Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest This food blogger turned a lifetime of memories into an Appalachian-style cookbook %\ &KDULW\ 6LQJOHWRQ &UDLJ _ 3KRWRJUDSK\ E\ /DXUHQ 0F'XIŤH isit Lauren McDuffie’s blog and you’ll understand quickly the heart of her tagline “an open-ended love letter, culinarily inspired.” McDuffie crafts beautiful stories about her personal life and family history. But what about the food? Isn’t McDuffie a food blogger? “Food gave me something to write about,” says McDuffie, a longtime freelancer who was looking for a creative outlet and, after she began experimenting with photography, “something to aim my camera at.” That doesn’t mean McDuffie isn’t passionate about the food. “It’s how I show people I care,” she says. “I love how food has a way of bringing people together, and how breaking bread is a mechanism for community and relationships.”
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She brings that same sensibility to her work. Known for her moody, rustic images, McDuffie styles photo shoots and writes blog posts at “Harvest and Honey” to tell the story of food in her life, including memories, aspirations and more. “I shoot the blog photos to give people a feeling of what it would be like to cook or eat together,” she says. “I want to inspire readers to get into their own kitchens but also to remember their own stories.”
Crafting a culinary memoir And readers are responding. “Harvest and Honey” earned a finalist distinction in Saveur’s Reader’s Choice Best New Voice Award. McDuffie’s blog also was one of two 2017 winners of the International
