013 A Table Set for Connection with Raquel Holiday

(01:05) Picture yourself tucking into the heart and soul of Pittsburgh's culinary scene with Raquel Holiday of Fork Ya PGH, whose Instagram fame is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her influence on food lovers everywhere. As we chat, Raquel unfolds the map of her journey from a dance show aficionado to a food blogger extraordinaire, showing us the potent blend of passion and plates that has created a vibrant community and real-life connections. We muse over our inaugural foodie meet-up, wax poetic about the local eateries that deserve our love, and celebrate the friendships whipped up from a shared zeal for zest and flavor.

(05:07) Gathering around the table of discussion, we turn our focus to the Yelp Elite Squad, a haven for discerning diners to share their reviews without the pressure of influencer fame.. Our conversation is peppered with insights on how these online communities, including food bloggers and fan groups, serve as a catalyst for polishing social skills, creating invaluable connections, and of course, savoring the collective joy of culinary discovery.

(18:31) We dish on social media as a marketing platform amid dissenting views. Raquel shares her perspective, decisions, and personal benefits, along with the tactics to make it a success for small businesses having a go at content creator collaborations. 

(30:55) Later in the show, we reflecting back on a prior guest's quest for the best fried chicken, and challenge our wine expert for a pairing, revealing a bubbly recommendation. Finally, our listener recipe of the week provides a seasonal delight via natures gifts with a unique violet jelly. We invite you to pull up a chair to this feast of conversation that promises to leave your appetite for foodie tales thoroughly satisfied.

Transcript

Doug: 0:01

Welcome to the Pittsburgh Dish. I'm your host, Doug Heilman. How do you turn food blogging into some true friendships? Our guest tells her story. What wine would you pair with fried chicken? Our resident wine expert surprises me with her choice. And what to do when nature gives you a bounty. How about make violet jelly? We'll hear a recipe from a certified Pennsylvania master naturalist. All that ahead, stay tuned. This week's show is supported by Chip and Kale plant-based meals. You can find their current menu via their Instagram profile at Chip and Kale. If you'd like to advertise your food-centric business, just drop us a DM on Instagram or use our get in touch form on our website. That's www. pittsburghdish. com. Thank you. Now on to the show. Hey, thanks so much for coming over and coming on to the show. Would you introduce yourself and what you have going on in food?

Raquel: 1:14

Sure. So hi, my name is Raquel Holiday. I run an Instagram account called Fork Ya PGH. I think you could figure out what the pun on that one is and I kind of got involved in the influencer and foodie community in Pittsburgh because I was someone who was constantly on my phone posting about food and everyone was just like Raquel, just create an account for it.

Raquel: 1:41

And I was like what's funny is that my backstory is like embarrassing but very Pittsburgh centric. In high school I had a fan page for a very popular dance TV show in Pittsburgh I think everyone can kind of put which one that is together and I built a following. I built a very large following and I regret deleting that account every single day because it had a ton of followers. But I found the love for community building and like when you're young and you're doing those types of things, yeah, then you become an adult and everyone tells you like it's not okay to be like a big fan of things, but it really is. Like now I've just, you know, expanded that to food and I think that's a little more expensive than a tv show. That's kind of like how I became who I am is by being such a fan of something like a reality TV show that you can then divulge into it being about a true passion of yours which, for me, has brought me so many friends and a great internet community. And now I'm buddies with Doug.

Doug: 2:44

You have built connections and community through a passion and I think, from what I've seen, you know very smartly using social media to do that. You were one of the first people I met when I was invited to a restaurant that opened near my house and they were trying to, you know, promote and kind of get going, and I really enjoyed this experience. But I had never done this before. And um, and you were there and you kind of like walked me through it, Like yeah, if we like the food, we'll take some pictures. You grew so much since then. I think I've grown a little bit, yeah. And then it just so happened that every time I went to a food centric event like that, you have been there. I think I've seen you the most at those types of meetups.

Raquel: 3:30

I try to stay involved and I think that that's like a big thing for me, is like never forgetting that. Like this is about the connections that you make. It is about supporting businesses and, you know, getting great photos, like obsession with my ring light, which we can talk about later.

Raquel: 3:44

You know I love that thing, but I think for me it really is just about like that community aspect and the ability to connect with not only other people with shared passions, which, as an adult, it is hard to like meet and make friends and I know that sounds so corny, like oh my God, I'm an adult and I want to make friends, but it's true, like it is something that's difficult, and I think that the internet does have the ability to bring us together in person.

