In 2008 I created this little weblog called duhlicious. And no, that's not a typo.12 years ago, they were called weblogs. This was in and around when Facebook took fame, but well before Instagram and TicTok were a thing. At the time, I had to explain to everyone WHY I was self-promoting and documenting things online. Cellphones didn't have internet, and the only way to get to my site was on a desktop. My how times have changed.

 

I was in my early 20's, lost and searching for purpose. I had just graduated from university and to avoid the responsibilities of the real world, I went to culinary school. My parents were thrilled with this seemingly irrational choice, especially after amassing a small life-long debt to earn a degree.

 

Naturally (and I say this sarcastically), I began to document all of my culinary trials: including a few posts that went "viral", and some that landed me on the front page of some pretty cool publications. In the mix were some recipes that went horribly wrong too, and needless to say, those got even more attention.

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All of a sudden, this young 20-year-old without any culinary authority was on the payroll for the Food Network and managing dozens of advertising contracts. I had no clue what I was doing, but boy did I pretend.

 

In 2013 I pulled the plug.

 

I fell out of love with everything that started it all. I vehemently avoided cooking because it became synonymous with (tremendous) responsibility. All of which was overwhelming. What was once an escape from the real world, became a burden. I was crippled with the pressure of creating content that would generate enough engagement to keep my shareholders happy. Now, those sound like champagne problems.

 

It's 2020, and I want to plug back in.

 

I can't help but laugh at the irony of (re)starting a passion project during hard times. 2020, although slightly different, bears a similar uncertainty that 2008 did.

 

My intentions this time around are different: I don't want to be famous, I don't want to be an influencer, and I certainly don't want to trade my integrity for likes.

 

I just want to play with food.