Daily Inspiration: Meet Katie Crenshaw

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Crenshaw.

Hi Katie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I have a love for cooking and a love for photography. I started my food blog as a hobby to share my favorite recipes and grow in my photography skills. I never imagined it would grow into a business. However, over the years, I have grown a following and my food blog has become my dream job.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Food blogging isn’t as easy as it appears. 90% percent of my time is not spent on recipe development or food photography. It is actually the behind-the-scenes from dealing with Google constantly changing its algorithm to keeping my website up to date. I also spend an exorbitant amount of time branding on social media.

My food blog has turned into a real business. Google, social media, and website management keep me in business. Everyone thinks a food blog is just pretty pictures and a recipe. However, it is so much, much more.

When I started, I was probably putting in 50 to 60 hours a week between actually working. My hard work has definitely paid off, but I also paid my dues with my time and effort.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My blog is for the modern busy cook.  The cook that wants to eat well, but doesn’t have time for hours of food prep or want to bother with 50 ingredients for one dish. My recipes are typically simple and easy.

My recipes have been printed in City View Magazine and Women’s View Magazine, as well as featured in Parents, Bravo, Brit + Co, and Women’s Health to name a few.

I am most known for my Carolina Barbecue Sauce, Pepper Jelly, and Instant Pot Orange Chicken recipes. All of these are great. However, a few of my other personal favorites are my Southern Baked Spaghetti, Bourbon Brown Sugar Fudge, and Bloody Mary Vodka Infusion recipes.

I also write restaurant reviews. Other than cooking, the restaurant reviews are my favorite part of what I do. I get to eat at some pretty amazing places and share my journey.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My love for food began with my grandmother, Bonnie Kriz, aka Grandma Kriz. I grew up and currently live in Fayetteville, North Carolina, but my summers as a child were spent in Oshkosh, Wisconsin where the majority of my family live. Every summer, my mother would pile my brothers and me in the car for a 22-hour drive road trip and the four of us would stay with my grandma and grandpa, Kriz.

Mealtime was important in the Kriz household. My grandmother made everything from scratch. She spent the afternoon preparing her meal for dinner time. Often, I was the lucky taste tester. She would let me taste test to see if her dishes needed anything added to it.

Then dinner was served family-style with everything placed in the center of the table to be passed around. My whole family would sit together at the table… this included my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, and my mother.

Dinner was always delicious. I never complained about what was being served at the table. Our family bonded over those many meals. My grandparents have since passed on, but those evenings at the dinner table were my favorite childhood memories.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.aforkstale.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aforkstale/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aforkstale
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/fork_tale
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYnhU3Kvk4OeRpg8ddvqucQ
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@aforkstale