Doug: 4:10

Yes, I think that's what I love about it the most too. I will tell you a dirty little secret, the other thing I like about the meetups that we've been part of everyone actually likes to eat If there's food on the table we all want it. There's none of this. Oh, we're new and I don't know you, and so I may not take that last bite.

Raquel: 4:26

No, no we were taking that loss. Even at that first meetup, like I had never met you before, and I was like I was like no, like eat that. And then, like I took something home and we were like do we like take this home? And we were like yeah, we take this home.

Doug: 4:46

That was a good one. That was was Kebab House in Carnegie yes, that's the first place.

Raquel: 4:48

I think the wings were the unexpected thing. They were so crispy, delicious they took us into the kitchen and

Doug: 4:50

it was superbly clean, like everyone thinks about restaurant kitchens and you're scared they were so nice and they had I mean, this is a Kebab House, so they had all these skewers of meats over the grill. It was impressive.

Raquel: 5:03

Probably one of my favorite that was actually really good there. 10 out of 10 recommend Kebab House Carnegie Shout out.

Doug: 5:09

I know. So, Raquel, I know you're into another sort of meetup thing for food and that is Yelp Elite, which I know about Yelp. But what can you tell me about Yelp Elite and how you got involved with that?

Raquel: 5:23

Yeah, Yelp Elite is actually something I just happened to stumble upon. I mean, I think the food blogging community is great for like positive highlights. You know, it really is a highlight reel social media.

Raquel: 5:35

Yelp, you can go in and be a little more honest about like maybe something you might not like, something like that because, like the goal as a food blogger is to highlight it's not to necessarily deter anything from businesses, but on a preface like Yelp it is, it is more so for honest reviews. So I think that's a big differentiator. So if you start posting on Yelp a lot, you will get a message from their community manager. What happens is that they offer a program called Yelp Elite Squad. It's basically a group of people who are Yelpers, who do a lot of reviews, who are involved in the community and this is, by the way, like not just food bloggers, it's not just influencers. I'd probably say the amount of influencers involved in that program is maybe like 10 to 15%.

Raquel: 6:20

The community manager will put together events. They will invite the Yelp elite squad. You have to get selected for the event, you have to apply for it and then, if you get selected, you get to come to the event and these events can range anywhere from, you know, a new restaurant, a new bar, but also things like I just got a. I came here and I got a facial like an hour ago, thanks to Yelp elite.

Doug: 6:45

And then also too, you look great by the way.

Raquel: 6:46

I know we're audio only, but am I glowing? You are Shout out aesthetics by Kayla at filler.

Raquel: 6:50

You have that ability to build relationships with businesses, but without being an influencer, and I've realized that one of the downfalls, but also perks, of being an influencer is people treat you differently coming from a restaurant. So I've had different experiences with restaurants, with Yelp, than I have with food blogging. But I've noticed that people who are scared to maybe get into like a blogging landscape. Whether that be for us, that's food blogging, but it might be lifestyle, it might be whatever I recommend like trying Yelp Elite. It is much less scary, it is much more approachable. I would, 10 out of 10, recommend that experience to literally anyone is to apply for Yelp Elite and just start posting reviews on Yelp In general. It helps the general public regardless.

Doug: 7:33

Yeah, yeah, and I could see it's pretty open to, like you said, maybe personal care or maybe folks do a lot of traveling and there's hotels and that type of thing. So it really is stuff that we're kind of doing in our everyday lives and it's a gateway into it, if you enjoy it, yeah it's been a really great experience and I think it's something that a lot of people just aren't aware of is availability.

Raquel: 7:58

I had one of my best friends. He is not a food blogger but he partakes in it as well, so you can kind of invite other people into the community. There's a lot of husband and wife duos, a lot of people you wouldn't necessarily run into in your normal circles. I've been introduced through Yelp.

Doug: 8:16

You were saying earlier that you're using the Internet in a way to meet real people in real life. Have you gained some real friendships through that?

Raquel: 8:26

Yeah, I really have, not just through food blogging, but I embarrassingly also I'm a giant Taylor Swift fan, so I've met a lot of really good people on the internet through various ways. I've met people through my food blogging, obviously, which has then introduced me to a book club with other food bloggers but also other individuals. That started off of people that we met off the internet and became an in-person book club, all the way to having like mutual friends of Taylor Swift and being a big like fangirl, I guess you could say. I understand that not everyone who listens to this is going to want to open a food blog, but they might have something that they're passionate about. Maybe it's running Couldn't be me, but running or yoga or a TV show that they like.

