Pajama Entrepreneur

Did you ever think that anyone writing a food blog could get published and end up on the Today Show? Clotilde Dusoulier, the woman behind the blog Chocolate and Zucchini, the best food blog in the world (in my opinion) recently published her first book and is now on a book tour in the US and Europe. Her blog is read by thousands of food enthusiasts all over the world. Read the press coverage here from Elle Eten Netherlands, Paris Match, Der Spiegel, Le Figaro and many others.

Clotilde, a software engineer, began her blog in 2003 upon returning to Paris from Silicon Valley after the dotcom crash. What’s an unemployed software engineer to do anyway? Her blog has become one of the most popular consumer blogs and it’s no surprise that she landed a book contract and a spot on the Today Show (an American morning TV programme).

Chocolate and Zucchini is mostly about recipes so if you hate cooking, the site is not for you. But Clotilde also has tips on where to eat in cities and towns that she visits when she goes on holiday and of course, she writes about gourmet shops in Paris. She writes posts about different types of butter, cheeses, charcuterie, etc.

If you have a blog that attracts a large audience, it is much easier for you to get a book published because it’s easier for the publisher to market your book. You will also get magazines to ask you to write articles for them.

So what makes Clotilde successful?

• Food is her obsession.
• She writes well for her audience, many of whom are in the US. Her writing style is friendly and approachable.
• She’s young, pretty, French and therefore, very “media-genic”, and she speaks English well with hardly any accent.
• Her blog has become a community, not because she purposely designed it that way but because she focuses on on topic and does it well.

Her prospects for the future

She could be the next Martha Stewart. She has a loyal audience and a book. Next up, hosting her own TV show and organizing upscale cooking holidays in the Provence. She can branch off into lifestyle-related topics such as interior design, entertaining, etc.

Leaving aside the hardcore group of foodies, what drives much of Chocolate and Zucchini’s success is aspirational (like Martha Stewart’s publications and her fans’ devotion to Martha herself) — a lot of women fancy themselves having Clotilde’s lifestyle: living in the Montmartre district in Paris, eating macaroons at Laduree, baking bread, sampling artisanal cheeses in a fromagerie in the Marais and dining at El Bulli outside Barcelona.

I see Clotilde going from blog to published author to media company (not unlike Martha Stewart’s empire).

Other famous food bloggers

Heidi Swanson

Heidi’s blog, 101cookbooks.com, is filled with recipes for vegetarian organic dishes. Like Clotilde Dusoulier, Heidi started her blog in 2003. She’s also a photographer and designer. Her recent book, Super Natural Cooking, has received excellent reviews. The book’s artwork and photos are all hers. I have the book and it’s a great resource for simple, delicious vegetarian recipes. My favorite is the homemade granola.

Claire Chapoutot

Claire’s blog, Clea Cuisine, features an eclectic mix of Japanese and organic food recipes. Her book, Agar Agar, was published early this year in France and is also available from Amazon.fr.

Pascal Weeks

Pascal is the author of C’est moi qui l’ai fait, a French food blog. Her book came out in 2006 and is available on Amazon.fr.

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To see a list of my favorite food blogs, go to my article on Rosecantine.com.