The Tuesday Thirteen

Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez, Girlichef

I’m not sure when I started reading Girlichef, but I was wrapped up from the beginning. Great stories, fabulous food, reviews that make you want to read books and buy products. Meet Heather. She treats you like a friend and her stories read like a good book. Now, she tells us all about her blog and how she got started.

1.

Let’s talk about the obvious. How did you get the name Girlichef?

Heather Well, it came from my total lack of being able to think of a clever name for the blog I wanted to start writing.  I’m one of those people who thinks of clever, witty comebacks after the fact.  Once it’s already too late.  Same with naming things.  I went with my email “name”, which stemmed from being a girl in working kitchens (restaurants).  I see now that if you don’t know me, it can be misleading…since I am pretty much not “girly-girl”.  This is why I added my tagline (…where all roads lead to the kitchen.).

2.

Is there a type of cuisine that your family requests from you most or one special dish they look forward to every year?

Heather When it comes to cuisines, we pretty much love our Mexican.  It’s been my favorite for as long as I can remember.  My husband is actually from Mexico.  So I suppose it’s a natural progression that (at least now, while they’re still pretty young) it’s a favorite of our kids, as well.

However, with that being said, my Roasted Spiced Applesauce is something that everybody looks forward to every year.  I only make it once or twice per year…the first time being the week leading up to Thanksgiving.

3.

Take us through your process of recipe development. Do you start from a general recipe and tweak it or do you think of things that go well together and come up with something totally new?

Heather It’s different every time for me.  Sometimes I start with a base recipe and replace and adapt.  Other times I pretend I’m on an episode of Chopped and just pick some ingredients to see what I can come up with.  Other times I’m trying to recreate something that I tasted years ago…or something that somebody else remembers tasting.  Just depends on the circumstances and my mood, I suppose.

4.

I subscribe to your blog, and correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t you post just about everyday? How much time do you spend in the kitchen? How far ahead do you cook for your posts?

Heather I go through spurts where I publish daily for a month or three at a time.  And then I find myself worn out and needing to take a break.  Which is an “issue” of mine.  I like to join in events.  That leads to commitments – often far too many at once.  So I cook, bake, photograph, and write up a storm until I feel burnt out.  Not the best way to go about things.  Then I give myself a break before Iose my mind.

On average, I’m in the kitchen for most of my waking day.  That statement is a bit deceptive, however.  Our house is pretty small.  My laptop and workspace (if you can call it that) are wedged into the corner of the kitchen.  So, if I’m not cooking or baking, I’m often spread out across the kitchen table reading, writing, or researching.  Or I’m at the computer writing.  On average, I make 3 meals a day plus snacks.  I’d better enjoy it.

As far as cooking ahead for my posts…it really varies.  Sometimes I have “wanna-be” posts sitting in draft for weeks.  Sometimes I post the same day or the day following something I’ve made.   A lot of it depends on those events I mentioned.  If I have a certain day or time frame in/on which I need to post, then a “random” dish I made will probably get pushed back a few days (or more).  I’ll admit that I have lists galore on my computer, on my bulletin board, jotted on post-its on book covers, and in notebooks.  And I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I have two calendars in the room.  One for blog/cooking info and one for family info.

5.

Between working with brands, participating in blog socials, hosting blog hops, reviewing cookbooks (and other types of books), social networking – how on earth do you keep up with it all?

Heather It’s those lists that I mentioned.  And the fact that I carry a book/cookbook with me pretty much anywhere I go.  If I’m waiting to pick up one of the kids from school or in the waiting room at the doctor or dentist?  I use that time to read something that I want to review.  With brands, I try to only accept products that I would use/drink/eat/try even if it weren’t offered to me for free.  That way, I can work it into my everyday routine.   As far as social networking goes – I’m pretty bad at it.  It always seems to take a back seat.  I just sort of try to squeeze it in when I can.  Honestly, sometimes I don’t think that I actually am keeping up.

6.

Give us one post you have written that you think is amazing and we should go read right now.

Heather Pozole Rojo inspired by The School of Essential Ingredients.  I wrote it quite some time ago, but it may still be my personal favorite post (of my own).

7.

