Name: Gwen Leron
Blog name: Delightful Adventures
Where were you born? Ottawa
Where are you living now? Ottawa
Why did you start your blog?
I had always wanted to start my own food blog and I got the chance a few years back when I closed a business. I had a hole to fill with some of my time so I finally chose to start my food blog.
How did you decide on your blog name?
In addition to the food, I knew that I wanted to also occasionally write about travel and few other random things. It was going to be a blog about my adventures: kitchen, travel, and life. All of my adventures tend to be delightful (I went through many adjectives before settling on that one!) so Delightful Adventures it was!
What do you blog about?
The majority of my website is recipes: plant-based, and (mostly) gluten-free. When I'm lucky enough to travel, I share tips, tricks, and reviews relating to where I've been and I also share attractions I've enjoyed here in Ottawa. I also write the occasional post that gives readers a glimpse into the things I enjoy and like to do. So posts about what podcasts I'm currently listening to, what I'm watching on Netflix, etc.
Is your blog your business, your hobby or something in between?
My blog is my side business. I have a full-time job outside of the blog, so blogging is not my full-time job.
What post on your blog most encapsulates you and why?
I would say that my Apple Cinnamon Raisin Cinnamon Rolls is very much "me." Cinnamon rolls are one of my favourite things and it was a cooking class (I love cooking classes!) that inspired the recipe. I tell the story about it in that post.
Which post do you wish received more love and why?
I had hoped that my recipe for Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Muffins would have done better. I love how the photos for that recipe turned out and the muffins are pretty amazing.
Which post’s success surprised you and why?
My Slow Cooker Lentil Sweet Potato Chili! It's a recipe I have been making for years and one day I decided at the last minute to take pictures of leftovers I was having for lunch so I could put the recipe on my blog (this was in the early days of my website, I think out my photos a bit better now!). I pinned it to Pinterest and it just took off.
What’s your biggest challenge as a blogger?
Time. As mentioned above, my blog is not my full-time job so I have to fit it into my already busy schedule. I love working on my blog, so my plan is to carve out some more time for it in the coming months and really build it up in all ways possible.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned as a blogger?
That if you build it, they will NOT come. Getting eyes on a blog takes so much work—more work than I realized before I started. Promoting a blog is a separate job in itself.
Share a couple of your favourite food blogs to read. Why do you like them?
I read A LOT of blogs, all of them for different reasons. I read blogs that are in my niche, out of my niche, blogs about blogging, blogs about photography, blogs about coding…you name it! My Feedly reader is bursting at the seams. It's hard to pick just a few but if I must…
Minimalist Baker - Dana just makes food that I want to eat all the time. There is rarely a recipe she makes that does not appeal to me.
Britnell - I love Brita's blog. She's very open about her business, she shares income reports, she talks about her life, and she makes great food. She balances her blog content really well.
Liv For Cake - Olivia and I were brought into the FBC fold in the same group a couple years ago and she has since taken off. I LOVE cake, so naturally, I admire her photos and I want to eat everything she makes! I like reading her posts because she's so honest about some of the mishaps she has and the things she's learned along the way. I have my fair share of kitchen fails and I'm quite open about them, so I like when a blogger is honest about those things too.
Favourite food - care to share a recipe or a restaurant destination?
I have way too many favourite recipes to list so I will share a restaurant that I'm currently loving. Pure Kitchen here in Ottawa is AMAZING. I've only been a few times but every time I go, I try something new and it's even better than what I had before. If you go, you must try the Radical Cauliflower Wings!
What are you working on next for your blog?
So many things… My photography is always a work in progress, each recipe I shoot, I learn something new and I love that. I have a lot of little back-burner technical and admin related things that I'd like to finally scratch off my list in 2017. Video is something I have been reluctant to embrace, so I *may* finally dive in. We'll see 🙂
What else should we know about you that may or not be in your “About Me” page?
That my educational background is in Journalism and Computer Programming, two things that definitely help with running a blog! I also love a good meme.
What makes your blog unique?
The types of recipes I make are mainstream but with a plant-based and gluten-free twist. I re-make the foods I once enjoyed to be plant-based and gluten-free and I also develop new recipes that I want to eat and that I think my audience will enjoy. My food content is very niche but for those who it appeals to, they "get it" and appreciate what I am putting out there.
What part of the FBC site do you find most useful?
I love the resources. I have taken away so much info from that part of the website.
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