below to see my progress and official participant profile