Brett Baker Content Writer Portfolio.

Brett David Baker C R E AT I V E - I N N O VAT I V E - A D A P T I V E

So, you’re after words?

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Well, you’re in luck because I know a bunch. To be perfectly honest – if you’re on the look-out for original ideas and concepts, I’ve been known to conjure up of a few those too. As a selftaught content creator, copywriter and digital marketer - I’m creative, innovative and adaptive.

The master himself Bruce Lee once said, “Be water, my friend”; which is a philosophy I stand by when it comes to the pen (well, keyboard). I like to sculpt and shape syllables to fit snugly into every nook and cranny of the brief. Whether that be the perfect pitch to a journalist; or developing engaging and entertaining content for link building, SEO and Social Networking.

See me as a tailor about to supply you with a fancy new suit, albeit with a heavily-thumbed thesaurus instead of a tape-measure, and reams of letters instead of cloth. I might believe in a lot of crazy things, but the idea that one size fits all certainly isn’t one of them.

Take a look around my portfolio to get a taste of what I’m about. I’m always seeking out new projects to sink my teeth into – so if you think we’d be a match...

let’s do this.

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SEO & Link-Building Here you’ll find an example of search engine optimised link-building copy. The objective was simple – introduce the concept of sustainable eating, whilst maintaining a common theme of veganism throughout the article. The target site was a well-known food delivery brand operating in over 200 cities.

I enjoyed this project for a number of reasons – but nothing beats the buzz of researching a new subject and finding ways to effectively integrate key-words into a piece.

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A Vegan’s Guide to Sustainable Eating based – with both professionals being

awesome new tastes, textures and flavours

keen to advocate how their lifestyle change

– they’re the perfect spot to get to know

influenced their careers for the good.

the people behind what will ultimately end up in your stomach. Get to know them, and

Sustainable eating might sound like some kind of complicated new-age lifestyle change, but it doesn’t have to be. In its simplest form, sustainable eating can be defined as consuming food products that are farmed and processed using techniques that protect both us and the environment.

That means ditching foods linked to pesticides, and

excessive

intensive

more

plastic

farming;

environmentally

packaging

and

making

friendly

choices

such as buying Fairtrade, organic and/or cooking with locally produced ingredients.

The good news is, if you’re a vegan who follows

a

fundamentally

plant-based

According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School

find out exactly what journey your food has

of Public Health, eating more plant-based

been on. You may be surprised at what you

foods is the number one way to go for

uncover. Not only that, but you’ll be safe

supporting sustainable eating. Filling your

in the knowledge that the big bag of tasty

plate with fresh, colourful, earth-grown

ingredients you purchase have had minimal

ingredients over highly processed goods not

time from field to plate. This means less time

only ensures you get your RDA of vitamins

spent hauled up on the road, lowering the

and other goodness – but it also helps to

carbon footprint of your meal considerably.

reduce fresh water withdrawals and tackle

It’s also a great idea to either take containers

deforestation. Two factors majorly impacting

or reusable bags with you on your trips to

the health of the planet in 2018. Not only that,

market, in order to transport your newly

but eating meat-free is a great way to reduce

purchased goods home and cut the habit of

your own personal contribution to climate

routinely throwing waste plastic wrapping

change. According to New Scientist, a diet

in the trash. If you’re looking to grab food

centred around vegetarianism can half CO2

from your favourite vegan take-out, give

emissions from your food. This astonishing

them a call to find out if their containers

data was collected by Peter Scarborough

are recyclable. If not, try to re-use as many

and his team at Oxford University in England,

as possible, or take to the net to find a more

through studying conducted on the real-life

sustainable eatery in your area. You never

diets of more than 50 000 UK citizens.

