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I know I should have baked a cake, or rather, someone else should have baked a cake. But no matter. (Okay, so it matters a little…) I’m happy to celebrate the blog turning twenty this month!

I’m not sure how the twenty-year mark snuck up so fast, but it did. Who knew when I started posting a bunch of random thoughts, ramblings, and recipes online in October of 1999, that I’d be doing it this long. But here I am.

Back then, few people knew what a blog was, not even me. My first book had just come out, Room for Dessert, and I thought I’d use the internet to connect to bakers and cooks, so readers could reach out to me with baking queries and questions. Which at times, I think belongs in the “Be careful what you wish for” file ;)

At the time, I had forums and a “Recipe of the Month” feature. Other cookbook authors told to me that I was not making the best use of my time. Perhaps coming from San Francisco helped me become an early-adopter as we like to try new things and believe in the possibilities. And in France, the idea of sharing information digitally was viewed with apprehension. But I liked the interaction and kept going.

Five years later, perhaps around 2004, I learned there were others doing the same; Chocolate & Zucchini, Orangette, Noodlepie, Cooking with Amy, 101 Cookbooks, Simply Recipes, Chez Pim, Cooking for Engineers, Deep End Dining, Gastropoda, Beck’s and Posh, and The Amateur Gourmet, were some of the others that were blogging about food. We networked and added link lists to our blog sidebars, which were usually composed of the same six or seven food blogs, passing along new ones as we learned about them. Some credit me as being the first food blogger, which is a murky statement; I later learned David Leite had started his blog, Leite’s Culinaria the same year as I did, and perhaps there were others that started closer to when I did, too.

A few events brought attention to food blogs. One was when CNN picked up a story about Adam Roberts’ Janet Jackson Breast Cupcakes, which aligned with the coining of the phrase “wardrobe malfunction.” Another was when a New York Times food writer pondered whether food bloggers were just a bunch of people posting photos of grilled cheese sandwiches, which sparked food bloggers to band together to post pictures of – yup – grilled cheese sandwiches.

In spite of the less-elevated status of bloggers (to some), the upside of food blogging was that no matter where you were, you could get a taste of Germany, Vietnam, New York, Rome, and even Paris, via people sharing what they were eating where they lived. I loved that aspect of it and it was a blast seeing what people were cooking and baking, unfiltered, in places like Korea, India, Mexico, and Germany.

I plugged along with my site, getting a comment once in a while, as I added more recipes to the blog, as well as a goofy haiku about Italian espresso candies and tales about les jeunes hommes fawning over my midsection when buying blue jeans in Paris. I made some observations about my new home (a few that in retrospect, could easily be written off as rants of a newly-planted expat – which raised some, um, discussions…) Honestly, though, some things perplexed me…

I also met Romain, who became an important part of my life, as well as the subject of my stories. For those of you who’ve read L’appart, you know why he’s the hero of the book, and my life. I have a fantasy of writing a cookbook about him cooking because he’s such a character…in a good way, of course. But as is often the case, he doesn’t quite understand what motivates me. (In his defense, neither do I.)

When I moved to Paris, I thought the food and travel magazines back in the States would be interested in me sharing some of the small, and up-and-coming chocolatiers and bakeries I was finding in Paris. But most wanted stories about the already well-known places. But I (and other locals), had discovered little gems like Patrick Roger, Jean-Charles Rochoux, and Blé Sucré. After a major food magazine asked me to send them a list of new places I wanted to feature in an article I’d proposed, I eventually heard back that they were passing along my list to their Paris correspondent.

Hrrmph! So I decided to feature les bonnes adresses myself, including those in Paris as well as when I traveled.

I’ll be the first to admit, my photos back then weren’t perfect, like the ones below, taken at Pierre Hermé – with belated apologies to Chef Hermé for not doing justice to his beautiful pastries. No wonder places in Paris aren’t wild about people taking pictures in their shops. (If they are reading this, I’m happy to come back and do a reshoot. Get in touch.)

