New York - Michelle Davis and Matt Holloway’s mission was simple: They started an expletive-laced recipe blog to inspire people to eat healthy plant-based foods and it was so successful it resulted in their first cookbook, Thug Kitchen.
Originally the blog, which received a glowing endorsement from actress Gwyneth Paltrow, and the book were anonymous.
But as the publication date neared, the pair of 29-year-olds based in California revealed their identities.
Davis and Holloway, whose foul-mouthed trailer for the book has had nearly 770 000 views on YouTube, spoke to Reuters about the vegan cookbook that landed on the US best-sellers list and why they verbally abuse readers to persuade them to eat healthier foods.
Why did you start a food blog?
Davis: We were both working sh**ty day jobs and wanted to be more creative at some point in our lives, so we started the blog as a way for me to work on my recipes and for Matt to work on his photography.
Where did the title for the book Thug Kitchen come from?
Davis: We’ve always thought of thug as an attitude and we wanted people to take control of their plate and get badass in the kitchen. We thought it was a good way to convey that.
The book and the website are full of profanity. Are you concerned that it could offend some people?
Davis: We curse on the site because we curse in real life. And we wanted to show that just because you are trying to take care of yourself and you want to eat more vegetables doesn’t mean you don’t have a sense of humour.
Swearing isn’t for everybody but there are other wonderful recipe blogs that you can get plant-based recipes from that don’t swear.
How does your collaboration work?
Davis: I come up with all the recipes and Matt does all the beautiful photography, and we work on it together. I am self-taught and I have always been a passionate home cook.
The blog was previously anonymous and you only recently revealed your identities. Why?
Holloway: When we created the site it was never about self-promotion. Like Michelle said, we were just doing it for ourselves. A lot of other websites are spearheaded by a personality or a lifestyle. We didn’t want to do that.
What advice would you give to people who want to eat better?
Davis: Take your time. Take one night out of the week and try to cook something new with new ingredients. Try to do a plant-based meal one night a week. - Reuters