This past summer I interned at a start up news app called NowThis News. It was a great opportunity and I met a lot of intelligent people. One of them was a VJ for the company, Katie Quinn. She covered a plethora of stories, but her main focus is on the topic of food. From covering amazing eats in NYC to NTN’s new project, NowThis Food Instagram, KQ does it all. They’re simply short video Instagrams of quick and easy recipes, reviews on restaurants, and even how to cut an apple properly. Check out their Instagram for some food porn.
Quinn watches and learns how Abbiagi makes their famous gelato as seen on nowthisfood.
Quinn even has her own personal blog, http://foggyair.com/, which is on a plethora of topics, ranging from food, city life, and family. With her knowledge of the social media world, I thought she’d be a great person to ask a few question to in regards to blogging, and reviewing food.
Q: When did you become interested in blogging about food and what or who is your inspiration in the food world?
A: I first became interested in blogging about food when I moved to NYC in 2008, right after I graduated from college. I discovered some food blogs that I LOVED reading, like Serious Eats and Grub Street, and found that I enjoying exploring my new city primarily through discovering new places to eat. That’s when I decided to start my own blog.
Q: What is your favorite type of food and why?
A: My favorite type of food is Mediterranean, for many reasons! First, it’s the kind of food that I tend to CRAVE. The hummus and pita, the feta and olives, the savory and citrusy flavor combinations. The fact that it’s often best enjoyed by picking things up with your hands, not just using a fork and knife. I also love cooking it. It’s relatively simple, and incorporates some really fun spices, like za’atar. My go-to cookbook at the moment is full of foods like that, it’s called “Jerusalem: A Cookbook” by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. (I actually just did an Instagram 15-second recipe of one of their recipes! The roasted butternut squash and red onions dish.) And lastly, it’s a fairly healthy cuisine, and that appeals to me, too.
Q: For the NowThis News videos, how do you decide what restaurants or foods to review?
A: I decide based on many reasons! Either it’s a restaurant or a dish that I LOVE and I want to share with people, or perhaps a friend or colleague has suggested that it’s something new and interesting. I read a lot of food blogs and publications, and I discover things that way, too. I get pitched a lot from food PR people, and sometimes I learn about cool things that way and decide to feature them.
Q: Do you think blogging about food is a new fad?
A: It depends on how you classify “new.” I don’t think it’s a novel thing…but I do think that people are recognizing now that a great food blog is a wonderful jumping-off point to a variety of other opportunities (food journalism, book deals, recognition in a variety of ways).
Q: What do you think about food companies/ cooks using blogs and Instagrams as a tactic to promote their company/ blog?
A: I think it’s a wonderful idea, and it just makes total sense. Food is so visual that it lends itself to Instagram and beautiful pictures on blogs…and of course the recipe portion of that is fitting for a blog, too.
From nowthisfood. Follow their Instagram for great eats and fast and simple recipes.