Probably the turning point for the blog was when I visited the KitchenAid factory in Ohio. This was wa-a-a-y before brands wooed bloggers (and eventually, influencers), and they hadn’t let anyone in their factory before to take pictures. It was a great visit and I loved watching my favorite mixers were made, and sharing it with others.

(On a related note, who knew that one day there would be awards given to people who are considered the best influencers?)

I was also the first person they let into Garrett’s popcorn in Chicago, who told me they had turned down Oprah’s request to bring cameras inside. But not everyone was pleased to be featured on the blog. A woman in a coffee shop screamed at me after I took this shot:

Even though I had asked the other woman, the one preparing the coffee, if I could take her picture, which she said was fine, the other one wasn’t having it and gave me an earful for taking a photo without asking. That was one of the many times I struggled to get pictures to share. If you’ve even been scolded for taking a picture in Paris, you know what that’s like. (Yes, always ask first, even if it’s just something as seemingly benign as a bunch of carrots sitting on a table. For some reason, those carrots must be protected.)

In 2008, the blog was given a major overhaul by Jesse Gardner of Plasticmind. The site was originally designed by Ben McCullough, whose mother was a cookbook editor, and it was a great fit. He’d installed Movable Type on the site, which was a new platform (and concept) at the time, which allowed me to update things on my own, but required me to code everything in html code. So writing a blog post looked like this:

I know…right?

So when people wrote, “You forgot a comma in the third sentence. Don’t you know anything about grammar?” It took a lot to write a post. In fact, most of it could be called coding, rather than writing. And looking at that screenshot now, I’m probably the first food writer to use “incontinence” in a story introducing a chocolate cake. That was probably the real scandal, not the missed comma.

Having to write in code meant that it took about ten keystrokes just to write an “é” in italics. Fortunately, I wasn’t writing about science, as words like hémidécérébellé would have given me carpal tunnel even faster than my wrists (and brain) were already giving out.

Jesse lighted up the design of the site, stripped out all the complicated code, and installed WordPress, which meant I no longer had to code everything and it was much easier to write a post. The blog design was tweaked and customized in 2015 by Cre8d, adding features and helping to keep the site on top of the avalanche of technology that is always changing, and challenging to me. I wanted to focus on baking cakes and cookies.

Sometimes, though, I had to handle more technology that this cake and cookie baker was prepared for. I almost abandoned the blog in 2011 when the site inexplicably went down continuously for several months. Readers were panicking because they couldn’t get my recipes (one reason to buy cookbooks, folks…they don’t go down) and I was panicking because I was trying to coordinate three tech companies I’d hired to fix the issue, which lived in different parts of the world, and didn’t walk to talk to each other.

Technicians were barking terms at me, like CDN, atom feeds, Apache configurations, S3 service, and PHP, which I had to relay between everyone, and fondly remembered how my life used to revolve around making ice cream and baking cakes. I never imagined I’d be spending time on the phone at 3am talking to service technicians in other time zones about things like sitemaps, access logs, Sucuri, proxy servers, IP addresses, and something called ModSecurity. (I like the snazzy name, though!) Anyways, that episode finally ended, which coincided exactly with the time that I lost two-thirds of my hair.

Another milestone on the blog was improving my photo skills. I started the blog with a little point-and-shoot camera that had a tiny lens half the size of a postage stamp. I thought the pictures it took were pretty amazing:

But a decade later, I bit the bullet and bought a DSLR which required me to do everyone’s least favorite activity: Read the instruction booklet. After many trials and errors, and thanks to some professional photographer friends who taught me about things like aperture sizes and RAW images, the photos on the blog got better, and I began to update pictures on older posts, and new posts featured images that I think were a little more appetizing.

Having nicer props helped, too, courtesy of years of scouring French flea markets.