Raquel: 9:07

like don't be afraid to just like talk about it online. Like you'll be able to meet other people, like I'm literally going across the world with a friend that I met on the internet to meet another friend who lives across the world to go to a concert together. But in food blogging you don't just meet someone and chit chat on the internet. You end up like going to an event and meeting one of them.

Raquel: 9:27

I feel like the food blogging side is a little bit more of actually meeting the person in person. Like Doug, we met, like you said, at an event. So I think that it's one of those things that it builds that community. And I've made lifelong friendships from food blogging that then turned into like book clubs and then going to like a creator conference, like all those different types of things, just coming from, you know, putting myself out there and posting silly little pictures of food on the internet. I now have, like I can name like 10 close friends that I've made because I decided to whip out a ring light in the middle of a restaurant one day.

Doug: 10:04

I love it. I think the other advantage that we have in the arena, that we have of food and going to restaurants, is that we are physically sitting down together for a meal and just the act of that really always brings people together. Anyway, we get to talk a little bit more, we spend some actual quality time together and, I have to say, when I haven't gone to an event like that for a while and I haven't seen you all, I miss you. Like you know, it was nice. We just saw each other at a cheese event and I haven't seen you for a couple of weeks, so it's nice to reconnect.

Raquel: 10:34

And it's also just one of those things that, like it pushes you outside your comfort zone Like I work from home like it helps your social skills.

Raquel: 10:42

Like you're put into a situation that can also help you, like with a corporate career, cause you're having to get used to kind of talking to people who you have no idea about you really only see them, like online and you're like have to stir up a conversation and deal with this person for the next two and a half hours, cause you're at an event together. So you have to like make it not awkward for yourself but also not awkward for another person, and I still like commit myself to going to as many events as I can. I'm learning how to say no, but also trying to balance, like the reasons why I'm here.

Doug: 11:16

Yeah, I like what you said about really a way of networking but honing your communication skills. Way of networking, but honing your communication skills, your people skills, because so much of what we are doing is digital. So I do want to take a step back. Number one you grew up in the local area, right?

Raquel: 11:35

Yeah, I live and I grew up in Beaver, pa, so whether you consider that local or not, that is up to you. I know Pittsburgh people are very specific.

Doug: 11:44

Well, this is a regional food show, so we're going to include Beaver County.

Raquel: 11:48

Yeah, thank you.

Doug: 11:48

I want to, and ultimately I'd like to, get out to all the surrounding counties. There's just so much.

Raquel: 11:53

The suburbs.

Doug: 11:53

Yeah, that's okay. I mean, I grew up in Armstrong County, so that's out there too. Tell me a little bit about your sort of food life growing up. Did folks cook for you? Did you cook at all growing up? What was that like for you?

Raquel: 12:06

It's so funny that I ended up being this like, like I consider my food brand a very like expensive taste. That's kind of what I tend to spotlight. Growing up that like was not my life, like it was, my mom wasn't. Didn't love cooking, Love you, mom, if you're listening to this, but not the best.

Raquel: 12:26

It's not the first time we've heard this from a guest I and I think that like to me pasta too when I was growing up was the most expensive, most extravagant restaurant I could possibly have. I grew up in a very like basic cooking family. Like I don't even recall my mom like cooking something that I'm like wow, I remember that. Like maybe a lasagna every once in a very like basic cooking family. Like I don't even recall my mom like cooking something that I'm like wow, I remember that. Like, maybe a lasagna every once in a while, like, and that was like big deal.

Doug: 12:50

Yeah.

Raquel: 12:50

I come from a very small family, like it's just me and my parents, so there was never like the big Christmas dinner Like what you stereotypically think of, like, oh, that, like big family holiday, although my last name is holiday, although, my last name is Holiday.

Raquel: 13:02

I didn't have the holiday holidays from that side, but I remember going to college and my friend's like, have you ever tried sushi? And I'm like no, why. And she was like you need to try sushi. And I was like, okay, I'll try sushi. And she's like, oh, try the California roll. And I was like that doesn't sound that good. Let me just order something random. I tried the most random. I tried like the most random. Like she's like I don't know if you're going to like that, like that's all wrong. And I'm like I'll try it. And I've ended up falling in love with that and I was like what other foods are there?

