Elena Brent Rosemond-Hoerr | Biscuits & Such Blog

Five Minutes with Elena Brent Rosemond-Hoerr, at Biscuits & Such blog:

“I’m really interested in exploring food culture, and the history behind recipes; in learning how foods have evolved as part of Southern culture through the generations. That’s a movement that I’m really drawn to.“

Blogging as Remedy for Missing Home

It’s more than just recipes for me, it’s the story that goes with them.

I’ve been blogging at Biscuits & Such since 2008, so almost ten years. I started right at the beginning of the whole food blog thing. I got a lot of great opportunities right there at the beginning because I was one of the only ones at first – now it’s a pretty saturated market. It’s a lot harder to start out.

There’s just so much.

I’m from Durham, but I went to college in Baltimore. When I started the blog, it was in D.C., then we moved back to Baltimore for a bit. When we lived in Maryland, I focused a lot on what I missed about the South and Southern cooking. When I started the blog a lot of it was because I was really homesick. I really wanted a connection to home. It was a nice way for me to explore Southern culture, from outside the South.

I shifted gears a little bit when we moved to Wilmington. I started to focus on what was available here, and what it was like to write about Southern food back in North Carolina. Since we’ve been back, I’ve been trying to focus on local foods.

A Creative Outlet that Fits Her Life

Since Everett was born, I’ve slowed my pace down considerably. And we’ve just bought a house, because we’ve been packing and unpacking, and stripping wallpaper and all that stuff. For a long time, I shot for once a week, but when I was pregnant and morning sickness was more intense, I couldn’t stand to cook… so I slowed down my writing. Now, I try for a few times a month.

I try to blog what we are eating. I try to keep it really close to what is in season, and what is actually happening in my kitchen, and what is in our dining room. It goes with how busy my cooking is and with what’s available at the market.

I went to school for my BFA in photography, so that was the reason I started the blog. I needed an outlet. I needed to continue to make art after school, and that has always been a really fun challenge, and self-expression. I really enjoy the story-telling, too. I find the purpose for what we’re cooking and why we’re cooking to be very inspiring.

My readership has grown over the years. I’ve been able to work with many magazines, like Southern Living, and Garden & Gun, and Our State. That’s been really cool exposure. Every time Biscuits & Such blog is featured in a new place, I get a whole new readership. It’s really fun. I got to go to Southern Living two years ago, to Birmingham, to tour. It was like a dream come true. It was amazing. It’s really cool how many opportunities have come through the blog. Like my cookbooks. I’ve done three of my own and one collaboration.

I still really enjoy blogging, even though the pace is slower, it’s also more manageable. I will see where it goes. I’m really enjoying not stressing out about thinking about what to write, on a schedule. Now I’m posting when we are eating something interesting. I’m posting when I find something I want to share.

I read a lot of blogs. There is a list of my favorite blogs on Biscuits & Such. There are so many beautiful blogs. I look for stories and photos – those are really big for me. I get turned off by heavy ad content on food blogs, and heavy re-posting of other people’s recipes. I can find that on Pinterest… I don’t need that in a blog. Having a nice narrative is important for me, as a reader. That gets lost on a lot of blogs now. A lot of people have switched over to doing more re-sharing and re-framing content, instead of content generation. I like original thoughts and stories. I like to read people who are creators.

When She’s Not Cooking, Where She is Eating

I love so many local restaurants: Rx, Nema, Sealevel. I love what so many restaurants are doing. I eat gluten-free so that’s a challenge.

Enjoy Elena’s stories, recipes, and photographs on the Biscuits & Such blog at http://biscuitsandsuch.com

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