What else has changed since I started? The biggest has been social media. In the past, most people used RSS readers to read blogs, putting our favorites in there so they’d all be organized and ready for us, automatically updated when a new blog entry was published. For some reason, RSS readers fell out of favor, and people either wanted to get blog posts emailed to them, or hoped to catch the update on social media. That meant that bloggers (like me) had to post notifications on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Flickr, Pinterest, and the late, not-so-great Google+, whenever we updated our blogs. We were (and still are) also at the whims of algorithms, which curate what you see and what you don’t see. So it’s not necessarily the best way to find out when new blog posts are published. (FYI: You can subscribe to get blog posts as I publish them, sent to your inbox here.)

Food blogging eventually morphed into blogs that now have staff members (sometimes in their own offices) to create posts and recipes. Here, it’s still me in my kitchen. Some are getting into it with the goal of making money, and to do so, they craft and create recipes specifically for search engines, loading keywords into posts, and writing sentences and phrases that make recipes and text Alexa-friendly. If you’ve ever read a recipe online that has several paragraphs of robotic information ahead of it, that’s why.

The upside to all of that is that food blogging has removed barriers, and created spaces for interesting voices that previously wouldn’t have been heard. The food world expanded with limitless possibilities; a world of multicultural cuisines opened up with fresh voices and new recipes that people are sharing, connecting cooks and bakers around the world in ways that weren’t possible before.


As for me, I’m happy to still be doing what I do here, and I don’t think I’m going anywhere. I’m still trying to cope with all those pesky typos (or gremlins, as Maida Heatter called them) by reviewing blog posts over and over, and over and over, until I think I caught them all, like the one below, which was reviewed 70 times:

Some readers have insisted I work with an editor, which I tried, but it added a few more layers to creating a post and I want to preserve the casual, immediate nature of blogging, rather being laborious, so I decided a missed comma or a “2 teaspoon” (rather than “2 teaspoons”) measurement was just going to happen on occasion. So appreciate those of you who’ve been able to cope with an errant comma or misplaced apostrophe, and stuck around.

When we were all just starting out, I was talking to Elise Bauer, who founded Simply Recipes, and I told her, “My blog isn’t a food blog.” She gave me a funny look, but this blog was never intended to just be about food or recipes, because we’re all more than that, and I find cultural differences fascinating. Readers seem to enjoy stories sprinkled through the blog about things I observe, like the Parisian penchant for sneakers, the importance of keys in the French capital (and the staggering price you pay if you get locked out), where (and where not to) faire pipi, the French umami bomb, the two hour goodbye, and the resistance (and value) of change.

You may have noticed that I’ve recently added a new voice to the site. Emily has been helping me out by doing things like formatting Pinterest images and answering emails. And because she’s such a good writer, I’ve asked her to write guest posts, so you can get more information about Paris and France. She also helped shake up – and taste – the cocktail and apéritif recipes for those chapters in my upcoming book, Drinking French. It’s been great having her around, and now that she’s a new mom, I’ve got a new baby (and an adorable one at that) in my life now, too.

It’s been especially great having you! Big thanks to all of you who read the blog, who have followed it over the years, or who just stop by from time-to-time to get a recipe or to pick up some tips for your trip to Paris. Many of you have left comments over the years, which I truly appreciate. I read all of them and am happy when people add to the conversation. I try to answer as many of your comments as I can because the interaction is a big part of what makes the blog special to me. And extra thanks to everyone who’s bought one or more of my books, and those who have also left a positive review online, which really helps with book sales. When I write a book, I devote my entire life to that project. The two years that it takes from start to finish, each one has been a labor of love. I’m always appreciative when someone gets a book and enjoys it as much as I did writing it.

Moving forward, I retired two projects; leading culinary tours and my Paris pastry app, because I only have the bandwidth for so many projects, and I want to narrow my focus on my books and this blog. And I’m also want to have more personal time as I work on that life/work balance thing. Still, I’ve been toying with launching a podcast and the rights to The Sweet Life in Paris and L’appart have been optioned for film or television projects. I keep thinking how great it would be to do more videos, especially cooking ones, and I’ve got some proposals floating around for other media projects, which may or may not come to fruition. It’s all a chance, like this blog was back in 1999, and I’m looking forward to seeing where everything goes.

