Online Lives: Meet food blogger Katia Valadeau
“I lead an anti-money laundering team in a financial institution in Dublin and to relax I like to cook for my loved ones.
“I’m also fighting with my garden trying a to grow a few courgette plants.”
From Paris, she moved to Dublin in 1998, and this experience has had an influence on her writing.
“I blog classic French recipes with an Irish twist. I blog about the local food industry and the fantastic smallholders around Ireland and I also blog about drink.”
The Irish blogging community has been one of the highlights of Katia’s experience as a food blogger.
“It’s the community and the sense of belonging to a vibrant and creative movement,” she said.
“It is strong and united and I love the Irish Bloggers Group on Facebook. There is a great sense of ethics in the community and I love to see more established bloggers giving their time and expertise to the newer ones for no other reason than they want them all to do well.”
Katia is pleased to have made many friends since she began blogging. Blogging has also offered her the opportunity to test her own boundaries.
“It’s allowed me to meet people I would have never crossed paths with otherwise and some of those I am very lucky to now call friends. It has also pushed me to explore my creative side and step outside of my comfort zone,” she says.
Getting to grips with the internet and the English languages have been two challenges for Katia to overcome, but she credits her fellow bloggers and her friends for seeing her through.
“I grew up without the internet and so technology has been, and continues to be, my biggest challenge. I learn and progress but it is fast moving which is where the blogging community can be particularly helpful. We swap skills and build each other up and I’ve always received help where needed.
“The other challenge I face is simply writing in a language that is not my mother tongue. I overcome this one by just being very careful and I’m lucky to have plenty of willing pairs of eyes to check my work before I publish it.”
Unsurprisingly, she would advise anyone starting out as a blogger to reach out to the Irish blogging community for help and guidance.
“Have fun, please don’t put any pressure on yourself, do join the various Facebook groups and ask for help if you need it.”
