Dialogues at Starbucks with Lori Baltazar

I’ve been to two Dialogues twice before; it goes without saying that I enjoy these talks that Starbucks organize every two months. This month’s theme is education, and last Saturday, they tapped Lori Baltazar of Dessertcomesfirst.com to share her thoughts and experiences on food blogging and photography.

Dialogues at Starbucks 01

Lori started of by telling us about herself, her background and how her food blog came to life. It was her passion fervor for food that pushed her to writing and blogging about the one topic she loves most. For Lori, blogging is not just about writing whatever comes to mind. Each post entails much research, usually done right in her personal library of over 400 cook books and several reference books (which includes a descriptionary). Her hardwork can be clearly seen in her blog: each post are detailed and written so lyrically that you find yourself craving even before you reach the last paragraph.

Dialogues at Starbucks 04

One thing that I vividly remember about Lori’s talk on food blogging was when she said to “trust your taste.” She advises us to be honest with what we think about the food we are reviewing, and not force ourselves to like it, just because everybody else like it. I found myself agreeing, and shamefully admitting to myself that I am guilty of it more than a couple of times. Another thing I remember was to not go to a restaurant when you’re in a bad mood. Again, I agree — bad mood more often than not, affects the general feeling you have about a place, thereby losing your objectivity.

On food photography, Lori shares these pointers:

  1. Know your camera
  2. Use natural light
  3. Rotate the plate
  4. Use the lowest ISO you can manage
  5. Macro function is your best friend
  6. Be discreet. NO flash.

And here’s Lori talking about macro and using flash:

Afterwards, there was a coffee pairing: Starbucks brews paired with a savory wrap and two desserts. The Organic Shade Grown Mexico was paired with the Basil and Tomato wrap (I forgot exactly what it was), the Colombia NariƱo Supremo with the Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie and the Komodo Dragon Blend with the Mocha Sans Rival (so good!).

Dialogues at Starbucks 06
Dyanie, Lori and Me

The dialogue, the coffee and the pastries weren’t the only things that made this event memorable: I also met one of my readers, the dearest Dyanie who sent me a package of goodies back in August. Yup, couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.