It´s all in the Olive,stay true to yourself

Writing this blog is something that gives me immense amounts of pleasure. It has unearthed something which I never realised I had in me, a way to express myself through my writing, and more important to make each recipe sound delicious enough to get a reaction in the form of a readers comment, or to be informed that they might take it a step further and recreate the recipe and best of all, that they report back after having cooked it. 

I know dear reader that it may sound selfish to say but this blog is completely self-indulgent.When I started it three years ago all I wanted was to share with others my passion for food and cooking, not only my successes but my disasters too.The idea of a book deal or film rights had never entered my head.I never saw myself as a Julie Powell.I was not even looking to write to acquire a huge following,that would have been self indugent.Now every time I blog a post it is just like giving away something something I treasure and no longer need to keep to myself. Like giving away an item of clothing or a piece of furniture,there will always be someone out there who will appreciate it. I in turn follow other blogs around the world and when I have time post comments on them.It is like returning the favour.I have however noticed a trend among many blogs recently,that they are becoming selling vehicles for products.This is for me like Jamie Oliver selling his soul to Sainsbury´s or  Heston and Delia riding on the Waitrose wagon.I have never been approached by a manufacturer or supplier and I think I would think twice before I said yes, having made sure first that they were asking me to endorse a product I had previously used with success.
I believe in staying true to my principles,my blog will never become the "new product" page of a magazine,and I certainly haven´t dropped to the status of needing food packages sent to me.If I wanted all singing all dancing I would have shouted from the rooftops and covered my blog site with sponsorship and and advertising but NO.I just want to share my ideas with kindred spirits. Certainly I flag up and encourage readers to use a certain, mostly artesan, products that I have discovered,but it is always me that came to the product not the product coming to me.I do not think I would ever consider making money from advertising on my blog.Well, its always fun to consider.But suddenly the tables have turned and people are writing about Casa Rosada.First up Thomas Cook "Departures" magazine invited me to kick off a regular feature called the Hot Plate.Every issue they ask a local nominee to promote their favourite must-try dish of the region and where to eat it.Next comes the May issue of Olive Magazine. They have selected Casa Rosada´s cookery workshop as one of four European cookery courses they are flagging up.Finally, and very timely too, Time Out lisboa have asked us if we would take part in their up and coming 2 por 1 promotion where we offer guests a two night stay for the price of one.This two for one offer, taken together with our cookery workshop, is perfect for any one who is interested in cooking and wants to save on the accomodation.So as Olive says, check in, then check out the kitchen.For further information go to Casa Rosada Workshop revisited.