Today I am going a bit off topic because it’s just so relevant to my life currently. Resume! Resume! Resume! I feel like that is the most commonly said word this year. Every advisor, professor, parent, friend, boss has a different opinion on a perfect resume.

A lot of the stress behind resume building is the competition factor. People applying for the same jobs, peers comparing resumes and experience, and pressure to meet a deadline.

The job hunt can be nuts. From personal experience, I think my peers and I over think creating a resume. Everyone that I have talked to and articles that I have read can all agree on the most important tips. An article on the Atlanta Business Chronicle website is a great resource for a beginner resume creator.

Resumes contain your experience, education, involvement, and skills. All of these things can easily be portrayed as bragging about yourself and all of your best features. This is where I have a hard time deciding how much is appropriate to put on a resume without coming off as a know it all. My professor, Kathryn Kuttis told my class that resumes need to be the most relevant information rather than putting on your resume that you worked at a McDonald’s but you’re applying to be the social media director for Adidas. These two things do not have any relation so leave McDonald’s off. This tip in itself saves time and increases simplicity.

In my Strategic Communications class we recently went “speed dating” with our resumes. We traded and edited to get some fresh eyes to give us advice. After this I realized I had some very simple grammatical errors. This is a big NO NO. Like the article goes into detail about, double checking is absolutely crucial. I later realized I had already sent my resume out to a few companies, (still have not heard back uh oh) so be careful, this is an important document!

Resume’s are not going to make or break you. A resume gets your foot in the door. Make yourself stand out through relevant and clear information.

If stress is taking over your life, take a few minutes and clear your mind with this video!

10 of the top food trends of 2018 according to BBC good food:

• Gut-friendly food
• Booze-free beverages
• Hawaiian Food
• Timut pepper
• Specialized tea
• Hyper-local food
• Heme
• Plant-based protein
• Everyday food tech
• South American cuisine

These all seem very civilized and realistic to me. Now let’s check out some trends that are a bit of a stretch. These are based off of a Spoon University article as well as personal opinion:

• Black colored ice cream: In my opinion this is unappetizing. Taking a big lick of a charcoal color/flavor of ice cream almost feels like a punishment but it seems to keep the millennials interested!
• Turning sushi into absolutely anything: I back up this far fetched trend. From sushi bagels to sushi croissants, this is getting out of control. Besides just jeopardizing the taste, these ideas change everything traditional about what sushi is. Let’s stop now.
• Unicorn themed food: The glitter and pink and purple food coloring does not seem like the most appetizing things. I will say, props to social media. With the prettiness of these lattes or whatever it may be, it definitely is attracting consumers aesthetics.
• Edible cookie dough: Well, I actually have to admit that I stood in line for hours in New York City just to try this craze. It is indeed delicious but should not be allowed to serve in such large portions. Cookie Dough Confections is welcoming with the kindest employees, a pretty atmosphere and obviously the sugary smell of cookies!
• Avocado everything: Don’t get me wrong, I love avocado but this trend is becoming excessive. The food media world has been going so far with avocado there has even been a latte served in an avocado. Avocado toast is everywhere on Instagram so this avocado latte is most likely not going to be able to compete with the toast.

Unique food takes creativity however if you’re not careful it can be too over the top. Bottom line, post aesthetically pleasing photos but steer clear from being off putting.

In my Strategic PR communication class, we welcomed Nneka Logan to speak to us about public relations.

We discussed the recent news about companies offering the freezing of eggs to women in the workforce. This brings up many controversies. In our class we were told to create messages revolved around this implementation. We broke up into groups and shared our opinions. My class is all girls besides two men so this topic was especially interesting. I suggest checking out this article for some more info!

This topic makes me frustrated. First of all, parenting is not the mother’s job. Often times fathers are the ones at home cooking, cleaning, picking the kids up from school, etc. My teacher had the same opinion on this because her husband is exactly this. Maternity leave is important however, it should be called parental leave because the women is not the only one who wants to raise her children.

In my opinion, you should never have to compromise family for a career. My group discussed this. We believe that the work force should promote someone to create a new chapter in their life which should not be frowned upon. An equal balance between passion for your carrier and passion for your family is the healthiest option in life.

Another aspect that we’ve ignored during our whole conversation is the question, “how many women actually want this option?” In order for companies to strategize properly around this idea, surveys should be sent out to all employees on this matter. Companies will look even more in the wrong without enough evidence that employees would or would not enjoy this option.

Apple and Facebook are offering this option in order to attract more women to their staff. I believe women deserve other options such as day care, the opportunity to work from home, and on sight training if parents need it. These options should all be offered before something so personal like freezing a women’s eggs is implemented.

