Each month we profile a different Canadian Food Blogger who is part of the FBC community. This month we meet Betty, a blogger who grew up in UK with the tradition of a weekly Sunday lunch, roasted meat and potatoes.
Name: Betty Davies
Blog names: Slow The Cook Down AND Bite On The Side
Where were you born? UK
Where are you living now? Near La Sarre in Western Quebec.
Why did you start your blog?
I started Slow The Cook Down back in 2015. I was working in London, UK, as a TV Producer and as a way to relax, I started cooking on the weekends. I was a total amateur but loved the process! My husband encouraged me to start Slow The Cook Down, and after several months of procrastinating I posted online for the first time. It was purely a hobby at this point and my day job definitely took priority for another few years.
I started my second blog, Bite On The Side, in 2020. I saw a gap in the blogging world for this niche and was keen to diversify my income. It started purely as a business decision, rather than a hobby blog.
How did you decide on your blog name?
On the weekends, I used to love cooking recipes that took hours! Long and slow with bold flavours. The name Slow The Cook Down came quite naturally and just seemed to fit my cooking style at the time!
When I started my second site, I wanted to keep the playful pun in the title, so again, it came quite naturally! It definitely wasn’t sometime I agonized over for hours!
What do you blog about?
Slow The Cook Down is a general cooking blog. When I first started it, I did try and focus more on long slow cooks and complex flavors, though, as it has grown I have favored more easy weeknight dinners as I find there’s a larger audience for those.
Bite On The Side is a niche site and focuses solely on side dishes.
Is your blog your business, your hobby or something in between?
They are my business. We moved to Toronto in 2017 and I really wanted to focus in on my blog and get onto Mediavine and start earning ad revenue. I worked part time on my blog and was also a VA for other bloggers, so I could learn and focus more in the food blogging world. I was accepted to Mediavine in 2019 and then finally went full time blogging around a year ago when my second site was also accepted to the ad network.
What post on your blog most encapsulates you and why?
Probably my Beer Marinated Steak - It’s wonderfully flavorful, and though it’s pretty simple and quick to cook, it uses the reverse seared method to make it extra special!
Which post do you wish received more love and why?
One of my first recipes on my blog was this Cider Chili Pork Belly. It’s marinated slow roasted, and the kind of recipe that first got me into cooking - it takes 5 hours to make in total and the results are so delicious! It’s been served to guests many times over the years! Despite several updates and reworkings, it just doesn’t get the traffic I feel like it should! Maybe it’s due for another update!
Which post’s success surprised you and why?
Pak Choi with Garlic and Chili - this was another very early recipe on my blog and it desperately needed new photos! I updated it several years back and it has remained in my top 3 posts ever since. It’s such a simple and quick recipe, but people love it!
What’s your biggest challenge as a blogger?
Probably motivation and focus! I worked in television for around 17 years, and the nature of the industry meant that you worked in teams, and often in very lively and loud environments. Working from home and not getting bored or distracted was definitely a challenge for me! Although I prefer it now, it was quite a shift, and I still have to give myself a pep talk every now and again!
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned as a blogger?
That you don’t know everything! In the early days when I started blogging, I really didn’t know what I was doing, I thought that if I put out a good recipe, that was good enough! I’m now much more proactive about keeping up with current SEO practices, as well listening to other bloggers and experts experiences to get a more rounded picture of the industry. Things changed for me when I started looking at my blog as a business rather than a hobby - easier said than done!
What has been your biggest success as a blogger so far?
I don’t think I’ve had one big ‘WOW’ moment! I’ve not had any viral posts (something I chased for a very long time!) or ‘I’ve made it’ moments. My blogging journey has been slow and steady rather than an overnight success. I’m very proud that I have two sites that are both making money and I get to have an amazing work life balance!
Share a couple of your favourite food blogs to read. Why do you like them?
I really love Bojon Gourmet. Totally not my niche (gluten-free baking!), but I love how she writes and her photography is gorgeous! I actually worked as a VA for her several years ago and she was a big inspiration for me
I really enjoy keeping up with Half Baked Harvest too, her personality comes through so much in her posts, her photography is good enough to eat and let’s be honest, there’s not much that girl can’t do in terms of her business!
What are you working on next for your blog?
While you are reading this, I’m actually going to be on maternity leave, and I’m definitely taking some time off for that! I want to make my email list and newsletter a priority next year, something I have neglected of late, as well as an updated theme for Bite On The Side and getting back into a solid content schedule. On top of that, the idea of an ebook and 3rd site is buzzing around my head!
What else should we know about you that may or not be in your “About Me” page?
I can do the splits and drink a copious amount of wine - the two things often happen at the same time!
What makes your blog unique?
Me! Haha! This is such a hard question to answer because I think there are so many awesome bloggers doing new, exciting and amazing things, and in a saturated market it’s hard to be 100% unique.
How do you cultivate a sense of community around your blog?
I’ve never been great at social media, in all honesty I find it pretty dull and quite egotistical to be chasing likes from strangers! My largest following is on Facebook, and I try to post fairly regularly to keep it alive, but I’ve definitely reduced activity on all the platforms in the last couple of years. Next year I do want to put more focus on my emails where I can hopefully turn those subscribers into regular readers.
What part of the FBC site do you find most useful?
I regularly check out the resources section! There’s always some new information I find that I can use!
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