Do you remember a change or a turning point when your blog started to take off? What is one important change you have made to your blog in the last year?

Heather Has it taken off?  Ha!  I don’t really know.  It’s always seemed like a work-in-progress to me.  I’m always trying to improve.  I think actually receiving email questions from readers and an interview requests from my local paper help me to realize that I’m “out there”.  Plus, I’m pretty “tight” with my UPS and Fed-Ex guys…oh yeah…they know me by name and I ask after their families .  Hooray for props, supplies, mail-order food, books galore, samples, and freebies!

One important change to my blog?  I would have to say my logo.  Even if it is still sort of “rough”.   I’ve been wanting to convey my “all roads lead to the kitchen” using a rickety wooden sign.  I did it myself.  I should probably hire a graphic designer to spiff it up a bit.  But for now, I love it.

8.

Most bloggers want to work with brands. What has led to your success with brands and how did you get your start?

Heather Oh.  True story.  When I first started my blog back in the beginning of 2009, I was at my farmer’s market looking for something to share.  I came across a little booth full of awesome sea salts.  Fortunately, you were able to try any of the salts that you desired.  So I started tasting and talking with the owner.  I told her that I was a food writer and that I had a blog.  Which, to be honest was kind of pushing it since I had absolutely no clue what I was doing yet…but I was determined.  She actually offered me some fabulous discounts and even gave me a couple of free bags to give away along with a couple of pinch bowls on the blog!  I felt like a superstar.  For real.

I suppose that was my start.  I knew I wanted to review cookbooks, too.  Like really, really badly.  So I started looking at the blogs of some of the people I was getting to know and finding out who was sending them free books.  And then I looked up the publishing houses that sent other people copies and composed emails introducing myself and telling them how much I’d love to have a review copy of such-and-such book (or any others) to review on my blog.  And then I did the same for other publishing houses.  Most responded.  A couple didn’t.  To this day I have a fantastic relationship with several publishing houses, PR peeps, and a couple of great ladies who run book tours.

p.s…once other PR reps start getting wind of your reviews, more offers will come in!

9.

The She Made, Ella Hace series you do with Leslie of La Cocina de Leslie is amazing. How did you guys decide to collaborate on this series?

Heather Oh, thank you so much!  She Made, Ella Hace is very special to me.  I don’t remember exactly when or how I “met” Leslie.  But I couldn’t get enough of her when I did.  She was married to a Mexican guy just like I was.  She has a family and two blogs (a food blog and a blog about motherhood in Mexico).  We cooked a lot of the same type of food. Uhhh, Mexican.  LOL!  The main difference being that she and her family live in Mexico and my family lives in the US.  I asked her if she’d like to cook with me.  Virtually.  She said yes!  We talk via computer and decide on a certain dish or a certain food or ingredient we want to feature each month and when we’d like to share it.  I love cooking with and learning from her every month.  And I’m happy to call her my friend.

10.

How do you continually come up with fresh new content for Girlichef?

Heather Basically, I love trying new things!  You never know what your next favorite meal (book, cookbook, or product) could be.

11.

Not only do you review tons of cookbooks every month, you were featured among other bloggers in the Blogger Aid Cookbook. Is there a Girlichef cookbook in the works?

Heather There’s been one in the works in my mind for ages.  Hopefully I can put that to print soon.

12.

Breads, soups, desserts, sweets. What is your favorite thing to cook?

Heather Hmmm…. If forced to choose, I would say breads.  No wait, soups.  Oh, I mean Mexican food… Uh yeah, it’s like that.

Thirteen.

What are the future plans for Heather and Girlichef?

Heather Diving deeper into breadmaking.  Some travel-related (food) posts.  Hopefully a cookbook…and possibly that novel I’ve always wanted to write.  When I find the time…

Well Heather, I hope you do find the time because you are an amazing writer and I would love to get my hands on anything you are writing! Make sure to visit Heather at Girlichef and follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

The Tuesday Thirteen is an interview series that asks thirteen questions to your favorite people in food. If you have questions you are curious to ask food bloggers, cookbook authors, publicists, food photographers, etc., please send your questions to miranda@mangoesandchutney.com.