know, you might just discover your next culinary obsession. This might be easier for

diet, you’re probably already eating more

those living in a city – especially considering

sustainably than you think. Adopting a diet

the massive growth in veganism in countries

based around wholefoods such as beans,

such as the US, Australia and UK over the last

grains, fruits and vegetables, brings along

decade. For example, there has been a whole

with it a tonne of positive health benefits

new wave of forward thinking and innovative

- including everything from speeding up

vegan restaurants in London open up over

the metabolism, to reducing inflammation

the past few years. However, no matter your

and fighting heart disease. Even world

current location, a quick search through

class athletes such as NBA star Jahil Okafor, and former NFL lineman “The 300lb Vegan”

However, there’s more to just hitting up

David Carter made the move to plant-

your local vegan food joint to eating sustainably. The choices we make to as and where we buy our food can also make a huge difference, and as always you can take everything one step further. Supporting local organic businesses is also a great way to make sure you’re gathering food that is

restaurant listing sites and apps such as Deliveroo will leave you with a whole bunch of high-quality and diverse eating options.

Many of these sites and apps also categories their listings to suit different dietary choices - making it easy for customers to ensure their mid-week treat is not only tasty, but sourced sustainably too.

sourced ethically and grown responsibly.

A Farmers Market is a great place to start whilst shopping to eat sustainably. Not only are they full of opportunities to discover

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Promotional Copy Sometimes you have to roll your sleeves up and let the world know what you’re all about.

For this brief, I was asked to capture the energy of a city-centre pop-up venue, and conjure up a dynamic array of copy for The Little Black Book. The LBB is a handy popular pocket-sized index of indie businesses in Leeds, with a print run of 100,000. The Old Red Bus Station saw this a golden opportunity to spark an interest amongst creatives and foodies in the city, and I couldn’t have been happier to tackle the task.

(Picture: The Little Black Book – property of Independent Leeds)

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Long Form: (To Be Released In Print – Spring 2018) About: We’re a pop-up DIY bar, event space and home to Leeds’ original all-vegan eatery, Cantina.

Fresh coffee and homemade cake is served all day, and by night you can find the best underground artists performing alongside big names from the electronic music world. Our walls are home to the work of local artists, and we love it like that. We’re all about creativity - so if you’re after big beats, innovative plant-based dining and a lot of recycled decor, get yersen down. You can find us near the centre of town in the Victoria Quarter.

About continued: (Used on full website listing) Here’s our story; Back in 2015, multi-platform media brand Champion Up North picked up the keys to an empty old bus station in the centre of town. The aim was, well, pretty simple. Let’s create a space for the electronic music community of Leeds to meet up regularly, and provide a platform for the city’s emerging DJ talent. No politics, no abstract agenda. Just a love for great music and even better company.

Fast forward to 2018 and we’re near enough half way through our 5-year pop-up lease.

Scary, but exciting, and we’re not looking to slow down. So far, we’ve hosted a “who’s who” of underground music talent behind the decks, and have hand-selected an eclectic mix of the most influential promoters in the city, to showcase the diversity of Leeds electronic music scene through a curation of free monthly residency events. For venue hire give us a call or head to our site.

Thirsty? Not a problem. We quite literally built our bar from the ground up, and we’ve filled it with our favourite craft beers, local brews, a pigeon themed lager, tasty vegan wines and essential top-shelf spirits. Oh, there’s fresh coffee and cake too!

More recently though, we’ve revamped the old workers canteen into our very own vegan Cantina. Providing a space for forward-thinking plant-based dining, alongside our regular art exhibitions, music events and private functions. Keep an eye out for Cantina’s popular Sunday Roast, DubaGrubDub events, one-off-collabs and community outreach events.

Get yersen down!

Fact for book & site Did You Know?

Everything inside The Bus Station has been built D.I.Y. in house from reclaimed materials.

Well, pretty much everything. Oh, and we’ve got our own pigeon themed beer.

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Blogging Blogging is fun, that’s a fact. According to statista.com there were nearly 392 million blogs on Tumblr alone as of January 2018. However, not all blogs are created equal – and they’re certainly not all fit for purpose.