I’m sure many women will be interested in this offer because the process of freezing eggs is extremely expensive also. I suggest companies provide women with an endless amount of information on this topic before anything else. Here is a reliable article in case you want to read further on freezing eggs.

Picture @ Foreign Cinema by me

Experiencing travel is a remarkable thing. The Virtuoso published an article discussing the reasons for travel, “learning, expanding your perspective, getting in touch with yourself, relaxing, escaping…,” I agree with all of these but let’s not forget, FOOD. In my opinion, food is the heart of most of these travel gains.

My thrill for food is because of travel. Food brings people new cultures, new experiences, and excitement towards something different than the usual. The world is filled with unique cuisine and eye opening restaurant atmospheres, some more of the beaten path than others.

I though I’d give you guys some of my favorite cities and the restaurants in them as well as the top ranked foodie cities in the US. So here they are! You may want to grab a snack for this read.

What makes my mouth water and probably yours too:

Foreign Cinema San Francisco, CA: This restaurant serves sophisticated cuisine as they project an old film on the back patio. From personal experience, brunch is the way to go but make a reservation as soon as you know you’ll be traveling to San Fran. Start with the homemade wild huckleberry pop tarts and a caramel pecan sticky bun. Move on to the foie gras and duck liver mouse with grilled bread. Wow. I have splurged for the balsamic egg dish but you really can’t go wrong with any of the Sonoma pastured farm eggs. Foreign Cinema strives to serve as local as possible cuisine. The service is impeccable and the atmosphere is spunky and fresh. Highly suggest this. If Foreign Cinema isn’t for you, well you’re in luck because San Francisco is ranked #10 of 30 most exciting food cities in America, according to Zagat. You’ll find something tasty on every corner.

Katz’s Delicatessen New York, New York: If you want traditional pastrami and a classic New York family dynamic, this is the place for you. I will never forget this spot. My mom was so curiously exploring the meats and asking an abundance of questions that the man cut off of a chunk of the juicy corn beef and put it right into her hand. For me, that says it all. This place means business. It can almost be intimidating however the flavors and tradition puts a big smile on every customers face. If traveling to New York is not in your future well you’re in luck because Katz’s delivers across the country. This place may be one of my favorites but it also has celebrities like Oprah drooling over it. Check out this video to learn how to be a regular!

Botegga Louie Los Angeles, California: This place won me over the second I saw the beautiful array of macarons. In my opinion this place is every social media foodies dream. The simplicity of the food and the elegant white space on every plate is what attracted me. Botegga Louie is a restaurant as well as a market with a focus on sweets. If you happen to be in LA and staying at a hotel with little access to cooking, stop by Botegga to grab a couple sweets and possibly stay for my favorite brunch on the weekend. The atmosphere is elegant with room for casual style and a quick stop for lunch. Los Angeles is one of the best cities for foodies so check out Botegga but I’m sure you will not struggle to find other restaurants right up your alley.

Valentine’s day: one of the top holidays for dining out.

Competition rises in the restaurant business on Valentine’s day. In order for restaurants to succeed on Valentine’s day, strategizing promotional skills is crucial. Here are promotional strategies that the most successful restaurants use during this holiday:

1. Atmosphere: Turning your restaurant into a romantic atmosphere is fun and exciting for people celebrating Valentine’s day. Change is very intriguing especially on special events. Surprises are especially fun on holidays like this one. People tend to go to restaurants that they’re familiar with and that they know will serve delicious food. I recently read an article on POS Sector that discusses the ways restaurants can enhance their atmosphere. The article talks about how people are more likely to go to their favorite restaurants rather than going out of their box. During valentine’s day restaurants should embrace cheesiness. Hearts and flowers are encouraged.
2. The food: Fixed menus excite consumers. Often times restaurants provide couples with the chance to partake in a multiple coursed meal. Like I discussed before, surprises are exciting on holidays. Restaurants should take advantage of providing costumers with a menu consisting of unordinary foods that people typically would not splurge for. One of my favorite things to do on Valentine’s day is simply ordering a heart shaped pizza. Even though pizza is a very commonly eaten food, shaping it into a heart gives couples the “awww” factor.
3. Discounts: Who doesn’t love discounts? A way to promote discounts as discussed in the POS Sector article is through competition. For example, a restaurant that promotes making reservations early and those selected people receive some sort of discount or maybe one free course of choice. Consumers love friendly competition. This will also increase the amount of reservations due to people talking to their friends about this hot deal.

