Keeping It Real: My Messy Food Blogger Kitchen

by Dorothy Reinhold on January 12, 2016


Print This Post Print This Post What does a food blogger's kitchen look like? Take a look at the kitchen of Dorothy Reinhold of Shockingly Delicious, in the midst of recipe creation. Yeah, that's the excuse.

The good thing about kids is they tell the truth.

The bad thing about kids is they tell the truth.

See that photo, above? My college daughter snapped it while home on winter vacation the other day, and here’s what she said on Facebook:

“When your mom is a food blogger sometimes you come home and the kitchen looks like this…”

Dorothy Reinhold's Shockingly Delicious food blogger messy kitchenSo the good thing about Facebook, other than it being a place for family members to humiliate each other ( ๐Ÿ™‚ ), is that people pile on. In my case, thankfully, they piled on to say they are like this also!

Thank you to the many, many people who confessed that they, too, leave every cabinet and drawer open while cooking. (Seriously, take a look above…am I incapable of simply shutting the cabinet after I retrieve something from it?)

Thank you to all of those food bloggers who said their kitchens look just like this, every single day.

Thank you to all of those regular folk who said their kitchens looked like this but they couldn’t blame it on being a food blogger.

Flying Pig in Dorothy Reinhold's Shockingly Delicious kitchenThank you to all who admired my flying pig (hanging off the copper range hood). I painted it at one of those Color Me Mine pottery painting places, where you paint the thing, they fire it and give it back to you. I thought it was so funny, and to me, it does sort of represent my kitchen, which will be neat and tidy when pigs fly.

L. Tellier Kitchen Poster by de Roger BlachonThank you to my friend Diana for suggesting my kitchen reminded her of this famous Roger Blachon comical poster of a restaurant kitchen. It was originally commissioned as a set piece for a French manufacturer of restaurant equipment (many of its products are strategically placed), and the poster has taken on a life of its own all over the globe.

Thank you to fellow blogger Betsy Cohen, who gave me a belly laugh by asking, “Seriously, do you not have the Mommy Override button on baby girl’s phone?”

And most of all, thank you to my daughter, for always keeping it real.
Disclosure: No children were harmed in the making of or aftermath of this photo.

I have company!ย Others share their messy ways in the kitchen:ย 

Mary Platis kitchen during recipe development

The kitchen of Mary Papoulias-Platis from California Greek Girl, above,ย is a whirlwind of utensils and gadgets during recipe creation! She said it took her all afternoon to clean up. ๐Ÿ™‚

Hey, send me a photo of YOUR messy kitchen. Someone will win a prize! It won’t be Powerball-size, but it will be cool. Send to Dorothy@shockinglydelicious.com

 

{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }

Jesse January 30, 2016 at 12:25 pm

I’m jealous of the size of your kitchen! I have the same size mess in a kitchen a quarter of the size! Sometimes being a food blogger is rough!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold January 31, 2016 at 8:29 am

Jesse,
The struggle is real, for all of us. ๐Ÿ™‚

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Charmaine January 18, 2016 at 9:54 pm

I’m hoping to find you on facebook so I can get your recipes. I don’t use Twitter. I cannot seam to find you on facebook.

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Dorothy Reinhold January 20, 2016 at 9:41 am

Hi Charmaine,
Thanks for asking! I am here on Facebook, and you can also “follow” me on my personal account:
(On that personal page, I don’t “friend” people unless I have met them in person, but I believe there is a function to “follow” me.)
And, of course, you can find all my published recipes on this blog !
All of my social media accounts are below, so you can join in on any of them that suit you.
Website: http://www.shockinglydelicious.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shockinglydelicious
Twitter: @shockinglydlish (https://twitter.com/Shockinglydlish)
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/shockinglydlish/
Instagram: @shockinglydlish http://instagram.com/shockinglydlish
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+DorothyReinhold/posts
Yummly: http://www.yummly.com/page/shockinglydelicious
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dorothyreinhold
About.me: http://about.me/dorothyreinhold
StumbleUpon: http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/Shockinglydlish
Follow my blog with Bloglovin’ : http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/1793801/shockingly-delicious

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Mary@CaliforniaGreekGirl January 15, 2016 at 1:48 pm

Hey Dorothy,
Does this mean my husband may start thinking about designing me a bigger kitchen? I hope so….

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Dorothy Reinhold January 15, 2016 at 3:39 pm

Mary,
Use this for whatever leverage you need. ๐Ÿ™‚

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Sparks February 1, 2016 at 1:32 am

Having been fortunate enough to get the kitchen of my dreams 6 years ago, I feel obligated to warn you…bigger litchen means bigger messes! (I wouldn’t change a thing.)

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Dorothy Reinhold February 1, 2016 at 6:24 am

Sparks,
Ha! You are so right.

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Sharon @ What The Fork Food Blog January 14, 2016 at 6:40 am

My kitchen often looks like this, except it’s teeny-tiny and I have to close the cabinets and drawers so my 1 and 3 year old aren’t hitting their heads or pulling everything out and contributing to the mess haha.