Opposite you’ll find a blog-post written as part of a campaign to raise brand awareness for Leeds eatery Cantina during #Veganuary. A month where people pledge to go vegan for 31 days, from the chimes of New Year until the start of February. As Leeds original all-vegan restaurant, Cantina wanted to make a noise and draw traffic to their site. Being head of PR, I decided we should utilise the versatility and share-friendly nature of blog posts to our advantage – creating features that would entice vegans both old and new. The Tofu Tips & Tricks example included here drew over 800 hits to the Cantina site, and proved to be a great piece of content to share around their social media channels.

https://theoldredbusstation.com/news-update/cantina/64-tofu-tips-tricks

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Long Form: Tofu Tips & Tricks Tofu really is tough to beat. Not only does its light taste and texture make it infinitely versatile – but the soybased staple is a great source of amino-acids, iron, protein and calcium to keep the V-Gang going strong. For every 100g you cook-up, you’ll be winning yourself 8.2g of protein for your bones and body at only 70kcal.

Pretty good, right?

However, we all remember the first time. You grabbed a block off the shelf, carried it lovingly home, unwrapped the packaging and then stared blankly at the wobbly-white brick sat on the counter. What am I even meant to do with this?! But, don’t fear. As Leeds original all-vegan restaurant, Cantina has picked up a trick-or-two when it comes to tofu. We’ve got your back on this one.

Okay, maybe not “feelings” like me and you, but it certainly has a feel to it. You’ll typically find three main types in the supermarket: silken, firm and extra firm. Each one has different qualities that make them ideal for different types of dishes. So, let’s get down to it: Silken is as it says on the box – silky smooth. Silken tofu is great in soups and desserts. Blitz it up to make a creamy vegan cheesecake or scramble in a pan for a cruelty-free alternative to egg.

If you’re planning on getting a little bit more bite from your beancurd you’re gonna need some firm ‘fu. Unlike silken, the firm kind retains a lot more of its bouncy-body when cooked, and is often used as a substitute to meat in curries, salads and stir-fry dishes.

Tip: Press to Impress Tofu is stored and packed in water to retain its freshness, therefore a fresh block will usually need to be pressed.

Pressing the tofu is a great way to not only enhance its firm texture, but it’s a great way of making space for tasty spices and juicy marinades.

Trick: Freeze for ease A little trick-of-the-trade Vegan restaurants often use is to freeze pressed tofu and then defrost it before cooking.

The process draws out even more excess water, making the beancurd even bouncier and absorbent. As we said before, less water equals more flavour. Freezing tofu is also a great way to store leftovers, so try it for yourself next time you’ve chopped off a little more than you can chew.

Tip: Marinade Due to tofu being so light in its own natural flavour, it’s a real chameleon in the vegan kitchen. Make time before you cook to marinade your tofu, and be creative in the process. You could mix together a bunch of chopped chilli with blitzed mango to create a sticky tangy marinade for baked beancurd bites – or rest tofu steaks in a bowl with soy sauce and Chinese five-spice overnight for a seriously spicy stir fry.

Trick: It’s crunch time If you’re looking to take your tofu mastery to the next level, add a little cornflour into the mix. A little coating can add a whole new crunchy dimension to tofu – making it a great way to introduce new textures onto your plate.

When it comes to cornflour less is often more, so aim for a light coating or medium at a push. Add a little bit of chopped chilli or pepper into the coating for an extra special crunch.

Finally, remember to experiment. We didn’t wake up one day with our Five Spiced Popcorn Tofu recipe down to a T – it took a little trial and error first. The more you explore the possibilities of this versatile ingredient, the more tastes and textures you’ll stumble upon. Let us know in the Cantina Community group your favourite ways to tackle tofu and get that Veganuary conversation flowing. Love Cantina x

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Social Media This tweet flew the nest as part of Cantina’s #Veganuary campaign. My idea here was to create a topic that would not only engage with the restaurants existing followers, but with tweeters further afield. After careful consideration, I landed on the “#veganfact” concept release a new piece of interesting herbivore trivia each day, something that will promote interaction through likes, replies and re-tweets.