 

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252 comments

    • Hillary

    Congratulations on 20 years! (And that photo of Romain – quel hunk!)

    • Sylvie

    Congrats on 20 years! I LOVE that it is still you vs staff. Makes it so much better and one of my go-to reads as a result!

    • Julie

    Congratulations, David! Your books and posts always bring a smile to my face. I love your recipes, stories, photography, kindness, sincerity, and sense of humor. You and Romain seem well matched and am happy when you include photos and stories about your life together. I’ve given your books as gifts a few times, but hadn’t thought to review them; I’m about to change that. Here’s to another 20 years!

    • tori

    congrats david. amazing to see things grow, like your vision and your blog.

    • Brendan

    Cheers to 20 years of blogging! One of things I appreciate most about your blog is the attention to detail and the vivid travelogue on what living in Paris is really like. So much personality, too! Here is to the next 20 years!

    • Susan Bruce

    David, your arrival coincided with our living in Paris on sabbatical 2004-05. This was all new, to writer and readers. Somehow you had a great sense of what to share and what not to share. Your interests mirrored my interests, along with all those fellow bloggers at the time. Thanks for keeping at it, figuring out how to evolve, and not giving up too much to do this interesting work.

    • Naomi D.

    Thank you. I’m fairly sure I found you early on, and you remain a treasure.

    • Kaaren Slawson

    Thank you, thank you for the amazing body of work you’ve created. I’m much too shy to comment usually, but I read the posts, I have the books, and I recommend freely. It would be wrong not to join in the chorus of gratitude and affection. Because we’re ancient and no longer travel much, you widen our horizons – Australia, the Middle East, the fabulous truffle hunter. Thank you. I did almost expire from anxiety & stress reading about the apartment. So bless Romain. You can do it again!

    • katherine cheng

    Thank you, David, for your books and your blog. I’ve enjoyed them so much over the years, starting with “Room for Dessert.” I almost never write to celebrities, but you are the exception. Your writing is so informative, and your style so warm, real, personal, articulate but unstuffy. Congratulations on the 20th anniversary of your blog. Continued, well-deserved success. Kathy

    • Jenny

    I’ve been following your blog for roughly the last 10 years and have enjoyed all of the recipe and Paris anecdotes. Thanks for keeping up with this corner of the internet.

    • Julia

    David – thank you for all the effort you have invested in this site and all you do. I thoroughly enjoy your sense of humor and you have taught me so much through the years. Well done, you! Here’s to the next marvelous 20 years!!

    • Gavrielle

    Congratulations on 20 years! So many bloggers start off with a hiss and a roar and peter out after a few months – it takes real dedication and perseverance to keep going over the long term. Your emails announcing a new post are always a highlight of my day. The best of luck for whatever additional new ventures lie around the corner!

    • Shari Mauthner

    My heartfelt congratulations. I adore the blog and read it-and the wonderful comments!-as they post.

    Your books are lovely to read and, best of all, your recipes work. That isn’t true of all ‘celebrity’ cookbook authors. Your sorbet recipes are the bomb!

    Keep writing, keep cooking, keep keeping in touch.

    • Terrie Chrones

    My first trip to Paris coincided with My Paris Kitchen.

    While I grew up in the 60’s in Germany (Air Force kid) we never made it on a family trip to France- De Gaulle and exits if vases made France seem unkind. (No longer true, we’ve experienced many Parisian kindnesses in our multiple trips since.)

    So when finally I was going there it was your book, not a travel guide which best gave me a view of l’esprit, how to hold a place in the queue, and yes! The markets, cooking, and brocantes. Thank you! Keep being you and writing.

    • David Leite

    Happy, happy anniversary, fellow old-timer and Internet pioneer!! You have given us so much these past two decades. We love you for it.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Happy to be in the pioneer wagon(s) with you!

