In today’s episode, I talk to Chef Dennis Littley, owner of culinary blog askchefdennis.com. He’s a chef turned food blogger and his successful website Ask Chef Dennis boasts over 8.5 million views per year! His style of food is much loved by his followers thanks to his simple approach, reminding aspiring home cooks that “This isn't rocket science. This is food.”

You’ll hear why he left the kitchen, how he took the leap into the world wide web, and what he offered in the early days of food blogging that helped catapult him to the top of search engines. He shares SEO and social media tips for anyone in the culinary realm, and explains why following the trends is such a necessary part of staying relevant. 

What you'll learn with chef Dennis Littley

How chef Dennis Littley describes his role in the culinary world (2:29)

When he fell in love with cooking (3:03)

How Dennis Littley transitioned from the kitchen to the web (4:38)

What really helped him gain a presence online (6:35)

How Dennis Littley decides what to write about on his blog (8:02)

What makes Chef Dennis Littley’s recipes stand out (8:54)

The foods he loves to cook the most (11:33)

What he does differently from most chefs (13:35)

Who’s cooking and following the blog (15:03)

The simple secret to his success (16:01)

How chef Dennis Littley keeps up with the ever changing social media frenzy (18:57)

SEO tips for aspiring bloggers (20:06)

Advice for a young Dennis (27:31)

His start in travel blogging (28:33)

How to become a travel blogger (29:17)

When he struck travel-blogging greatness (29:51)

His favorite travel adventure (32:14)

How the food in Ireland surprised him (33:49)

The biggest benefit to being a blogger (35:51)

A tasting tour of New Jersey (36:54)

Dennis Littley's favorite ice cream flavor (40:32)

His trick for not indulging too much at home (40:46)

Where he’d love to go travel blogging (41:23)

Series of rapid-fire questions.

Link to the podcast episode on Apple Podcast

Links to most downloaded episodes (click on any picture to listen to the episode)

Jeremy Umansky in Cleveland

Chef Andy Doubrava

Chef Chris Kajioka

Chef Sheldon Simeon

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I have a lot of friends that are bloggers and they're saying, ‘Well, I search keywords to see what I should write about and what's going to be the most popular'. I just write about what I want for dinner! I don't base what I'm going to write based on how I think it'll do.

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These recipes I have made 1000s of times over my career of cooking, so they're time tested. They're not made with exotic ingredients. They're made with simple ingredients.

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I want to demystify cooking. I want you to find the joy of cooking.

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The secret to success is to be flexible.

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Blogging is like painting a bridge. When you get done at one end, it's time to start at the other end again.

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As a chef, I knew what sold and I knew what people wanted. I knew what they would buy night after night. So, I kind of gauge it that way as to what people want.

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Social media

Ask Chef Dennis

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Links mentioned in this episode

askchefdennis.com

Charlie's Bar in Somers Point, NJ

Manco & Manco Pizza

Gregory's

Anchorage Tavern