Have You Caught the Buzz with Project Food Blog??

I am one of thousands of food bloggers who has been given the opportunity to participate in Project Food Blog at Foodbuzz. The Project Food Blog challenge is open to any food blogger who is part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher Program. Foodbuzz is a community and comprehensive marketing, advertising and distribution program designed for food bloggers just like you and me. Have you caught the BUZZ!!!!Project Food Blog is the first-ever interactive competition where thousands of Foodbuzz Featured Publishers are competing in a series of culinary blogging challenges for the chance to advance and a shot at the ultimate prize.  As contestants we will see who will rise above the pack and become the next Food Blog Star!!!! Will it be me!!!! Why not!!!!It will be so much fun to participate and become more deeply embedded in the Foodbuzz community!!!!

What makes me want to compete in this challenge is for the same reason why you all are all "NUMBER 1" in my books. As  food bloggers you and I have a passion, dedication and even an urgency to create dishes that knocks each others socks off !! We toil in the kitchen to create, and ultimately photograph, the captivating recipes you see on blogs like More Than Burnt Toast. This could be as simple as a time honoured family recipe that feeds my soul or sharing the latest gourmet combination. I am fearless!!! In our community we support each other and encourage our fellow bloggers to reach for the stars and this humble food blogger is up for the challenge! I would really appreciate your support in the first step of this challenge!!

When I am not travelling or attending cooking classes local ingredients and wines inspire me. Every day we should be excited about what we are eating even if it just means making use of a wonderful find at our local farmers market.  Each day I am inspired to share my finds with you!

When I was young I was a very picky eater. As we do for our own kids, I am sure that my parents agonized over my lack of nutrients and enjoyment of food as I pushed my food around my plate. How does a picky eater morph into someone who is "willing to try anything at least once" is beyond me!! As you get older your palate changes and you can learn to love food and be excited by the possibilities of sharing a great meal. As a teen I collected recipes and dreamed of the day when I would have dinner parties and friends sharing animated conversation, laughter and outstanding food at my table. Let's just say my first dinner party was not a great success with canned potatoes and carrots being in the picture somewhere. Believe it or not I thought it was delicious!!That was many years ago and I have come far beyond burnt toast and canned ingredients when I share my culinary passions on More Than Burnt Toast and at Foodbuzz.

A few years ago I attended a cooking school on a small island in the Agean Sea off the coast of Greece. This was a life-changing vacation that altered my perception of food and how it should be enjoyed on a daily basis. Travel helps us to better understand and appreciate other people and their cultures. Nothing is more intimate, or more effective at breaking down cultural barriers, than cooking and sharing meals together. When you have like-minded people from all parts of the world breaking bread at the same table magic happens!!! In the classic movie "Zorbas the Greek "the main character sums it up the best, "On the coast I felt for the first time what a pleasant thing it could be to have a meal. We started eating and drinking, the conversation became animated. I at last realized that eating was a spiritual function and the meat, bread, and wine were the raw materials from which the soul is made."

Our community of food bloggers is always there to support each other and somehow make a difference. Yes we enjoy sharing our daily lives and recipes but we are also there for each other when times are tough. Working together to create change or to connect as a community is what brings me back to blogging each and every day.

In 2009 our network BloggerAid – Changing the Face of Famine was born from a vision that ordinary people like myself can achieve extraordinary results. Having launched the site for bloggers, we were keen to find a project where food bloggers from around the world could co-operate and make a real difference. We understood immediately that food bloggers could best relate to a cookbook. The BloggerAid Cookbook was born with the dedicaction and hard work of many. We strived to pay tribute to the home cooking of our grandmothers while celebrating the exoticism and richness of a world brought closer together by our hopes to make a difference and raise funds for the World Food Programme.

Whether it be bringing attention to a friend who is fighting cancer, world hunger, or the tragedy's of natural disasters like tsunami's or earthquakes our food blogging community has a strong voice. Those of you who know me personally know that this is a deal I have made with myself to support my fellow bloggers in whatever way I can.  “You must be the change you want to see in the world”. Mahatma Gandhi

My blog began as a place to share my food discoveries with anyone willing to read as well as with my daughter L'il Burnt Toast who was headed off to university. It continues to be a gathering place for family and friends to pull up a chair at the same virtual table and share what we have. I continue to lend an encouraging word, a smile and a helping hand.  I enjoy my life in food and relish sharing it with each and every one of you in this challenge as I have every day on More Than Burnt Toast.


Click here to see my profile on Project Food Blog and vote for me. Voting opens on September 20th.

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