It was close to dinnertime, and Settebello Pizzeria in Salt Lake City was bustling around with excitement
Brooke Eliason waited with anticipation for her favorite dish to arrive. Napkin on lap, husband sitting across from her and camera in hand, she replied to a few of the comments on her Instagram page. Brooke then snapped a few photos before diving in to the plates full of large personal napoletana pizzas.
Brooke has passionately shared her experiences finding delicious food in Utah on her up-and-coming blog “Female Foodie” for the last six years. She has created a community of food lovers.
“My love of food all started in my family,” Brooke said. “We all have many different interests, but the one thing we absolutely love in unison is food.”
She started her blog “Female Foodie” in 2010 as an online journal, but soon realized it was becoming a go-to place for other food lovers. She expanded from writing on her blog to creating Instagram, Pinterest and other pages on various social media platforms.
“I began to notice comments from people thanking me for telling them about the different places I was eating at,” Brooke said. “I knew I wanted to expand this to help others discover food like I was.”
The expansion continued as Brooke decided to open her blog to 19 other female foodies who specialize in both restaurants and recipes. These women, ages early-to-late 20s, come from all over the country; one of which is internationally based in London.
“The idea was my husband Cody’s, and I was a little hesitant because ‘Female Foodie’ had become my baby,” Brooke said. “After, my decision to follow Cody’s counsel and being able to work with so many amazing women, I feel so grateful I decided to do it.”
Brooke says her husband Cody has become Brooke’s “bounce-off guy,” meaning she loves to bounce all her ideas off him. Both Brooke and Cody share a love for startup businesses, which they said has strengthened their relationship and ability to work together.
“Although some may see me as the ‘Instagram husband’ because of having to take photos every time we go get food, I believe I am the greatest beneficiary of Brooke’s hard work,” Cody said. “Who else gets to eat amazing food consistently and call it a job?”
Female Foodie writer and photographer Lucia Wright is one of the few that gets to eat delicious food for a job. Lucia is part of the Female Foodie recipe team that focuses on blogging the best recipes anyone can cook.
“It is so fun to be working with Brooke because she is super organized, dedicated and makes everybody feel like you’re her best friend,” Lucia said. “We have team meetings with her every Monday where she gives trainings on how we can be better at sharing our main goal.”
Lucia participates in these team meetings where Brooke helps her and the others learn more about photography and social media strategy, including increasing engagement on their social media platforms, how to develop quality images and watching educational podcasts on startups.
Another one of Female Foodie contributor, Kate Moss, said it is the passion of Brooke and the other women writing that creates such a fun community. Moss is a writer and photographer for Brooke’s restaurant team that develops the list of best local restaurants and dishes.
“Brooke helped me learn how to photograph quality photos using a DSLR camera,” Kate said. “She is very talented and smart with what she does and not only helps the other writers, but is focused on helping everyone.”
The most important goal is to create an authentic place where people can go to find out where to go for quality food.
“If you are going to spend your hard-earned money on food, you should be able to spend it on delicious food for a comparable price,” Brooke said. “Also, the restaurants I share are local restaurants that normally have better food than an international chain restaurant.”
Brooke said she loves to help businesses get recognition for their hard work creating unique, scrumptious food. Most of the time she will pay for the food to review, but sometimes the businesses give it to her to review for free.
“Something I feel strongly about is that there is room for everyone at the top,” Brooke said. “I love to be supportive of people’s ventures and passions.”
Cody said it is this attitude that has helped Brooke build relationships with others that have been mutually beneficial.
