Today we’d like to introduce you to Asmaa Malik.
Asmaa, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was in college, I wanted to start a blog but was not sure what kind. One day I was watching Food Network and was curious to know how to become a food critic. After further research, I found that my economics background didn’t align with a food critic’s credentials, and I didn’t want to change my major to journalism. That was when I had the idea of starting a food blog!
Growing up I was a big foodie. I was always eating, cooking, or baking something with my mom. Once I entered college, I always explored new restaurants near Downtown Atlanta. My friends constantly asked me where to go for dinner and how I could afford to eat out at all the time. But the secret was that I wasn’t spending much because the restaurants were so cheap! I started to write about restaurants that were friendly to the college student budget and my blog started to take off.
Over the past three years, my blog has evolved into a food and travel site where I tell stories about my culinary experiences at restaurants and events in Atlanta and across the globe. Now that I am a graduate student, I have also expanded my dining out selections to cater to all budgets.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Starting my blog was definitely not a smooth road. When I first started blogging, it was just a hobby. I was very shy whenever I approached restaurants because I was so much younger than most bloggers, so I felt like people didn’t take me seriously. I also did not have a lot of followers and my previous name was not very attractive, which was why I changed it to The Spicy Savor.
After changing my blog’s name, I decided to treat it as a business. Juggling school, work, social life, and a blog was tricky at first, but with time I learned how to balance it all. Since becoming The Spicy Savor, I have encountered a lot of success and have constantly been presented with new and exciting opportunities.
Please tell us about The Spicy Savor.
The Spicy Savor is a food blog that focuses on sharing inexpensive, quality culinary experiences from restaurants and events in Atlanta and across the globe. I would say that I am known for being the “college” foodie, catering to the needs of college and graduate students who want to go out for a nice evening and enjoy themselves while also remaining budget conscious.
I am most proud of The Spicy Savor’s engagement! I so happy to receive honest feedback and recommendations for new places from my followers.
What sets me apart from most bloggers in Atlanta is that I am an Atlanta native. I’ve seen Atlanta’s food scene really evolve over the past decade. I am also a female, Pakistani, food blogger who caters to a niche, younger audience. There are not a lot of South Asian food bloggers in Atlanta and I love seeing that more have been popping up!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I wish I was more consistent with posting content on Instagram. Although my blog was initially a hobby, I wish that I invested more time into taking quality pictures and posting them daily.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thespicysavor.com
- Email: hello@thespicysavor.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/thespicysavor
- Facebook: facebook.com/thespicysavor
- Twitter: twitter.com/thespicysavor
- Other: http://diningout.com/atlanta/noshing-black-restaurant-week/
Image Credit:
Spicy Savor Goodie Bags picture – @dead_andy, Made with Soul in Atlanta picture – @acarltonmiller, All other pictures were taken by me – @thespicysavor
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