049: Riz Asad | Chocolates and Chai

Rizwan Asad is a food blogger, recipe developer, photographer and restaurant reviewer at Chocolates and Chai.

Rizwan Asad is a self-taught baker, expert eater, and sometimes writer currently living in Toronto, Canada. You’ll relate to him if you value a good home cooked meal. For him, the kitchen is a place for warm memories, a place to make new stories.

Riz has been a student of many things and a resident of many places. Ask him where he’s from to hear him weave a story of a mischievous childhood, delectable food, and exotic places.

All you really need to know is that he studied at Hogwarts. No, seriously!

Riz’s blog, Chocolates & Chai, is for lovers of comfort food, dessert, and brunch. Inspired by international cuisine, the blog is all about finding the love and the story behind every meal.

Initially created to share recipes with friends and family living around the world, the blog quickly grew a following—a devoted crowd of besties, and even got its own mascot—Hootie, the grumpy, ever-sleepy owl!

Riz Asad Show Notes

Contact:

Chocolates and Chai
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest

Books:
This post contains affiliate links, which means I get a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you click the link and buy something . You can read my disclosure here.

The Little Paris Kitchen – Rachel Khoo

Kitchen Tool:

Dutch Oven

Gear:

Sony A55
50mm f/1.8

Mentions:

Search Engine Seduction – Marye Audet-White

Popular Posts:

Fluffy Pancakes
Grilled Cheese

Questions:

What did you do before you became a food blogger?
You do have a job now?
What did you go to school for?
You reside in Canada now?
What is International relations?
What are you doing now for a job?
Do you feel like you’re doing something you went to school for?
When did you start your blog?
Is that why you started?
Do you still do the in-names with these people even though it’s been 3 years?
How did you come up with the name of your food blog?
How long did it take you to come up with the name?
When you first started, how many times did you publish a post?
What about now, how many times a week do you publish a post?
How many drafts do you have in queue to publish right now?
How many hours would you say you work on your blog?
How many days a week?
How long did it take for you to start making money?
Do you do sponsored posts now, or is it just ad revenue that you get?
What is the best thing you’ve done for your blog?
Did you take a class or did you do searches on Google?
Did you want to plug the course you are taking right now?
Would you recommend it?
Do you have anybody that helps you with your company?
Do you participate in any social sharing groups?
How many iterations of the website have you had?
What is the hardest thing you find about blogging?
What do you love about blogging?
What is your favorite social media platform?
Is there any advice that someone gave you about blogging that you wish you had heeded?
Is there any advice that you could give to someone just starting out?
What is the most surprising thing you’ve discovered once you started blogging?
What is your most popular post?
Why do you think they are so popular?
Did you have a viral moment?
What is so different with the grilled cheese?
Do you want to do blogging full time?
Once you decided that this was a business, did you map out a plan?
What is your biggest food failure?
What is your favorite cuisine?
What would your last meal be?
What is one thing that you can’t live without in your kitchen?
What is your favorite cookbook?
What kind of camera do you have?
Can you take off the lens with that camera?