Maria Vannelli is a self-taught baker, cook, writer and photographer sharing simple, family-friendly recipes at She Loves Biscotti food blog.
Maria Vannelli likes to say she does not have a professional background as baker, cook, writer or photographer. She’s just a gal, living in Montreal, married (same amazing guy for 33 years!), mother of two awesome kids (no longer kids but still awesome) and most recently a grandmother. When she’s not talking about food, she’s either making it, eating it, sharing it or thinking about it.
By training, Maria is a professional dietitian. She also had the privilege of being born to Italian immigrants, so you know food is important to her!
You might say that her obsession with food is what motivated her to obtain a degree from McGill University. She graduated all the way back in 1987 with a Science Degree and a specialization in Dietetics. But that’s not all! As a registered dietitian, Maria wanted to specialize in geriatric nutrition and in 1992, she completed a Certificate in Gerontology from Université de Montréal.
Throughout her career as a registered dietitian, Maria has worked in different geriatric institutions. She just recently retired as food service manager of an acute care hospital and four geriatric centers.
Maria’s mom was her inspiration and the reason she cooks and bakes. Following the sudden loss of her mother, Maria created the blog to document her mom’s recipes. Along the way, she began to share some of her own favorites. She Loves Biscotti is about sharing simple, well balanced, family-friendly recipes that range from the traditional Italian dishes of Maria’s youth to modern twists on the classics, all using fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Maria’s daughter, Sara, has helped with editing and proofreading posts since the blog’s conception in 2014. Sara’s ideas and insights about recipes, as well as her ongoing support and encouragement, have greatly contributed to the blog’s success.
Maria hopes the simplicity of her recipes and the use of quality ingredients will inspire you to bring your loved ones closer together at meal times and empower you to create memorable moments around great food.
Maria Vannelli Show Notes
Contact:
Camera and Lens:
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Kitchen Must Have:
Popular Post:
Almond Biscotti
Rice Ricotta Pie
Mentions:
Casey Markee – Ep 004 – Ep 043
Andrew Wilder – Ep 065
Food Blogger Pro
Arborite
Questions:
What did you do before you became a food blogger?
Where did you do food service managing?
Why did you start blogging?
After you got the camera, how long did it take you to actually start the blog?
How did you pick the name of your food blog?
Can you remember some of the other names?
When you first started how many times a week did you publish a post?
How many drafts do you have in place to be published right now?
Do you work full time on the blog?
Do you find that your degree helps with the food blog?
Do you have a niche to your blog?
Once you started, how long did it take for you to start making money?
What was the best thing that you did for your blog?
Do you have anyone that helps you with the blog?
What is the hardest thing that you find about blogging?
What is an example of something that you had to let go?
Don’t you feel like on some level we have to do it even though we enjoy it?
From start to finish, how long does it take you to photograph an average recipe?
What kind of light do you use, artificial or natural?
What is your favorite social media platform?
What do you use for backgrounds?
Do you do your own SEO or do you have someone do it for you?
What kind of camera did your family buy you?
What is your most popular post?
What is the most surprising thing you’ve found since you started blogging?
When you say powerful, what do you mean by that?
When you realized that this was a business, did you have a plan mapped out on how to get there?
What is your biggest food failure?
Did you have to serve it to people or was it just your husband?
What is your favorite cuisine?
What would be your last meal?
What is one thing you can’t live without in your kitchen?
Do you have a favorite cookbook?
What is your favorite recipe from your mother?
Maria from She Loves Biscotti
Elaine, thanks so much for this opportunity! This was my first podcast interview and I loved every minute of it thanks to you!
Continued success with your podcast! I look forward to my Wednesday mornings and listening to you and your guest 🙂
Elaine
Thank you so much Maria! I had a lot of fun chatting with you!
Rina Avellino
Hi Maria, do you have a sister named Anna Maria cause you look so familiar thank you
Elaine
I’m going to pass this along to Maria. I’ll either let you know what she said, or she’ll comment back. Thanks for your comment Rina.
Maria
Hi Rina, I have a sister, but her name is Lina. Although, I do have a cousin by the name of Anna Maria. We are all from the Montreal region. You know what they say, everyone has a twin! Have a great evening Rina!