venerdì 9 gennaio 2015

Let's meet Giulia Scarpaleggia: a young Tuscan foodblogger, food writer and cooking teacher

Giulia Scarpaleggia
interview by Ilaria Gelichi


Hi Giulia. Can you tell us something about yourself? Where do you live, what do you do…

I live in the countryside in between Siena and Florence, in my family house. I am a full time foodblogger, I teach Tuscan cooking classes to tourists, I develop recipes for magazines and brands and I take pictures of those recipes. As you can easily understand, all my life is about food! and I love eating, as well!

How was the passion for cooking born?

I’ve always loved cooking, at an unconscious level, though. I enjoyed baking a cake on Sunday morning with my mum or spending time in the kitchen with grandma. Growing up I’ve always found myself in the kitchen, at home and at friends’ parties. In my twenties this passion grew up to a conscious level and I realized how cooking was a central energy in my life.

When was your blog born? How did you have this idea?

I began my blog on the 1st of February 2009, almost six years ago. I wanted to have something mine, something I could work on, and I wanted to share my recipes and photos. It began just for fun, as I was already reading food blogs.

You are a full-time food writer now. What are the positive aspects of your job, and what the negative ones (if there is anything negative)?

Positive? Just imagine, I have to cook and write about food for the whole day, and I get to taste and eat everything I cook. As it is my passion, this is undoubtedly fun, plus I can organize my time and my work as I work from home, from my kitchen most of the times. Downsides? I am surrounded continuously by food, so there's no chance to be on a serious diet!

Cooking course at Juls' Kitchen
You also published some books about food. Can you tell us something about this?

My first book, I love Toscana, is about my region and its most traditional food. It was published in 2012 and you can find it in Italian, English, Dutch and Polish.

The second cookbook, Cucina da chef con ingredienti low cost, for the moment is just in Italian. Its focus is a simple hearty cooking made on a budget, with seasonal local ingredients.

I love the process of writing a cookbook, you put all yourself in choosing the recipes, testing them and taking the pictures, it's an amazing journey.

At this point, which are your targets for the future?

I just hope I will be able to keep enjoying my work as I am doing now, and I would love to keep on writing cookbooks!

With the financial crisis still in act, young people must invent their own job to go on. Do you have any advice for someone who dreams about becoming a full-time blog writer?

You have to be prepared to work more than before, but as long as you do something that you really love, you will enjoy every single moment. I began my blog as a free time activity, I didn't want to turn it into a job at the beginning, so I enjoyed it, and I am still enjoying it!

Visit Giulia's food blog: http://en.julskitchen.com/


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