Schnitzel with Noodles/Venissimo Cheese Interview: Blog Day Countdown

Welcome to Day 7 of our week countdown to Blog Day tomorrow, Wednesday, August 31st!

SCHNITZEL WITH NOODLES/VENISSIMO CHEESE INTERVIEW

We love cheese (!) and the idea behind this blog so I (Bonny) decided to interview Gina of Venissimo Cheese to find out what inspires her, other than cheese of course! Here goes…

DB: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and how your business Venissimo started?

Gina: My mom is from Austria so we were lucky to visit Europe quite often.  Every time we visited the little specialty cheese shops, I wondered, ‘Why don’t we have these great shops in America?’  I LOVE cheese (my favorite food for sure, I’ll pass on the tub of ice cream any time in favor of a hunk of cheese).  I always knew I wanted my own business, but nothing truly inspired me until one visit to Europe when my proverbial light bulb went off.  I wanted a cheese shop!  So in early 2003, I quit my corporate job (my experience was in marketing & PR), took a year to write a business plan, learned everything I possibly could about this wonderful food & then I opened Venissimo Cheese on January 17, 2004.

DB: What was your inspiration for writing your blog, Schnitzel with Noodles?

Gina: The blog name “Schnitzel with Noodles” is a tribute to my Austrian heritage & love of “The Sound of Music.”  The favicon is Edelweiss, Austria’s national flower.  It started as a chronicle of the vespa tour I took with my sister from Seattle to San Diego, in search of a few of our favorite things.  Until our next ride (sometime next year), I am excited to share more of my favorite things.

DB: What was the most memorable part of your journey?

Gina: Oh, where to begin!  The freedom of the wind on the face & the joy of smells in the air was truly wonderful.  And driving the winding roads on a scooter with no other cars in sight was something I wish everyone could experience.  And the people we met along the way, living their lives in totally unique ways, was inspiring indeed.

DB: During your journey, how much time did you actually spend blogging?

Gina: I spent an average of three hours per night putting together the video/photo clips & writing the blog.  Along the way, I would upload photos & observations from my mobile phone.

DB: Did you receive any feedback – bad or good – about your blog?  If so, how did you react?

Gina: So far, nothing negative, but LOTS of opinions about what we should & shouldn’t do.  There was much more commenting about seeking adventure, being inspired & finding dreams.  Who doesn’t want those things? The coolest thing so far is that one reader was inspired enough to grab his daughter & son-in-law & drive their vespas from San Francisco to Los Angeles.  Super cool!  A local scooter rider even suggested we organize a day tour to local farms & dairies, which I’m working on now.

DB: Were you able to communicate with your readers fairly easy?

Gina: Absolutely!  Mobile technology has made it so easy – I would get notifications on my phone whenever there was a comment posted, so I could reply right away.

DB: How much time do you normally spend on social networking sites?

Gina: Every morning, I start by checking both my personal & business Facebook page, answering questions or responding to comments.  I like to check the news feed too.  Then I craft my post for the day (at least one a day), with a photo or visual included.  It automatically feeds into Twitter, so that helps.  Then I take a look at the latest tweets probably three times a day.  Now the blog has become part of my routine, with daily postings planned.

DB: How has your blog influenced PR and growth for your business overall?

Gina: I think while tweets are going for people who like quick little factoids, the website is good for product facts, & Facebook is good for those who like social and interactive connection, the blog is for people who want stories, more in-depth thoughts about things.   It’s sure fun to wear the many hats to speak to different folks in different ways.  Each shop location has its own Twitter account so they can promote new arrivals & specials immediately.  It truly has brought in sales for each shop!  It also seems that the media are using these outlets as a place to find stories & information more than ever before.

DB: Do you have some favorite bloggers that you follow consistently?  If so, who are they?

Gina: Locally, I like Caron Golden’s San Diego Foodstuff.  Alice Q Foodie is fun & fabulous too.

DB: Can you tell us when your next journey will begin and where?

Gina: I know we will organize a local harvest tour this fall.  Next year, we are considering New York & Vermont cheese makers or Italy, depending on what we can organize!  Care to join us?

 …. I hope you enjoyed this inside look at Venissimo and Gina’s creation as much as we did.  Stop in for a visit at their San Diego, Mission Hills, Del Mar or Long Beach shop today! And yes, I definitely want to join them on their next journey if they’ll have me.  Care to come along?

Bonny Park, Social Media Intern