Doug: 13:30

And then my best friend, sam, took me to Smallman Galley back when it was Smallman Galley for the very first time to be down in the Strip District, and the sister, which is Federal Galley, is still over on the North side.

Raquel: 13:41

Correct, correct. When I was in college, he took me there and I was like, oh, this is cool, this is different, and I think that's kind of where my taste buds erupted. Was that like post-college like experience? Like I'm not saying I had bad food growing up, but food wasn't like a part of my like existence. It wasn't a personality trait. And my parents still to this day like do not go out to nice, super nice restaurants or anything. That's just not who they are Like. My mom eats a well-done steak with ketchup.

Doug: 14:10

Whoa, I got to just stop you. What do they think of what you're doing then?

Raquel: 14:13

They think it's wild. Yeah, they'll be like, oh, what'd you eat this time? And then I'm like, oh, I had some oysters.

Doug: 14:22

They're like over the top. They can't believe it.

Raquel: 14:27

So I think that that's the crazy part, is that growing up, I was very surrounded by very basic meat and potatoes simple foods, stuffed pork chops, which I have a new appreciation for pork chops.

Doug: 14:39

now. I do love good stuffed pork chop. But I love this idea, though, that you hit sort of college, post-college I think you just called it your taste buds eruption, or something like that. I want that as a hashtag now.

Raquel: 14:54

A taste buds eruption. Yeah, I think that like I really had that, like maybe it was a taste bud awakening.

Doug: 14:59

Awakening. Yeah, that's good.

Raquel: 15:01

I think for me that was like definitely something as a young adult that I realized was something that piqued my interest, like just having an experience with food. I've had good food before, but I'd never really had experiences.

Yvonne: 15:15

I want the elevated experience.

Raquel: 15:17

But that doesn't mean that there isn't like food that I don't eat. Like this is going to either disgust or make me more relatable to more people. Like I eat Sub-Buy once a week.

Doug: 15:24

This is going to either disgust or make me more relatable to more people.

Raquel: 15:26

Like I eat Subway once a week, oh, that's no problem. I used to have this thing it was called like the cost to taste comparison where it's like okay, this is five stars for what it was. And at one point in time when I was working at my old job, I considered Wendy's the four for four to be like the ultimate five out of five on the cost to like taste comparison scale. I think that they've definitely gone downhill since then, but there's been experiences that like, okay, this is expensive but it's not worth it. So, although the food tasted good, like the price didn't compare versus having like an experience where, okay, the food was good but the price was it wasn't there.

Doug: 16:04

this is why I like knowing you and actually you're leading into my next question. You've been doing this for how long has the Fork Ya Pgh been going on?

Raquel: 16:14

September 2019.

Doug: 16:16

2019.

Raquel: 16:19

So five years.

Doug: 16:20

Congratulations. You've gone to enough places. You know that cost price comparison for the actual elevated experience is there. Could you share with me and our listeners one or two places that you have discovered and you truly enjoy, because it actually hits all of those notes?

Raquel: 16:41

If I had to like specify a restaurant brand, it would be the RDG group.

Doug: 16:46

Oh, the Richard Deshantz Group.

Raquel: 16:47

Yes, yeah, um, I think all their restaurants are spectacular, specifically poulet blue, like please reopen if anyone there is listening to this, please reopen. And I know that that is a popular brand. But here's the thing they are consistent, they're good. And the fact that this restaurant has been closed for over a year and I still think about their french onion soup on a daily basis really says something.

Doug: 17:10

This is Poulet Bleu in Lawrenceville yes, near Morcilla, and it is one of the DeShantz concepts. We should just list a couple others if folks aren't familiar. So Tako Downtown, correct Meat and Potatoes.

Raquel: 17:24

Gi Jin Sally Ann's.

Doug: 17:29

Oh, thank you, Coop de ville. So going towards east liberty Fish nor Fish nor foul are we missing any?

Raquel: 17:33

there's a new, like a golden plate Golden Gai is going to be opening in east liberty yeah, in uh bakery square, and they also have tako torta there yes, also very good, um, but overall, like ploy, gi jin are probably my top two restaurants. Since Poulet Bleu is not currently open, it would be Gi jin right now In the non-DeShantz group, it would be Altius, if you want a true like fine dining experience. But I also have some favorites out like my way that are definitely in the like. I guess you would say like cheaper. Oh, that's okay.

