The Food Blogger Pro Podcast

Growing to 5 million followers on Facebook and turning social video into traffic and revenue with Alia and Radwa Elkaffas from Food Dolls.
-----
Welcome to episode 561 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Alia and Radwa Elkaffas from Food Dolls.
How Food Dolls Turned Facebook Into Their Top Traffic Source
Alia and Radwa, the sisters behind Food Dolls, join Bjork on the podcast to discuss how they built a thriving food business with a Facebook-first strategy.
With over 5 million followers on Facebook, Food Dolls has become a case study in adapting to platforms, navigating algorithm changes, and continuously evolving content formats. In this episode, Alia and Radwa share how they got started, how they divide responsibilities today, and how they think about analytics, monetization, recipe development, and platform-specific strategies in 2026.
Whether you're just beginning on Facebook or looking to rethink your traffic mix, this episode is filled with actionable insights and tips to get you started on the right foot.
Three episode takeaways:
Facebook can still be a primary growth and traffic platform — Food Dolls proves that Facebook is far from "dead" when creators lean into native uploads, frequent posting, and engaging Reels.
Strategically scaling content is essential to success (without burnout) on Facebook — By batching content, scheduling posts every two hours, and repurposing one shoot into many Reels, Alia and Radwa focus on scalability without sacrificing consistency or quality.
Flexibility is the best defense against algorithm changes — Alia and Radwa continuously test new formats, switch up their content, and adapt their strategies based on analytics — allowing them to weather platform shifts long-term.
Resources:
Food Dolls
Crowded Kitchen
Inside Crowded Kitchen's Strategy for Growing to 2.4 Million Followers on Facebook
Manychat
Facebook for Creators
Monarch
InShot
Dropbox
Pretty Delicious Cookbook
Follow Alia and Radwa on Instagram and Facebook
Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
Thank you to our sponsors!
This episode is sponsored by Allspice and Clariti.
Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to [email protected].
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

The time, tech, tools, and strategy behind launching a successful food blog with Jessica Wine from Whisk & Wine.
-----
Welcome to episode 560 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jessica Wine.
Strategically Launching a Food Blog with Jessica Wine
In this episode, we're chatting with Jessica Wine about what it really takes to launch a food blog from the ground up. Drawing from her background in the tech start-up world, Jessica shares all of the details about her launch process and why she intentionally built in a learning and development phase before ever hitting publish.
From branding and backend tech to time management and AI, this conversation is packed with practical insights for anyone preparing to start — or restart — a food blog the right way.
Three episode takeaways:
Building before launching — Jessica explains why she didn't rush to launch and instead focused on education, systems, and structure first. She shares how this upfront work helped her feel more confident and prepared once her blog went live.
Time vs. money decisions — Bjork chat with Jessica about how she evaluated when to invest money instead of time and how she decided what to outsource and what to keep in-house during the setup phase.
Tech, tools, and AI — Jessica shares the details behind how she approached the backend setup of her blog — including the tools she invested in from the get go. She also shares how she's incorporating AI into her recipe documentation processes to streamline her workflow.
Resources:
Whisk & Wine
Feast
Asana
Monday
Grace + Vine Studios
The Checklist Manifesto
OpenClaw
Grocers List
Follow Jessica on Instagram
Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
Thank you to our sponsors!
This episode is sponsored by Clariti.
Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to [email protected].
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

The shifting search landscape, AI-generated recipe errors, and leaning into email newsletters with Bjork Ostrom and Emily Walker from Food Blogger Pro.
-----
Welcome back to another Food Blogging News Roundtable! In this episode, we're diving into the biggest stories impacting food creators right now.
Bjork and Emily discuss everything from the "SEO is dead" panic to AI-generated Frankenstein recipes, smarter email automations, paid newsletters, and what's actually working on Pinterest in 2026.
Three episode takeaways:
Search isn't dead, but it is shifting — Data from Graphite shows SEO traffic is only down slightly (–2.5%), and overall search traffic has remained relatively stable, even ticking up slightly in 2025. Bjork shares how Pinch of Yum's search traffic has changed in the last year (and what they're doing about it) and we discuss why the recent search changes feel so different than past algorithm updates, how you should change your strategy, and lean into other methods of discovery.
Google's Personal Intelligence is sharing bad recipes —Google's new Personal Intelligence feature inside Gemini is generating personalized recipe responses — but sometimes botching the recipes and incorrectly attributing them to food bloggers. These Frankenstein recipes can damage trust when users think a flawed AI-generated recipe came from a favorite blogger and it's a reminder that AI accuracy and attribution still have a long way to go.
Owned platforms like email and paid newsletters matter more than ever — With traffic fluctuations across search and Pinterest, now is a great time to consider starting a paid newsletter. Bjork and Emily discuss the opportunity for paid newsletters to create recurring income, reignite the creative spark, and deepen audience relationships.
Resources:
Subscribe to the Food Blogger Pro newsletter!
Pinch of Yum
Debunking The Myth That Search Is Dying
Google Personal Intelligence Creates AI Frankenstein Recipes
10 email automation templates that save creators 20+ hours a week
The Top 5 Reasons Food Bloggers Should Consider a Paid Newsletter (And Who Probably Shouldn't)
How to win with the Pinterest algorithm in 2026
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Inside Crowded Kitchen's Strategy for Growing to 2.4 Million Followers on Facebook
Inspired Taste
Food Dolls — interview airing March 10!
Simple Pin Media
Email Emily
Best Served Hot
Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
Thank you to our sponsors!
This episode is sponsored by Member Kitchens and Clariti.
Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to [email protected].
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

