By Jane Hamilton, MyMediaInfo
There are very few things that bring people together the way food does. Food plays many roles – it’s everything from basic sustenance to a way of life. It acts as a cultural ambassador, bringing out passion and marking tradition. The experience of food, especially the discovery and sampling of various cuisines, has become a popular pastime and has given way to a massive community of food bloggers and tweeters. This list features 10 ‘foodies’ on Twitter who bring you the best food, the best places to find it, and the best recipes to make in your own kitchen. Bon appétit!
1. @glutenfreegirl: Author of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef: A Love Story with 100 Tempting Recipes, Shauna James Ahern blogs about her struggle with Celiac’s Disease and shares the best gluten-free recipes with readers. Her twitter feed provides links to her blog posts and recipes, and conversations with other food bloggers.
Tweets: 34,436 | Followers: 69,323 | MMI Rank: 66 | Stars: 5
2. @Gothamist: Known as the go-to blog for news and updates on New York City, the Gothamist was described by Forbes as a “sophisticated, deliciously urbane city blog.” Through the blog and twitter feed, The Gothamist brings readers vital information on the best restaurants in town and the most popular cuisines.
Tweets: 41,640 | Followers: 27,583 | MMI Rank: 81 | Stars: 5
3. @MyLastBite: Jo Maxwell Stougaard brings her Okinawan and Scottish heritage into her appreciation for food and keen eye for culinary excellence. She blogs at MyLastBite.com and her twitter posts focus on her culinary experiences, the best eats in any given place and the last bite she had.
Tweets: 28,097 | Followers: 57,158 | MMI Rank: 149 | Stars: 5
4. @eatlikeagirl: Freelance food writer and creator of the Eat Like A Girl blog, Niamh Shields is one of the most well known food writers in the UK. Her first cookbook, Comfort & Spice, is due out in September 2011. Niamh’s blog features original recipes inspired by the various cuisines she experiences during her travels. Her twitter feeds gives followers insight into her many interests, including food and travel.
Tweets: 47,237 | Followers: 8,542 | MMI Rank: 266 | Stars: 5
5. @Chicagoist: Launched in 2004, the Chicagoist blogs on all topics of interest specific to Chicago. It received the Reader’s Choice Award from Chicago Reader for best local blog. In addition to providing information on local news, events, and weather, the Chicagoist features a map that shows readers where they can find the best food in Chicago.
Tweets: 23,132 | Followers: 21,027 | MMI Rank: 300 | Stars: 5
6. @steamykitchen: Amateur home cook turned television chef, food columnist and award-winning food blogger Jaden Hair, writes the blog Steamy Kitchen. She is also a food columnist for Discovery Health, TLC, and Tampa Tribune. Her blog reflects her Asian culture and her adventures in the kitchen and her twitter page brings her followers her latest recipes, her experiences in the food world and conversations with other food bloggers.
Tweets: 18,143 | Followers: 110,601 | MMI Rank: 373 | Stars: 5
7. @cookerati: Diana Hayes and Deborah Ng write about food on their blog cookerati.com. Deb also blogs at kommein.com and has won several Outsanding Blogger awards for her writing. Their twitter page gives followers updates on their lives, jobs, family, and of course, the best food and recipes.
Tweets: 27,207 | Followers: 9,147 | MMI Rank: 474 | Stars: 5
8. @RecipeGirl: Lori Lange started her blog RecipeGirl.com to share her original and adapted recipes, and now features more than 2,500 recipes. She also writes for Pepperidge Farm, Kraft, Sam’s Club and has contributed to several cookbooks. Her blog is filled with mouthwatering recipes, colorful food photography and great giveaways. Her twitter page, complete with huge brownies in the background, is chock full of recipes you’ll want to make yourself!
Tweets: 25,547 | Followers: 10,2746 | MMI Rank: 440 | Stars: 5
9. @HealthHabits: HealthHabits.com is the fitness blog of Douglass Robb, a personal trainer and blogger from Toronto, Canada. He writes about the best fitness plans, the relationship between diets and weight loss, nutritious foods, and the psychological ups of fitness and training. His twitter feed provides links to his helpful blog posts.
Tweets: 17,981 | Followers: 179,826 | MMI Rank: 480 | Stars: 5
10. @TwoPeasandPod: Two Peas and Their Pod is the cooking blog of Maria Lichty and her husband Josh. They have been sharing recipes and reviews on their favorite food products for over 3 years, as well as blogging about other interests including hiking, fitness, healthy cooking, and stress management. Maria’s Twitter feed is where she shares links to her recipes, discusses her pregnancy cravings and interacts with other food bloggers and followers.
Tweets: 29,095 | Followers: 7,172 | MMI Rank: 518 | Stars: 5
* All number of tweets and followers are based on facts collected while the article was written.
** To recreate this list: If you are a customer of MyMediaInfo, and have access to the social media module of the database, then you can recreate this list using some easy steps.
1. Click on the Social Media Module. On this page, under the ‘Twitter’ column, click on ‘Beats/Focus’. This will bring you a list of Top-level beats.
2. Here, type in the search term ‘food’, and click on ‘GO’. This will yield a list of top and sub level beats related to the term.
3. Select “Cooking and Entertaining” and click “OK”.
4. You will now see a display of the number of results from this search. Click on “Get Results” to view the list.
5. To rearrange the list in a descending order of MMI rank, click on the column called “MMI Rank”. Remember, the smaller the MMI Rank number, the more influential the Twitter handle. Twitter handles that are not predominantly about fashion, beauty and accessories have been removed from this list.