Raquel: 18:08

Like my favorite steak salad is at this restaurant called new Sheffield cafe. It is in is on broadhead road, in like the center township slash Aliquippa, ish span. When I want a good steak salad, like I want, like you know, a load of salad and fries and steak and that for me, like it's probably my favorite steak salad, it's New Sheffield cafe out in Beaver County I love it.

Doug: 18:33

Raquel, I wanted to talk with you about an article that I read recently. That it was from J Kenji Lopez alt, and he's based in Seattle and, for folks that maybe don't know him, he's pretty well known in the food world. He was approached by someone opening a new restaurant and they asked him to come and have a free meal and then post about it on social media. He did not have a favorable view of that type of marketing. I don't think he's in necessarily the right target audience to do that thing either. I would never approach someone of his level to do that. I'm sure that that's happened to you and I'd love your take on how you feel about that. Some of the points he made they should hire a social media manager or that they're taking advantage of younger people that just want to get out there and get popular on their own social accounts. I have some different thoughts, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Raquel: 19:27

Yeah, and I'd love to hear yours too. Sure, okay. So I definitely do have some opinions on that. First and foremost, it's one of those things where an organization needs to know their market, so it depends who you're contacting. Like someone like me will always do something for free. But also, too, if I was larger, I would still do it if it was a smaller business or something like that. But I think his opinion on that is completely wrong. In terms of, like hiring a social media person. Like it is no secret that influencer marketing is the number one marketing way in like the entire country right now. Like you hear about. Like the insane multimillion follower Instagram gurus who are making like 200K a post. Like there is something there Now. Do I wish that I could get paid when I go to a restaurant and eat dinner? Yeah, I don't think anyone would like turn down the opportunity to get paid. However, I don't expect it. It's not something that's like on my radar. I personally don't even have a rate card.

Doug: 20:29

I probably should but yeah, I created some rates, but I don't really push them.

Raquel: 20:34

Exactly. Now it's different if it was like a giant chain, like, for example, if McDonald's wanted to reach out to me.

Doug: 20:42

Yeah, you know, they have money to do that.

Raquel: 20:44

I know they have the money to do that. Yeah, I would never expect that from like a small restaurant. Yeah, you know they have money to do that. I know they have the money to do that. Yeah, I would never expect that from like a small restaurant.

Doug: 20:49

Yeah, a small, independent, local place. I think what we talked about earlier, and that's where I am just to answer your question. I want to help local independent businesses succeed, and the other thing that we talked about earlier is it's a social outlet as well to see folks like you, so I feel like I'm getting some benefits out of being included.

Raquel: 21:12

And then it becomes a networking opportunity for me, so I get more payoff that way Also too. Like it's OK just to do things or views are because you like it. Yeah. Nor do you have to accept every single offering. I've had to say no if it just isn't justifiable for how far I had to drive. But I made this account to spotlight small businesses and whether it be that I had five followers or 500,000 followers, I would still do local.

Doug: 21:44

We've gotten invited to like a dinner. That's like gifts in kind, like we can go and we can enjoy a nice dinner, and they would like us to do some social posts.

Raquel: 21:54

That's my favorite.

Doug: 21:55

Yeah.

Raquel: 21:55

Is whenever a business and this is advice or any business owner out there If you want to start engaging with influencers rather than being like, can you post this, that, the other and give you like metrics, I would suggest that a business instead offer it to a smaller group. You do not have to offer to everyone, because that's actually over-saturation and like I can tell when it's the same Alex Goodstein and I talked about this a little too much like overexposure, right yeah, so keep it smaller.

Raquel: 22:28

Keep it smaller and then just say hey, if you enjoy your meal today, please feel free to share it in tag us. Yeah.

Raquel: 22:37

I think that that's enough. It also gives creative freedom. People will get more authentic content that way and I think that the businesses will get a better return on investment. They're good little ROI and I actually had very good success. Unfortunately, papa Joe's wine cellar is only a wine cellar now, but I helped them coordinate an event and people still come up to me and be like that was a really great event and it's because I talked to them ahead of time. I created a good game plan and I was just like hey, like let's just invite people and like if they want to share it, they share it, if they don't, they don't.

Doug: 23:09

Every single person who walked in that room shared a post and remind me where's papa joe's wine cellar so they used to be in lawrenceville it used to be like an italian restaurant.

Raquel: 23:18

Um, now they are just a wine cellar in zillian opal. Okay, papa joe is so nice we gotta give him a shout out.