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Dorothy Reinhold January 14, 2016 at 8:52 am

Sharon,
Yeah, good point about the kids getting into everything and making it even MORE special to clean up!

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Sid January 14, 2016 at 3:57 am

You make me feel so much better about my kitchen. Mine rarely looks neat and tidy, especially when I’m trying to come up with a new twist or recipe.

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Dorothy Reinhold January 14, 2016 at 8:53 am

Sid,
Oh good. I am glad to be of service in my slovenliness.

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Cathy January 13, 2016 at 8:59 pm

Every time I cook, my kitchen looks like that.

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Dorothy Reinhold January 14, 2016 at 8:53 am

Cathy,
Thank gawd!

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Valerie | From Valerie's Kitchen January 13, 2016 at 7:43 pm

Gotta love our kids for outing us on FB ๐Ÿ™‚ The worst part about this whole gig is the cleanup!

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Dorothy Reinhold January 14, 2016 at 8:53 am

Valerie,
100% correct.

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Michelle @ Blackberry Babe January 13, 2016 at 7:26 pm

LOVE this post. My husband always says I’m a tornado when I cook. Some day I’ll master the whole “clean the mess as it’s made” thing.

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Dorothy Reinhold January 14, 2016 at 8:54 am

Michelle,
In truth, THIS old dog doesn’t think she actually will master that. ๐Ÿ™‚

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Des @ Life's Ambrosia January 13, 2016 at 4:02 pm

Haha I love this! My kitchen has looked like that from time to time too.

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Mariah @ Mariah's Pleasing Plates January 13, 2016 at 3:11 pm

My kitchen has looked just like that so many times. Especially on recipe testing days. I am always telling my husband that my least favorite part of food blogging is the dishes!

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Dorothy Reinhold January 13, 2016 at 3:29 pm

Mariah,
I completely agree!

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Jenny | Honey and Birch January 13, 2016 at 2:09 pm

This may as well be a replica of my kitchen yesterday. My living room was also pretty ridiculous since I had it set up for my photos with reflectors and tripods and light bouncers, etc.I feel your pain. ๐Ÿ™‚

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Dorothy Reinhold January 13, 2016 at 2:38 pm

Jenny,
Oh yes, if my daughter had turned her phone around the other way, you would have seen 3 cameras on the table, a tabletop set-up and reflector!

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Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts January 13, 2016 at 1:55 pm

Oh yeah, my kitchen totally looks like this when I am developing recipes. Crazy how much of a mess it can get!

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Laura @ Family Spice January 13, 2016 at 8:27 am

How did I not see this on Facebook??? Oh yeah, that’s totally my kitchen. My husband always lectures me about closing cabinet doors and drawers. And during the holidays, it’s even worse! I usually have bags full of groceries that aren’t unpacked on my floor too. So, I’m dodging those obstacles as I cook! LOL!

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Dorothy Reinhold January 13, 2016 at 2:39 pm

Laura,
Oh, now THAT’S a new wrinkle! I actually do put all my groceries away when I get them home, but man do I ever leave every single cabinet and drawer open. Even the dishwasher.

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dave January 13, 2016 at 8:12 am

This is very helpful . . . now when my wife complains about all the mess in the kitchen I can say see It could be worse!. Or I have seen worse. But in reality, the truth is one of the best cooks I know has some of the same issues I do. Now if I could just get more of your creativity with recipes. However, I am improving. Thanks to a few food bloggers like yourself Dorthy. Thanks for all the great recipes.

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Dorothy Reinhold January 13, 2016 at 2:40 pm

Dave,
You are very sweet. Thank you for the compliment! And you just show your wife this photo and just tell her my truth…that all too often, this is what it looks like while the magic is happening. ๐Ÿ™‚

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SallyBR January 13, 2016 at 8:07 am

I saw your post on FB, and of course loved it! Your daughter deserves a prize for that! ๐Ÿ˜‰

I confess that leaving drawers and cabinets open is not something I do, but my beloved used to and it drove me crazy! Then ONCE I left a cabinet door open, a high one for the pantry,and he hit his head on it, really bad. Guess what? every single door and drawer is closed now. I swear, I did not do it on purpose ๐Ÿ˜‰

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Dorothy Reinhold January 13, 2016 at 2:41 pm

Sally,
My husband DOES bang his head on the cabinets, and yet, I still cannot seem to change my behavior. Hmmmm.

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Betsy @ Desserts Required January 12, 2016 at 3:29 pm

I LOVE THIS!! I was cracking up when I saw this on FB and I am beyond thrilled that you incorporated it into a post…laughing just as much this time as the last!

You seriously need to install the Mommy Override button on baby girl’s phone…either that or EJECT!

Calgon…take me away!!

xoxo

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Dorothy Reinhold January 13, 2016 at 6:12 am

Betsy,
Real life is the best joke, isn’t it?

Reply

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