Entry #2: Blog Analysis, The Timid Cook

http://timidcook.blogspot.com/

Format and Layout
The layout is simple and uniformly structured. Most updates adhere to the following outline:

1. A story/background about the dish
2. A picture (if any)
3. Ingredients/directions
4. Closing remarks (if any)

This format makes the blog accessible and easy to sort through; there’s nothing worse than a blog that’s supposed to be about one thing but ends up being a family photo album or promotional tool for the blogger’s book.

Content and Purpose
As mentioned above, most of the blog is comprised of recipes, almost all of them Bengali. The header makes the purpose clear, “…some very easy, quick and fool proof recipes…” While this may be true for people familiar with Bengali food, the average Westerner might have a harder time finding the ingredients listed, let alone how to cook with them. Speaking as a somewhat adventurous home cook, I would attempt some of the dishes, which I think is the second purpose (intentionally or not) to introduce unfamiliar food in a clear, non-imposing way.

Language and Tone
Opening each recipe with a short background or anecdote provides some intimacy to each dish. The writer has a strong command of the English language and that, too, helps make the unfamiliar approachable.

What Can Be Gathered About the Writer?
Clearly, the writer has strong Bengali roots. According to the inaugural post in 2005, the writer confesses “my cooking is erratic” and that cooking isn’t their passion; literally, the writer is a timid cook with a few family recipes. The updates are few and far between (once or twice a month), so clearly, they don’t want or intend to become a published food writer.

Bourdieu, What Do You Know?
Bourdieu’s theory that the perceived luxury of food is “…designated by [its] rarity…” runs deep under the surface of the blog. To the writer, these are familiar dishes, common comfort foods from home. To the average Western audience, however, these dishes appear largely exotic and, arguably, exotic. Still others might find them intimidating or flat-out unappetizing, proof that taste is relative to audience.