Doug: 23:28

You reminded me of something. I do have a little spicy question. Have you ever been invited to have a, you know, some type of comped meal and they would like you to do a social post, but the meal wasn't good I did have an experience where I was invited to a restaurant, something with.

Raquel: 23:43

The experience didn't go great and after the fact I was just like do you know what? Like I don't feel comfortable posting right now. That's one of the nice benefits of doing things for, like, free meals instead of paid. If this was a paid agreement here, like, I probably would have had to post it, but I messaged them and was just like I don't feel comfortable posting this.

Doug: 24:06

Your feedback was probably more important in that moment than any kind of social post you would have done anyway.

Raquel: 24:13

Exactly so. I think that that was like telling for them, and it also keeps my content authentic, authentic.

Doug: 24:21

Yeah, oh, I love that. Thank you for sharing that, of course. So, Raquel, I know you've been doing this for a little bit now and the last time I was with you you have an awesome ring light, which I actually took advantage of because it was a little dark where we were eating. How have you sort of built your confidence around, you know, getting the great shot and doing some of those things in public sometimes where, as I like to say, the phone eats first to take a picture?

Raquel: 24:48

Oh yeah, I mean, I think you really just have to like, step up and do it and just realize that, like, even if other people at other tables stare at you, like, the people who are judging you the most are actually the people who, like are probably the ones on Instagram scrolling like oh my God, that looks so good, like that's why I'm here. So like that to me, like I, my God, that looks so good, like that's why I'm here.

Doug: 25:12

So like that to me, like I'm not afraid to be embarrassed Like I have stood on chairs, like obviously there's a time and place, or everything Like we understand that.

Raquel: 25:15

I think that that is like just a skill Maybe I just have, like other people might be afraid to do that, but like honestly, like not that many people look, I have full confidence in that ability.

Doug: 25:25

So, Raquel, you're going on five years with your food blogging. Are there any things you want to accomplish, any new goals coming up for you?

Raquel: 25:33

Yeah, I think for me it's interesting that you asked, because I'm currently balancing my username. I love my username. I think it's funny, but it puts me in a bucket of only food and only Pittsburgh username. I think it's funny, but it puts me in a bucket of only food and only Pittsburgh. And if you want to expand outside of a certain market, like, you kind of have to do a little bit more. I would like to expand into like more experiences, because I also don't want to put myself in a box. I've started to realize that my friends will then call me to go out to eat Like I love food, but like let's also go play mini golf from that side. And I think for me, like I do want to expand more into like experiences and lifestyle a little bit more.

Doug: 26:13

And so the rub is fork ya pgh is. It's sounding a little too food centric, and so you're maybe considering like a rebranding of that.

Raquel: 26:24

I'm considering either like a rebrand or just dealing with it, Like people could deal with it with the username, because I do love it and that's something I balance. I mean maybe like sound off in the comments people who are listening to this, like if you think that you would you stop following someone if they stopped posting like what was in their username.

Raquel: 26:43

But also, too, I think it is just something, maybe to slowly introduce it and people will get used to it, but I also don't want people to feel like, oh, I only followed her for this, so it's a double-edged sword when you're trying to think like there's how much is encompassed in a name, like what's in a name, there's a lot. Like it is your brand. This year, I'm hoping to expand a little bit into new aspects and also, as much as I don't want to, I'm going to try to focus on doing more reels and I don't want to like lose the love out of doing this. Like I'll do a reel, of course, like if it makes sense or what I'm eating, like if there's some flaming cheese. Like yeah, that's a video. But like to me, like I don't want to lose sight of the things that I enjoy in this just because it's going to get me more followers. Like I've made conscious decisions in the past, like I could have probably expanded into more followers than I have, but that's not the goal but, that's not my like.

Raquel: 27:41

Would I love to sit here and say that I have like 50,000 followers yeah, I mean, who wouldn't? But to me that's not the goal. I think that for me, it's about still enjoying my experience. Every time I post a reel, it's kind of like a stressful event and I don't want to lose the fun but also balance it with knowing what you have to do to market yourself and like if it's what's going to bring a small business more business is going to be a real like. I don't know. It's one of those things that I'm looking to grow on this year and maybe I'll take a class.

Doug: 28:10

I don't know I kind of get it and you know you said earlier too you want to put things out that still keep you authentic with the account, and whether that's different topics or different types of posts like reels, I think it's all great stuff to consider, or different types of posts, like reels.