    • Kristen F

    Thank you for giving me a glimpse into someone else’s kitchen and tastes. I’ve not read your blog long but I genuinely appreciate your perspective and the lovely recipes. Keep going… your love of what you do shines through.

    • Vesna

    Thank you so much for your wonderful blog. I love to revisit your old posts and look forward to getting your newsletters each month. I’m pretty obsessed with your instagram stories too! I would 100% listen to your podcast. I hope it happens soon!!

    • Rosa

    Congratulations David, I have followed your stories, books, and recommendations when I go to Paris. I have discovered new cookbooks on your blog and some of my favorite recipes come from your books. Cheers to another 20 years to come!!!!

    • Pam

    A million thanks for sticking with your blog through all the trials and tribulations of the ever changing technology world. I’m so impressed that you were the forefront of influencers/bloggers and yours is the one I read/view religiously on instagram, facebook and my inbox. It seems that every time I go to Paris, you are in the US, but some day I hope we meet in Marche d’Aligre! Congratulations on a monumental anniversary! (And thank you for introducing us to Romain!)

    • jaden

    Congrats on 20 years! Kisses to you and Romain!!! xo jaden

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Thanks Jaden! xxx

        • Kim

        Congratulations and a big thank you David! I’ve loved the blog for years, and reading “the sweet life” while visiting Paris was a blast. I agree yours is not strictly a food blog per sé. What I most enjoy are your stories – and resto/shopping tips. Hoping for another 20 years!

    • Barb

    Congratulations, “Daveed”, et merci beaucoup for beaucoup de laughs, learning, and gentle conversation.

    • Rachel

    I have loved your blog and books for many years! Thank you for all your work to make our lives sweeter. Hoping I’m still reading it 20 years from now.

    • Shelly Murphy

    Congratulations David, how time does fly. You have opened several doors for me…your cooking and cookbooks, your travel adventures and a look into SF too. I continue to read, cook and drink with you…thank you.

    • Paula

    Congratulations David. I often slip down the rabbit hole of your blog into an enchanted Parisian space of food and colour and experiences. I make your recipes and drink your drinks and sometimes buy your books. Keep writing you bring so much pleasure to so many people not the least this femme of a dangerous age in New Zealand.

    • LeeLee

    Time flies. Congratulation on 20 years!

    • BelleD

    Congratulations! Your blog was one of the first food blogs I explored and really love (still do). A lot of my favorite food blogs have disappeared or morphed into something different altogether. When the “voice” that you love is no longer recognizable, it’s a bittersweet thing. I know that change is inevitable, but it’s still sad. Your blog is still very much loved because it’s uniquely your voice, so I am very happy that you still remain the principal here. I hope it remains this way for many more years to come.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      When I was thinking about the blogs that I mentioned in the post, that were there from near the beginning; you’re right, many have gone or morphed into something else. A lot of it may have to do with the technology, which appears easy but involves formatting recipes using plug-ins, editing photos to certain specifications so they’ll appear in the right format for mobile phones (which Google now requires) as well as the different size screens people use, keeping social media accounts relevant, as well as writing and creating recipes (!) Also people are interacting differently and many of us interact on social media. But I like having the blog as a “stable” place where recipes can live and people can visit and return to if they want recipes, stories or Paris tips, which you can’t really do with social media platforms.

    • Nata

    Congrats on 20 years! Love your blog and has been reading it for many years – glad to hear you intend to carry on blogging …

    • Vee

    This gave me shivers with food blog nostalgia! I’ve been following your blog from Hong Kong on and off for the last decade. The food is nice but your voice is what makes it special. Congratulations!

    • Kelly

    Congratulations and thank you for 20 years of vicarious Parisian living and wonderful, good humor. The fantastic recipes are icing on a marvelous gateau!