PR Week wrote an article on brands that soak up Valentine’s day promotions. Using social media is always beneficial for restaurant promotion however on Valentine’s Day it is especially helpful with getting the word out. This article used Panera as an example. Panera promoted themselves by using a picture with the caption, “Love is in the air. This Valentine’s day, get engaged at a Panera and we might cater your wedding, for free.” Panera is most likely not the first place someone would propose at but with this easy idea, customers would be excited to partake in this once a year deal.

Food social media accounts are constantly posting about their favorite foods and restaurants but what the social media lacks is valuable critiques on restaurants. When I scroll through my Instagram feed my mouth waters when I see a beautiful picture of some sort of extravagant dish but I am always still curious about places to avoid, especially when I am traveling.

Journalists tend to want to please their readers. An article on First We Feast discusses the problems revolved around food on social media. Articles can get boring when all it discusses are the positive aspects of an experience but journalists don’t take this into consideration like said in the article, “Food writers will argue that they are giving people what they want by writing, say, 25 posts about David Chang’s latest chicken finger, or that they ‘only cover what they love.'”

Readers need posts that are true and reliable. Accounts that post honest critiques of restaurants would have a bigger following than the typical accounts that only rave about the highest rated restaurants.

When I travel my number one priority is food. I want to eat at the best restaurants and steer clear of the lousy, overrated restaurants too. If journalists and social media account holders would be more honest with their critiques and recommendations, they would be looked at as so much more reliable.

@Infatuation is one of my favorite accounts. Their website has a reviews section which differentiates themselves from other food accounts. Their social media is a perfect outlet in order to find where you should and should not eat in cities throughout the world. I highly recommend checking them out, as I have mentioned in a previous post.

Trending diets are drastically spreading throughout social media accounts.

An article on Food and Wine discussed the negative aspects of these wide spread diets. Many of these diets cut out gluten, dairy, meat, etc out of peoples lifestyles, however this doesn’t always result in a healthy body. This article touches on a scarier aspect that many consumers do not realize, the effect these diets have on the millennial brain.

Teenagers have phones, laptops, and Ipads, containing unlimited access to the web. The endless amount of information on the internet can overpower a young persons brain. These diets and the people supporting them are huge influencers on early set bad habits.

A study was conducted on the topic of dieting which found that, “four in ten 18 to 24-year- olds have tried dieting. 20 percent of them either had either cut out or restricted their intake of dairy, severely limiting their calcium intake.” This article later went to discuss that most of the people within this age group get their diet information from social media accounts.

This all boils down to credibility. Dieters have been around forever, however with the increase in social media, the amount of health foods accounts has spiked but how do we know which ones actually work? Well, everyone has different goals, body types, and personalities which means that conducting your own research should be required prior to starting a strict diet. This applies to young people in their late teens and early twenties. When you’re young, allergies and health issues still have not been shown which can be scary when cutting many important ingredients out of your diet or when implementing different vitamins into your diet.

Consulting a professional nutritionist prior to taking drastic measures like discussed in Food and Wine, is the most important part of dieting. There are many Instagram accounts that have beautiful pictures of foods that don’t contain certain ingredients, however they lack details about why people are eating this way or why gluten or dairy is not good for a persons diet.

In order to recognize a reliable and credible source, it is important to research the blogger or dieters educational background. Pretty images can get in the way of realizing what information is actually accurate and beneficial. Often times information is passed down along a food chain without being peer reviewed. The social media world can be frightening and overwhelming with how much information it contains.

The lifestyle of dieting is intriguing when the posts are aesthetically pleasing and the dieter is attractive and friendly to their followers. Diets will not make you look exactly like the person creating them, do background checks and consult a professional before getting lost in the social media diet world.

Follow @anthonybourdain on Instagram and @Bourdain on Twitter.

Anthony Bourdain is a well-known personality in the food world. Bourdain is a writer, producer, and host on the award winning series, Parts Unknown. However, in his multiple social media accounts he defines himself as a “enthusiast.”

AdWeek named Bourdain the 3rd most influential person in food.

In Bourdain’s earlier life he worked as a professional chef for 28 years. His career became more serious when he became the executive chef at the famous french restaurant, Brasserie Les Halles. After years of working as the executive chef, he took his talents and created a guide for consumers. His book, Kitchen Confidential was released in 2000 and was a best-seller.

Bourdain’s career took a wild ride after that first best-seller. His publicity sky rocketed. He wrote more books, starred in Food Network shows, and then my favorite part, No Reservations aired on the Travel channel.