Raquel: 28:27

I think it's all great stuff to consider. Maybe that's a way I can challenge myself this year is that? I can expand in my content type and also to expand in the different varieties of mediums that I am putting out there.

Doug: 28:42

I love it. Raquel, I always like to give you a moment to plug again your account or accounts everywhere people can find you. Would you remind us again?

Raquel: 28:51

Sure, you can follow me on Instagram. That is my main food blog and that is ForkYaPGH.

Doug: 28:58

And that is F-O-R-K-Y-A-P-G-H.

Raquel: 29:03

And for all inquiries you can email ForkYa PGH@ gmail. com. I love it.

Doug: 29:09

I always like to ask everyone a final question. Sure. The name of the show is the Pittsburgh Dish. You're a food blogger. What's been the best dish you've eaten this week?

Raquel: 29:20

Oh my gosh, this week it's like you threw that one on me, okay, it's like you threw that one on me, okay. So in true beaver county girl situations, there's a restaurant in my town and it is called biba b-i-b-a. It is latin american fusion. Um, and I had a great meal there. Um, I had some scallops, a salad. They have some house-made focaccia. I did. I pronounce that correctly you mean focaccia?

Raquel: 29:49

yeah I think that's how I would say it okay, but they had some stellar desserts and I'm actually not a dessert girl, I'm actually a appetizer like. If you're going to tell me like you can order an appetizer or dessert, I'll usually pick the appetizer. But they had this almond creme brulee and a banana bread cake.

Doug: 30:09

Oh, my gosh Raquel is showing me pictures right now on her phone and it looks amazing.

Raquel: 30:13

And it was like not too sweet, and both of those were so good and like I'm glad that we got both because it was the perfect balance of this super heavy like banana bread cake that had this like dark I think it was like a caramel, I don't know. Anyways, it was phenomenal. And then the like light creme brulee with, like the toasted almonds. Oh so good, best thing I've ate this week.

Doug: 30:38

And so again, that's by far Biba, biba in Beaver. I love it.

Raquel: 30:44

Raquel, thanks so much. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it, Doug.

Doug: 30:49

Will you come back and give us a couple more restaurant recommendations? Of course, all right, awesome, thank you. Of course, up next in our weekly recommend what wine would you pair with fried chicken? A couple weeks back we talked with Shayla Penn and she's been on the hunt for some of the best fried chicken places. So I thought it would be great to throw that challenge to Catherine, our resident wine expert, and see what wine she would pick for some great fried chicken. Let's hear what she has to say. Hey, Catherine, thanks for stopping back over. Let's hear what she has to say. Chicken she was trying to find some of the best fried chicken places and I always love to throw you the bone of a challenge. I started thinking well, I wonder what wines would pair with fried chicken, and I know that that might be a big range, because you can kind of do fried chicken in some different ways. But if I were to give you that task, what do you think?

Catherine: 31:55

Doug, if you're making fried chicken, I'm bringing champagne, really, yes, okay. So let's think about that when you're making fried chicken. How do you make fried chicken? I mean, it's fried, it's fried. You've got it dredged and breading and you drop it in the oil and it comes out and it's crunchy, and especially if you're biting into a leg and you've got that dark meat in there and it's really rich. I mean, how does that feel in your?

Doug: 32:22

mouth. Oh my gosh, that's amazing, and you know what you are reminding me of another time that you and I cooked. Actually we baked a cake together that was super rich and you brought champagne for that and the mouthfeel was great, and I realize probably where you're going with this, okay, Something that's like sort of high fat and champagne, like it's a good pairing right.

Catherine: 32:41

It is. So, when you're thinking about biting into that chicken leg, that first bite isn't that always the best bite? Absolutely so if you're pairing it with champagne, you can experience that first bite every bite, oh.

Doug: 32:56

Is it because it's cleansing the palate in a way Bingo?

Catherine: 32:58

Oh, absolutely Is it because it's cleansing the palate in a way. Bingo, oh, absolutely. So champagne dry champagne is going to have really bright acidity. It's going to be low in sugar. You're going to have some because of the fattiness in your mouth when you sip the champagne. That's going to enable you to taste a lot of the fruit flavors coming off of the champagne and then the acid's going to take that fattiness away from your mouth. So the next bite that you go in for on the chicken, it's going to taste as good as the first bite.

Doug: 33:30

My mind is blown, but I am loving this Champagne and fried chicken.

Catherine: 33:34

Champagne and fried chicken. The drier the champagne, the better.

Doug: 33:37

I love it, Catherine. Thank you so much.