Building a food content business by creating what comes naturally, growing to 1 million followers on TikTok, and monetizing Substack with Claire Dinhut from Condiment Claire.
-----
Welcome to episode 558 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Claire Dinhut from Condiment Claire.
Trusting Your Creative Instincts to Build a Million Follower Food Brand
Claire Dinhut first started sharing food content on TikTok when she lost her job working on a food and travel docuseries during the pandemic. Since then, she has grown to over 1 million followers on TikTok, published a cookbook, and started a Substack blending food, travel, and history into a cohesive content brand. Claire's journey is a good reminder that you don't need to follow a rigid formula to succeed online. By leaning into what felt natural — documenting her interests, telling stories she genuinely cared about, and creating without overthinking — she built a business that feels aligned, sustainable, and creatively fulfilling.
Whether you're curious about Substack, growing on TikTok, or finding your own creative rhythm, this episode is packed with insight and encouragement to trust the way you create best.
Three episode takeaways:
Monetization works best when it's intentional — By waiting to monetize her Substack account and being thoughtful about what goes behind her Substack paywall, Claire built a smaller but deeply invested paid community alongside her massive free audience on social media. She also shares more about how she uses audience response to inform paid content and her content strategy overall.
Find the path of least resistance — Claire's success comes from leaning into how she naturally creates, posting often, and treating each platform differently.
How Claire grew to over 1 million followers on TikTok without consuming social media herself — Claire explains how posting consistently on TikTok and Instagram helped her find her voice and shares the tools she uses to write, film, and edit her content (you might be surprised!).
Resources:
Condiment Claire
The Condiment Book
JSTOR
CapCut
Follow Claire on Instagram and TikTok
Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
Thank you to our sponsors!
This episode is sponsored by Grocers List and Clariti.
Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to [email protected].
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

Infusing your culture into your brand, launching a digital zine, and building your brand with Krista Linares.
-----
Welcome to episode 557 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Krista Linares of Nutrition Con Sabor. 
Infusing Your Culture into Your Brand and Launching a Digital Zine with Krista Linares
In this episode, Bjork is sitting down with Krista Linares, a dietitian who made the bold choice to transition back to a full-time job to reclaim her mental bandwidth (and yes, solve the health insurance nightmare). It's a refreshing look at why stability might actually be the secret ingredient to better creative work.
She didn't just change her job, though! She completely overhauled how she shows up online. With the nutrition space getting flooded by generic AI content, Krista realized standard blogging wasn't cutting it anymore. She opens up about her pivot to a "digital zine" — a mix of recipes, hot takes, and cultural deep dives — and why leaning into your specific, un-copyable voice is the only way to make it in today's digital landscape.
Three episode takeaways:
Trading the grind for stability: Why Krista decided to pivot from the stress of private practice (and navigating health insurance!) to a 9-to–5 role, and how that stability actually gave her more freedom to be creative.
Standing out in the era of AI: With the internet flooded by AI-generated info, Krista breaks down why leaning into your unique voice, cultural background, and personal opinions is the only way to really connect with an audience right now.
The return of the "zine" format: A look at Krista's cool new project—a digital zine—and why she's moving away from standard blogging to a format that blends recipes, articles, and hot takes to build a deeper community.
Resources:
Nutrition Con Sabor
ChatGPT
Erica Julson
Claude
Follow Krista on Instagram
Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
Thank you to our sponsors!
This episode is sponsored by Allspice. Learn more about our sponsors at foodbloggerpro.com/sponsors.
Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to [email protected].
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.