Blogger Spotlight: Shannon Smith

Meet Shannon Smith: Founder and Editor of Feed Me, our go-to blog for everything you need to know about the Dallas food scene. Whether she’s expanding her palate with new Texas restaurants or whipping up some fabulous cuisine at culinary school, Shannon is one foodie you need to follow. As a fellow SMU mustang and Pi Phi sister, Shannon let us dive into her blogging world to talk food. Here’s what we learned:

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I am a Texan born and raised.  After growing up in Houston, I moved to Dallas to go to SMU and fell in love with the city.  I studied Communications at SMU and worked in PR for a little bit while working on my food blog- Feed Me.  After realizing food was my passion, I enrolled in Culinary School and am currently studying the Culinary Arts in Houston.  I am loving it, and find myself appreciating food more and more every day.  It is a dream come true to be able to work on my blog and cook all day and I cannot wait to see where this road will take me.

When did you realize you had a passion for food?
I’ve always been a fan of being in the kitchen.  I would spend all day Sunday’s in high school baking, but my real passion for food came after I began my blog.  I began to appreciate the art behind cuisine, the blend of flavors, colors and the ability of chefs to transform something so simple into something so complex and beautiful.

What inspired you to start a blog about food?
Someone told me– “If you want people to think you are interesting, you have to be interested in something.” So I thought to myself, “What are you interested in?”  and it was food and writing so I started a restaurant and cooking blog.

What was the biggest surprise of having a blog?
I have met so many wonderful and interesting people and made some really good friends that are bloggers.  I have gotten to try a lot of new things that I might not have otherwise been able to and have made some really valuable business connections while having a blast at the same time.

I hear you are in culinary school, tell us more!
It is amazing, a lot of physical work like rolling out dough for hours on end in my baking classes, but when it is finished it is all worth it.  :)

How do you choose which restaurants and meals to feature?
I only write about places that I like.  If I go to a restaurant and like the food, service and everything else, then I will blog about it.  But if I don’t have anything nice to say, then I don’t say anything at all.  Why spread negativity?

I know this is tough, but what are your top three meals in Dallas?
Royal China: Dan Dan Noodles.  It is a cold flat noodle dish in a sweet and spicy broth with carrots, sprouts, and green onions. It may seem a bit unusual but amazing!

Rex Seafood.  I have never met a meal at Rex Seafood that I didn’t love.  They serve the freshest fish and an array of delicious, yet simple sides to choose from.  It is the definition of my comfort food.

Driftwood. They have fresh, light fish dishes, amazing brussel sprouts and desserts that will change your life.  The menu has changed every time I’ve been, but the brussel sprouts stay– you cannot miss them.

**Don’t forget two of my other favorites– La Duni for Brunch and Meso Maya for the Salmon De Coco!

For those of us that are still novice chefs, do you have any cookware that you think we all should splurge on?
You definitely need a good, sharp knife.  If your knife isn’t sharp, you are more likely to cut yourself and it makes everything a little more difficult. I love my Le Creuset Dutch Oven— it heats up quickly and holds heat to ensure that everything cooks better. You can put it in the oven and on the stove top.

Feed Me has been such a success in Dallas and Houston – Have you considered expanding Feed Me into other cities?
Yes, I have! Currently, I have some great people doing instagram accounts in New Orleans, New York, Los Angeles, Mobile, Chicago, Austin, Houston and Dallas.  They do a great job and I am hoping I am able to start writing articles in those cities soon. We might have DC and Charleston coming soon so be on the lookout!

Be sure to visit Feed Me to see more of Shannon’s favorite foodie finds!