Although she’d love to spend the whole day working on her food blog “Mandelmilch & Cashewmus” (Almond Milk & Cashew Mousse), create Buddha Bowls and other Detox delicacies, Lina-Maria Schön from Cologne gets just as much enjoyment out of her job as a high school teacher. She recently won the first “German Food Blog Contest” and received her award at Ambiente
“Many people who might previously have dreamt of running their own café are now writing blogs to enthuse others in their food philosophy,” says Lina-Maria Schön. Almost a year ago she started her blog “Mandelmilch & Cashewmus”, which she significantly subtitles the “Daily Detox”.
Everything in this youthful blog is ultra-vitamin-rich and colourful – from the easy feel-good Buddha Bowl with banana fritters, honey, coconut and grapefruit that she discovered on a visit to India to the purple-coloured multivitamin drink (with red cabbage!). She also places great emphasis on the photos, which offer a feast for the eyes. “Because of my own food intolerance problems I have explored the detox issue in depth. I stopped drinking milk, but that wasn’t enough. At the same time I had the idea for a blog that presents easy recipes and shows how we can all do a bit of detoxing each day. Everything that I put on the blog is gluten-free, soya-free and of course vegan.”
She is delighted to have been chosen as the best German-language food blogger in the category “Ingredients and Originality”. The large expert jury – comprising well-known food bloggers, decision makers from the food retail sector, editors of food and trade magazines as well as lifestyle and trade fair professionals – clearly recognised her passion and culinary expertise. Lina-Maria Schön intends to invest the prize money of 1500 Euro in her blog: “You always need something – equipment, food and lots of other things. A blog is very cost-intensive.”
The 25-year-old tells us that she would have come to Ambiente even if she hadn’t won the award. “You need to find out about the latest ideas in order to improve your own quality – particularly kitchen equipment and beautiful tableware, bowls and dishes for presenting things well. And, honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without my Vitamix high-speed mixer and KitchenAid food processor. I want to see all the latest features and functions there.”
Blogging is fashionable. What advice would you give to beginners? “Try to find other people to talk to. Use big get-togethers like the annual FoodBloggerCamp in Berlin. You can learn a great deal there. You can ask all the questions you like. The scene is very cooperative.” Can you make big money with a successful blog? “There is the opportunity to collaborate with manufacturers. Most food bloggers – myself included – have registered as small businesses.”
Writing, cooking and taking photos – the blog forms the counterpoint to her daily routine at school. “If I did everything I wanted to do here, it would easily take five or six hours a day.” But is it all just about detoxing? “You have to be realistic. You can allow yourself the odd glass of wine and it’s important not to appear too absolute.” But a bit of detoxing is always good. Schön tells us how with a quick and easy recipe that fits ideally into any stressful daily work routine.
“Dilute cashew mousse with an equal amount of water. Then add lemon juice, salt, fresh herbs and garlic to create a liquid sauce. You can use this to make a wonderful potato gratin. It has something like the consistency of cheese. It’s also good for pizza or lasagne.”
We say: Yummie!
The “Mandelmilch & Cashewmus” blog can be found here: (http://mandelmilchcashewmus.de)