Catherine: 33:40

You're most welcome.

Doug: 33:42

Catherine Montest is a local certified wine expert. You can find more about Catherine on her website at yourfairywinemothercom. This week's recipe is provided by listener Yvonne D, who is a certified Pennsylvania master naturalist. The recipe is for her violet jelly and she does emphasize in our chat you've got to get violets from a trusted source. No chemicals, no pesticides. Yvonne wrote a beautiful blog post that you can find on our website. Let's give her a call and learn a little bit more about this recipe. Good morning, good morning. Is this Yvonne?

Yvonne: 34:23

How are you? I'm good. It is oh nice to talk to you this morning.

Doug: 34:28

Oh my gosh, so great to talk with you as well.

Yvonne: 34:32

So I love to cook, I really love to bake too. So I bought this one cookbook and it's for bees in me and in it was a recipe for the violet jelly and in our yard. Being someone who is very conscientious about what's happening in our world, there are no pesticides or anything, any chemicals, fertilizers, herbicides used in my yard Now around me a lot of my neighbors do so I have to be very careful where I pick my violets, and usually it's my backyard, because I know behind my backyard is a farm and they don't even use it. It just grows, Just the land.

Yvonne: 35:17

So I feel very comfortable about picking anything in my backyard. I found this recipe and I thought, oh, I'm going to make some of that, and I picked a quart of violets. It takes about an hour, but the violets are growing everywhere, the sun is beaming down and you can see the dew on the grass, the birds are singing all their bird songs and the bees are out. They're looking for nectar and I'm with them and they are not bothering me. I'm just picking away and they're doing their thing. And so this began, and I can't even tell you. It's probably more than 15 years that I've been making this violet jelly. I love to give it to friends around Mother's Day yes, because it's so pretty.

Doug: 36:09

It's got a beautiful pinkish fuchsia kind of look to it. It's like the perfect looking gift.

Yvonne: 36:17

Yeah, gift, yeah. So what happens is when you pick these flowers, I usually rinse them off and then you pour boiling water on top of them and you let that set for 24 hours and the colors of the flowers seep. They steep like a tea and then, when you strain the violets which will go into my compost, you will add lemon juice, and the lemon juice helps change the pigment, and sometimes it's a deep fuchsia, sometimes it's a pink. It's always interesting to see what color it's going to turn out. It's usually like a pink.

Doug: 37:02

Yeah, it's going to always be a little different.

Yvonne: 37:04

Yeah, and it's my younger son. It's one of his favorite jellies that I make, so we are planning on going to visit, so I need to make him some.

Doug: 37:16

I love this. Yvonne, if folks haven't had a chance to look at the recipe, I know you say you want. Was it about a quart of violets? Is that right?

Yvonne: 37:26

Yes.

Doug: 37:26

And are the violets in your quart jar? Are they sort of tamped down or just sort of loosely filled?

Yvonne: 37:33

Loosely filled.

Doug: 37:33

Okay, great.

Yvonne: 37:35

Now, when I rinse them, they will drop down.

Doug: 37:38

Sure, okay, so I'm going to pick a quart loose in a safe field that I trust, and then I won't have quite that much once I actually rinse them off and steep the tea. But that's what someone's going for if they're going to do this recipe. That's correct. Okay, it just sounds lovely and I really appreciate not only the idea of the gift, but in your blog post you wrote about how you pair it with a couple of other items. It's like the perfect Mother's Day gift or hostess gift. Yeah, I just think it's amazing.

Yvonne: 38:12

There is a great Victorian white cake and you can make this any way you want. If you wanted to buy a package white cake, you put the violet jelly as a filling. Oh my. You cut that cake open, spread the violet jelly and then take confectionery sugar and sprinkle that over the top and that makes a beautiful dessert when you're having friends or even if you want to make it for someone special. It's really good.

Doug: 38:42

That is amazing, Yvonne. Thank you so much for this recipe and so timely for this time of year.

Yvonne: 38:49

Thank you, Doug. It's been my pleasure. I appreciate it. It's a joy to talk to you.

Doug: 38:54

Oh, you as well. Thanks again. That's our show for this week. We want to thank all of our guests and contributors and to Kevin Selecki of Carnegie Accordion Company for providing the music to our show for this week. We want to thank all of our guests and contributors and to Kevin Solecki of Carnegie Accordion Company for providing the music to our show. We'll be back again next week with another fresh episode. Stay tuned.