To celebrate hitting a follower milestone on Instagram, I invited readers to ask questions about my humble food blog, growing social media presence, and endless enthusiasm for cuisine and culture. Below are answers to some of the most common topics. I have never before shared this behind-the-scenes look into the back story of Plate Less Ordinary. I hope you enjoy!
How did Plate Less Ordinary start?
The idea for Plate Less Ordinary happened around 2010. I have always loved writing and all things culinary, so a food blog seemed perfect for me. I was also an early believer in the power of digital platforms. As a journalism student in the 2000s, I lived through the collision of print and visual media—an effect of technological advancements like smartphones and widespread wireless Internet. From the start of Plate Less Ordinary, I wanted to integrate multimedia storytelling. That’s why joining Instagram in 2014 was important, because it forced a writer like myself to be more visually minded.
I initially struggled to find a food blog name. A friend who is very smart with marketing came up with Plate Less Ordinary, and it felt right. It still feels right after all these years.
What made you want to explore cuisine?
Some of my most vivid childhood memories involve food: eating pigs-in-blankets by the fireplace while my mom made Thanksgiving dinner; peeling fresh lychees that my dad bought by the bag from street vendors in Manhattan’s Chinatown; enjoying peanuts and Cracker Jacks with my grandparents at New York Mets games. It wasn’t just the food, it was the people I shared it with who mattered. As an adult, and especially as a new parent, I want to create and preserve more warm memories like this.
My approach to food-centric stories has broadened over time. At first, I envisioned a food blog as a fun way to document kitchen adventures and meet cool people. That was the vibe of the small food blogs that I followed in the early 2010s, they were full of spontaneity and imperfection. I had time to discover my voice instead of rushing to define myself. As time went on, I came to more fully appreciate food as a way to learn about other people and the world.
To me, exploring cuisine means learning about the origins of dishes, the science behind human tastes and cooking techniques, and the values revealed by what food rituals people share. For example, communal eating is an undeniably important way to bond with people, no matter where you come from. There are also many ways that food consumption habits reflect larger societal and technological trends.
What inspires your cooking?
I believe that variety is the spice of life, so I regularly rotate what I cook. Taste can be a powerful tool to transport you to another place and time. I enjoy reverse engineering restaurant dishes at home. Especially meals from my travels. Hawaiian poke—which I first tried in Maui at a friend’s wedding in 2015—has been one of my favorite meals to perfect over the years. I recently made cheesy Georgian khachapuri for the first time, improvising with quick-rise pizza dough. Instead of copying a meal exactly as written, I often adapt it to my tastes and the ingredients that I have available.
During the pandemic, I have tapped cookbooks, food blogs, and social media for inspiration. Something great about online recipes is that you can see feedback from other cooks or connect with the authors. I recently made an amazing vegetarian Wellington from OMGYummy. This dish would never have been on my radar if I hadn’t followed her on social media. It is a good feeling to reach out to someone to say, ‘I tried your recipe and it was great!’ I love getting that feedback from my own social media community, finding out that I inspired them to try something new and enjoyable.
I have also been cooking a lot more comfort food. Meals that are familiar, but I am trying to put new life into them. For example, I have made lots of Chinese dumplings in my life, yet I never made the wrappers. I finally did that in early 2021. It was much easier than I thought! It also produced a better product than the store-bought ones I had relied on for years.
How has Plate Less Ordinary evolved?
After years focused on social media, I launched my website in 2019 because I wanted a permanent home for my content. PlateLessOrdinary.com is my identity hub. It is also my signature product—a blend of a food blog, cultural commentary, research on science and technology, first-person essays, and whatever else seems valuable for my audience. Social media is great for connecting with new people and creating buzz, but it can be fleeting. Platforms come and go, and you are subject to Terms of Service that can change any time.
Why did I wait so long for my website? I (wrongly) thought that I needed a fully realized publication—a food blog that looked like all the other seemingly ‘successful’ food blogs. I let the perfect be the enemy of the good. What I really needed was to hit publish and let the project take on its own life from there. Plate Less Ordinary has evolved in ways that I’d have never expected. One of the best things about being a content creator is seeing how a project takes on its own life. Not every project works out, but when it does, it is amazing to see how a body of work develops from humble beginnings.
THIS IS GREAT! Thanks
Marilyn Monroe Beale