Email Interview With Alexandra From Chefspiration.com!

Continuing with our tradition of getting to know our fellow food bloggers, we’re proud to present another one of our email interviews.

This time it’s with Alexandra, from Chefspiration.com. Enjoy!

Can you give us an introduction of yourself, when and how did you start out and what made you love food so much to start a blog about it?

I am a Malaysian born in Penang and by race I’m mixed French, Indian and Chinese…I spent most of my childhood in Indonesia and over there we had maids who did all of the cooking…if it wasn’t the maid cooking then my mom was in the kitchen and so I never set foot in there…and by the time I went off to University in the States I still had no clue how to cook…so when I moved out of the dorms and into my own apt I had to teach myself how to cook…in the beginning I made many mistakes but soon enough it became a passion and obsession. I officially started my blog less than 3years ago when I moved back to Malaysia to work. I did it because I wanted to combine my communications background with my love of food…but when I initially started it I was also starting out in the real world and work soon took up too much of my time…and my blog was left neglected…then at some point last year I decided to work on my blog more seriously and now I make sure that I post a few times a week no matter what.

Your site has been up for a while and has started to gain quite a following. What do you think is the key factor to your success?

I believe that frequently updating your content gains you a good following but then to maintain that following you need to be able to build a relationship with your readers. Respond to their comments and questions…write posts that they can interact with. Your writing also has to be something that your readers can relate to. Write as though you’re talking to a friend.

What is your favourite food of all time?

This is the No.1 question I hope people don’t ask and yet it seems to be the question that they do ask the minute they know I write about food. The reason I dread this question is simply because I have a very hard time answering it…I cannot say what my favourite food of all time is because I wake up each day craving something different…and it really depends on my mood…if it’s a relaxed weekend afternoon I’m usually in the mood for a really good juicy burger and an ice cold beer…if it’s a Friday night dinner outing I desire anything from classic French to great Italian to spicy Korean to exotic Lebanese…and of course I cannot ignore the strong cravings I often get for our delicious local food…a hot flaky Roti Canai, a sweet spicy Rojak, a savoury pungent Nasi Goreng Ikan Masin, smoky Ikan Bakar…oh the list could go on and on…I think any food addict would have difficulty telling you their favourite!

If I’m cooking at home I tend to want to cook healthy items…a lot of salads…whole grains…tofu and tempeh and pretty much anything that is good for you…that is where I find my balance with all the eating out that I do.

What is your favourite restaurant of all time?

This is the second question I can never answer only because my favourite restaurant usually depends on what I’m in the mood for…I always have to figure out what type of cuisine I’d like to eat first..then I can tell you my favourite place to get it.

What blog writing/photo taking tip would you give aspiring food bloggers?

For blog writing I would say the best thing is to be yourself…let your personality shine through! Even if you don’t write that well if you write as though you’re talking to your readers they’ll enjoy it. As for photo taking natural light is always the best…never use your flash as the colours don’t come out right and the food always tends to look very oily…take a seat outside or near a window and you’ll see the difference in your photos…make sure you take your photos on the macro setting(the flower button). In general just have fun with it and make sure you have your camera with you wherever you go because you never know when you’ll come across a good blogging opportunity!

What do you think about the food culture we currently have in Malaysia?

I believe this is a great country to have a food obsession…with all the different foods we have available here it’s any food lover’s dream! The only thing we’re lacking in is a certain quality and standard as far as the restaurant scene goes…service is often not up to par and sometimes the food quality is mediocre but served up at high quality prices.  So I do hope to see an increase in the quality of restaurants in the near future.

Your final thoughts about food you’d like to share with the Feedmelah.com readers?

Keep eating and enjoying life!

Thanks Alexandra!

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