This famous enthusiast focuses on travel, food, and the experience. These three aspects come out through his shows and his book through humor and intensity. There are so many food shows to choose from but Bourdain brings a unique personality which differentiates himself from the typical Food Network shows. I find myself engaged with every episode. Bourdain is not afraid to go on culinary tours in Iran or Mexico City, typically negatively thought about cities. Honesty is the biggest part of his exploration. If Bourdain does not enjoy a type of food, he will show that emotion very clearly on his show. This brings shock factor to the public with the feeling of, “did he really just say that?”

Diving into the culture of unfamiliar destinations is what attracts me to Bourdain. I find him being a very credible source for travel guidance because his goal is not to just please his audience, it’s to tell the truth. Dig through food publicity stunts to find passionate and exciting restaurant explorations.

The foodie Instagram world is blowing up. It’s easy to get lost within all of the different accounts. There are vegan accounts, paleo accounts, brunch accounts, dessert accounts etc. Here are some of mine and the medias favorite foodie accounts:

1. Infatuation @infatuation: With more than 714K followers on Instagram, Infatuation provides readers with a guide to restaurants worldwide. Infatuation is approachable on social media. They have a website, snap chat account, and many Instagram accounts for specific cities. I travel solely for the food so when I go to big cities I refer back to Infatuation accounts. For example, I traveled to London and discovered my favorite restaurants and the hottest spots in the city on @infatuation_london. These accounts are easy to navigate and provide people with a perfect foodie travel experience. This account is guaranteed to make your mouth water.
2. Becca PR @becca_pr: In one of my previous posts I have talked about my excitement with Becca PR. This agency focuses on providing their readers with elegant PR. What attracts me to this Instagram account with 25.6K is the simplicity behind every post. There is also a sense of intimacy because of the smaller amount of followers with less commentary. The food is clean and crisp, they provide travel tips within NYC and LA based on food and experience. Many food accounts can get lost in posting photos of greasy burgers and cheese-dripping pizza but Becca PR posts include pictures of the restaurant, the service and the elegance of the restaurant as a whole. Their website is also very interactive, providing a video explanation of exactly what their brand focuses on. This aspect pulled me in, making it easier to get the idea of their goals.
3. The Delicious @thedelicious: This health foods account focuses around the motto, “eat beauty every day.” With 183K followers, the founder, Sarah, posts beautiful, brightly colored photos along with recipes for everything that she makes. It can be frustrating following accounts that post interesting and exciting looking foods but without a recipe. Sarah is very approachable in the health food industry. The pictures use white space to enhance the main course of the picture. The ingredients are listed very concisely, avoiding any consumer confusion. This account also discusses food safety and the importance of eating a clean diet. I have personally direct messaged the Instagram account asking for specific details and it got back to me within 30 minutes. This approachable aspect differentiates themselves from other health foods account that only focus on their posts rather than their consumers.

These three accounts provide their followers with helpful, unique, and concise restaurant and recipe information. From seeing their strong follower base and my personal opinion, these accounts are reliable food resources.

Mom and Pop restaurants can be hard competing with the trendy-Instagram famous restaurants that are targeting the milennial generation.

I recently read an article on Forbes, “How restaurant brands can leverage both tradition and innovation to win.” This article discusses how brands must implement unique techniques in order to compete with the up and coming restaurants that are drawing in customers. Tradition appeals to customers emotions but that only goes so far in the current restaurant industry.

Larry Johnson, the CEO of Fogo de Chão an upscale Brazilian chain restaurant talks about how the restaurant is still a success since their expansion in 1987. Chain restaurants can go unnoticed or can be unappealing without a touch of spunk to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Fogo de Chão is one of the first restaurants to bring Brazilian food and the experience to the US. They are famous for table service meat carving with top quality meats, “as a brand, we invest heavily in this part of the experience.”

The restaurant experiencing is evolving more than the product sold at the restaurant. Consumers are young with the need and want for constant change and new excitement. Personally, my favorite restaurants offer fixed menus with many courses, every course with a unique surprise whether its the flavor or color of the dish. There is an ability to transform tradition into something extraordinary.

Opaque, a restaurant in San Francisco serves a unique experience. The waiters are all visually impaired or blind, serving a prix-fixe menu. This trend originated in Europe but Opaque brought the traditional experience to San Francisco, California. The dark atmosphere is known to enhance the flavors and enhance the customers senses, giving them a new outlook on food.

This type of dining experience is expanding drastically. The trend of prix-fixe meals and competitive reservation demands is what attracts customers. Customers, especially the younger generation want an experience that they can show off to their friends and social media followers. Being able to implement traditional ideas into hip and trending restaurant is important in the current restaurant industry. Innovating tradition within restaurant culture takes restaurants to the next level.