    • Priya

    Congratulations! And big, big thank you’s for all the deliciousness you have added to life. May you go from strength to strength…. and may we be exchanging another note 20 years from now:)

    • Megan

    Congratulations–you are an excellent writer and cultural ambassador! Finding a new blog post from you always makes my day a little better, or, if I try one of your recipes (or return to a favorite), then the blog makes my day a lot better. Thanks for the curiosity, generosity, and intelligence you share here.

    • Jessica

    Thank you so much for all you give with your thoughtful, humorous, informed, and open-hearted writing. And, recipes, of course!

    • TomK

    Congratulations! Has it been that long already? Lordy, I feel so old sometimes. I remember stumbling upon your blog in its early days and then losing sight of it for some reason. Nice to have some constants in life — and constants of intelligence and quality and respect for food. And the great recipes don’t hurt, either!

    Merci beaucoup.

    • Mary Isenman

    As my 105-year-old friend was fond of saying, “Love you to pieces!” Congratulations, David — you’ve certainly enhanced my life!

    • Susan Litman

    Mazel tov on 20 years, David! I love that this blog is still “you” because your voice is one of the best things about you. (You might not remember this, but I reviewed My Paris Kitchen on a friend’s blog when it came out and mentioned feeling as though we had your guiding voice right in the kitchen.) If you started a podcast, well, I’d subscribe to that. Your “voice” as a baker and cookbook author has been guiding me in the kitchen for a long time, and I’ve learned so much from you! Not to mention that you keep us all entertained with stories of life in Paris. Wishing you continued success! :)
    http://www.thevalentinerd.com/in-susies-kitchen-review-of-my-paris-kitchen-recipes-and-stories/

    • Claudia

    Congratulations and merci beaucoup! For me you’ve set the gold standard of blogs with your intimate writing style and outstanding recipes. Wishing for you (and hoping for me) many more years!

    • Pia

    Congratulations on 20 years!! Thanks for the great writing, recipes, and insight.

    • Nancy B

    Congratulations, David…your blog is how I am able to “visit” Paris from a farm in rural northwest Wyoming. Your recipes are never fail and always good, and I’ve shared them and your name far and wide. Keep cooking and writing, you make this 70+ grandmother very happy!

    • ky

    I’ve been reading your blog for 15 (!) years now, since I was 15. It’s so great that you’re still making such thoughtful & interesting posts. :)

    • Bruce Avery

    Congratulations and thank you. You’ve been such a great companion online since I happened upon your work in 2001. And it was great to meet you at Omnivore Books here in Noe Valley a few years back. Merci!

    Bruce

    • dezreen

    Congrats and thanks to you for staying the course and being true to what you love. Your cultural experiences, notes and sense of humor are much appreciated in what has become a highly primped blog world. And your fondue recipe is a keeper!

    • veronica

    I’m a little late with my congratulations but I only drop in from time to time. I’m one of those dinosaurs that bookmarks my websites for reading when I I have the time and inclination.

    I first found your blog in 2014 when I was frustrated at not being able to make a proper pancake while living in Montpellier. Thanks to your blog I discovered that, duh, it’s the flour! I continued reading your blog because of the stories. It was affirming to discover that I wasn’t the only one that thought some french habits were ….. peculiar!

    I don’t own one of your cookbooks, I move to often to own physical books, but I did gift one to my cousin Mark for Christmas. Some time afterwards I asked him how he liked the book. He told me that he had made one of the recipes, I can not remember what it was, but after his wife took a bite, he turned to him and said that from now on he could only make this particular dish using your recipe. :)

    Thank you for all your hard work. It is truly appreciated.

    • AndyG

    I’m not sure when I first started reading your blog, but it’s been many, many years. I’m not really a cook at all, but I love reading about food, and your blog rocks. And this non-cook has even made a few of your recipes!

    • Bette

    Here’s to 20 more! You’re a one of a kind guy, and I look forward to your blog posts (and books! more, please!) as I would a visit from a friend. Thank you, David, for all you do!

    • Kaye Berma

    Congratulations on turning 20! Love your blog and your voice and have enjoyed every single book you’ve written! Cheers to another 20!

