I hadn’t come across this before Dana (of I’ve Got Cake fame) nominated me for it: the My Writing Process Tour is not so much an award as a nosey glance over your shoulder (isn’t it really, Dana?!), which makes it even more appealing to take part in, in order to nominate those bloggers you’d most like to watch at work!

Dana’s blog is one of my favourite blogs: her writing is always full-on (great range of profanities!) and she covers everything from fish to fashion. And according to her acceptance post she writes all of this during meetings at work! What an inspiring thought … imagine a class of thirty-odd teenagers quietly writing engaging with the intricacies of Wordsworth’s poetry while I am typing away on my latest adventure with meringue …

I f***ing love her ways with words and with pig feet and fresh fish, but in particular I enjoy the fashion shoots – I promised I would dress up for the occasion and I can assure you I am wearing a cool vintage tea dress which I ingeniously paired with some Italian heels from my extensive collection, as well as a pair of enormous sunglasses to match my tan. Trust me, Dana, you wouldn’t want to see this even if it was true 😉

So instead of presenting you with a picture of my glamorous self, I present you with a shoot of the place where I gather my thoughts, where I muse over tastes and textures and the best way to present my delights:

Well, I wish. The reality is much less glamorous than this, but let me take you on the tour!

First things first: here are the rules for The Writing Process Tour:

1: For a start, you need to acknowledge the person(s) who nominated you, then

2: Answer the Writing Tour questions.

3: Finally, select three others to participate.

As I have acknowledged Dana and her brilliant take on life, fashion and food already, let’s get started on the questions:

1) What am I working on?

I am trying to do more baking: over the last weeks I got a bit carried away by the World Cup, which we won, btw, in case you hadn’t heard ;-). Now I want to get back to the basics, which is to introduce you to Southern German and other Continental European bakery. That’s not always that easy: the baking and eating I am fine with, but you have to take pictures and write it all down, too! So watch this space for some lovely berry recipes, followed by what can only be described as a ‘lardy cake’!

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I am not sure it does, really: most of us are trying to share our experiences and hope to inspire others. I am trying to do this by introducing people to different types of food, as well as the culture they are part of. Food for me is very much an expression of cultural background, which is particularly important for an emigrant like myself.

3) Why do I write what I do?

In an ideal world I’d get people to get baking: it’s easier than you think and the final result will taste so much better than anything you can buy in a shop! Seriously!

In addition I am trying to introduce you to German food, especially cakes and desserts. Germany is generally seen as the spiritual home of the war film genre, as well as the underwhelming winner of football tournaments. Nevertheless everybody who’s ever been to Germany tells me how much they liked the food! Unless they’re vegetarians, that is. Sorry about that.

4) How does your writing process work?

Most of the times I bake a particular cake or cook a dish for my family, and in the process try to take pictures; afterwards I write up the recipe. With some recipes I really have to think hard on how to present them: we usually put the food in pots and pans on the table and we serve ourselves. That never looks great on a photograph, so I have to rush to present an ‘ideal’ portion and take the picture before the hungry hordes attack!

Sometimes I get inspired by other blogs or by a recipe in a book or a magazine, or through a conversation, especially with my family. When they visit they bring me unusual or hard-to-come-by ingredients, which in turn allow me to create a certain dish.

In reality I work in a rather chaotic and haphazard way, always following Samuel Beckett’s dictum: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”

The reality: Ginger @ work