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I am familiar with all social media channels and have a healthy working relationship with Hootsuite.

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MINDMATS Mind Mats is a personal project born through collaboration with a graphic designer. What started as an idea to organise a one-off event, quickly evolved into something much more.

When hit with the reality that we did not have the budget or resources to source the right venue, I knew we had to adapt. “Let’s turn our single day into an ongoing campaign”, I said, “and reach out to a possibly endless worldwide audience online.” We both liked the idea so immediately kicked the ball rolling. I’d provide the copy and coffee and collaborate conceptual ideas – she’d rustle up the illustrations and graphics. Together we’d collaborate on conceptual ideas and research. Here’s an example of copy optimised for the Facebook Story section and Instagram:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mindmats/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mindmats/

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PR What you can see on the opposite page is an example of a press release written for the launch of an Autumn inspired menu. I was assigned the task of independently constructing and directing a campaign to create a buzz around Cantina. Below you’ll see a few snap-shots of press coverage that was achieved, including a feature in one of the UK’s biggest vegan lifestyle publications Vegan Life Magazine. Further coverage included being included in PlantBased Magazine’s “Fancy A Bite” section and a review from Yorkshire food blogger Breadsticklers.

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Autumnal Menu Campaign – Press Release Cantina Leeds The Old Red Bus Station 104, Vicar Lane, Leeds LS2 7NL 0113 345 4390 Contact: cantinaleeds@gmail.com 0785891291 03/10/2017 – For Immediate Release Leeds Exclusively Vegan Eatery Launches Autumn Menu Cantina is the only exclusively vegan eatery in Leeds, nestled in the buzzing Victoria Quarter.

Under the eye of head chef Sam Thomas and his team, the restaurant has curated a brandnew menu for the Autumn period. Celebrating seasonal produce and utilising fresh local ingredients such as kale, broccoli, squash, apple, plums and blackberries to produce a variety of innovative plant based dishes.

The menu features traditional Cantina favourites such as the: • Pulled Jackfruit Burger • Southern Fried Hellfire Seiten Strips • Sweet Potato Chips tossed in Paprika Salt But, also introduces new flavours in the: • Quinoa Salad with Smokey Tempeh Bacon • Panko Crumbed Popcorn Tofu and Tempura Broccoli • Spiced Carrot Cake with Blueberry Cashew Icing • Slow Cooked Chana Masala with hand-made Indian Roti

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“Pioneering new flavours was a key aspect to this menu too, exciting the carnivores and challenging the palates of the most experienced vegans. I really enjoyed creating the Butternut Squash Veloute´. It’s just what you need to warm the heart as the bleak Yorkshire weather sets in. Also, the Portobello Burger with Kale and Walnut Pesto was just such an exploration of combining textures and depths of flavours. It turned out to be an explosion of taste.” Thomas. (Head Chef ) To accompany their new dishes, the restaurant has also put together an array of drink pairings. Featuring beverages carefully selected from the bars extensive list of vegan friendly beer and wines.

Situated within The Old Red Bus Station, Cantina is the brainchild of multi-platform media brand Champion Up North, as the last link in completing their five-year pop-up project. It was created to provide a space for forward thinking vegan dining, alongside the venues regular art exhibitions, music events and private functions. Bookings and walk-ins welcome.

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Thank you for taking the time to peek into my written world. If you would like any further information on any of my additional assignments or ongoing projects, please get in touch.

Email: brettdavidbaker@gmail.co.uk Telephone: 07858941291 Snail Mail: 10 Pearson Avenue – LS6 1JA (I currently do not accept carrier pigeon at this time)