    • Teresa A

    Congrats to you, David. I truly enjoy your newsletter, blog, books and all the colorful stories and inspiring recipes. Recipe ingredients for today’s almond & pumpkin seed scones have been added to my grocery list – would love to see more whole-grain, reduced sugar, healthy recipes. Happy 20th!

    • Kiki

    I’m the eternal late-comer, but I tend to keep the best for last! My heart-felt congratulations to this incredible anniversary – twenty years of blogging, that’s pretty amazing.
    I am not much commenting any longer as my eyesight is vanishing too quickly for my liking. But I did buy your last two books and greatly enjoyed them. Also I admire you truly for your never ending care and love you give and have for your cooking, baking, holidaying (& reporting), discoveries, visits, the stories – the closeness to real life and for letting us all participate in your experiences. Merci, vielen Dank.

    • Janice

    You revolutionized the way I make jam. Thanks from Halifax, Nova Scotia

    • Jude

    Congratulation on 20 years! Your blog is great and enduring because it is really you – I get so bored of the lengthy blah blah and gazillion almost identical photos that form the preamble to so many other bloggers’ recipes.

    I’m also an expat (Brit in Geneva) and relate to a lot of your posts on cultural differences, even when the details are different. In fact, I think I first stumbled across your blog when I was trying to figure out what on earth this double creme de Gruyere that I’d just bought was all about, given that it was more like butter than cream.

    Thanks and congrats again on 20 years well spent!

    • Adrian

    Wow! Thanks for all you‘ve done to broaden my horizon! It‘s been such fun following your travails and joys in the city we love. Keep on going strong!

    • Jayne

    So greatful for your commitment to sharing stories and connecting with us through diverse food stories from across the globe.

    • Sandy

    Dear David,
    20 years have zipped by so fast, and you’ve made them all the more delicious. I started reading your blog from the very beginning. I had just moved from CA to Thailand. It was wonderful to dream and live vicariously through your stories, as we faced similar frustrations with official documents and package deliveries, missing Mexican food, and the fun of being at home in a new country.

    You find the humor in every situation and write about it so beautifully. Your story of keys brought me back to when we lived in Bhutan, and to make an extra key, I had to find a vehicle repair workshop that was willing to cut a key for me from a sheet of scrap metal. It took weeks.

    Your recipes are like cooking w/ a friend.

    I continue to learn so much from you, from why we cream butter w/ sugar, to the deliciousness of Zataar.

    Though I was not in CA during your visit to Omnivore Books earlier this year, Omnivore kindly asked you to sign “The Perfect Scoop” for me. It is now with me in Myanmar, extensively tabbed and very well used. Thanks to you, my friends now know really fabulous ice cream and gelato.

    Trips back from CA, my suitcases are filled with dried California apricots and pinto beans, and recently, a variety of Rancho Gordo.

    This is my first post in all your 20 years. Even in person, I am a more comfortable listener. But I wanted to say THANK YOU DAVID for sharing your life with all of us for 20 lovely years. Looking forward to the next.
    Warmest wishes to you and Romain

    • sapindus

    David, congratulations on the 20th anniversary of your blog ! And for your books :D Best r. !

    • Iulia

    I absolutely love this blog, it is my favourite procrastination activity from my work (not sure my boss would like it just as well though ;) ). Thanks for keeping it free, it is nice to enjoy it for free, but if it were ever transormed into a subscription blog, I would pay as much as needed to keep procrastinating here.

    • Craig Rodgerson

    I retired in 2016, giving me time to have a life and slow down my reading of blogs to appear busy at work. Every holiday season I get out your books and come back to your blog. I used to spend Christmas in Paris. I employed so much of your data to source things for cooking in the rented apartments. I chuckled each time I check the “pantry” in a rental, as I add basics (with a date written in Sharpie) to the collection. Your occasional posts featuring “eye candy” are a welcome social examination of the need for more bread bakers, fish guys, and firefighters.

A

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