I'm Biggie: avid cook, speedy lunch packer, mom in San Francisco, & former expat fluent in Japanese. 
Food Blog Award & newspaper cover for Lunch in a Box
Gong Hay Fat Choy and what a wild week this has been! The Well Fed Network announced the winners of the 2008 Food Blog Awards this morning, and amazingly, Lunch in a Box won the Best Theme category! To top that off, the site was also splashed across the front page of a local Japanese-American newspaper. A great way to start off the Chinese New Year.
2008 Food Blog Awards
Congratulations to all of the finalists in the Food Blog Awards! There are so many quality blogs out there, and it’s an honor to be included for the second year in a row. Thanks also to the Well Fed Network for the huge task of hosting the awards.
The Best Theme category was the most competitive, voted-in category of all fourteen in the Awards, indicative of the loyal reader communities of all the nominees. This also marks the first time that a bento blog has won Best Theme, showing that we’re making it into the mainstream. Way to go! jskidmoreca noticed the win earlier this morning and posted the news over on the Lunch in a Box forum.
Karina’s Kitchen, a popular gluten-free food blog, came very close to winning Best Theme, and eleventh-hour voting surges on both sides made things more interesting. I felt a kinship with the gluten-free folks as I originally got into bento lunches when my husband was misdiagnosed with celiac disease and we ate gluten-free for nine months. Packing your own lunch is a way of life for people with food allergies, and I’ve learned a lot from the Japanese art of packing compact, visually appealing bento lunches.
I’m also excited that fellow Best Theme nominee Hank, over at Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, generously volunteered to teach me how to butcher a whole animal, so I may be driving up to Sacramento one of these days for an education!
I’d like to thank my readers, friends, family, my running club and the larger lunch-packing community for your support and encouragement. This award is a gift from you, and my resolution for this year is to write posts that are worthy of your attention. Looking back at recent posts, I notice that I’ve been focusing on bento community activities, contests and awards somewhat more than usual, straying from my main focus on speedy bento-packing and lunch food. Now that we’re through this cyclical blip, I’ll be looking to get back to basics.
If you have a moment, browse through the other sites that won and enjoy:
Food Blog of the Year (Overall) - Tartelette
Best Food Blog (Chef) - Tartelette
Best Food Blog (City) - Champaign Taste
Best Blog Covering Drinks (Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic) - RumDood
Best Food Blog (Family/Kids) - Picky Palate
Best Food Blog (Group) - Apartment Therapy: The Kitchn
Best Food Blog (Humor) - Thursday Night Smackdown
Best Food Blog (Industry) - PigTrip
Best Food Blog (Photography) - Cannelle et Vanille
Best Food Blog (Post) - “Polenta and Mushrooms and Love Past” - Tea & Cookies
Best Food Blog (Rural) - Farmgirl Fare
Best Food Blog (Theme) - Lunch In A Box
Best Food Blog (Writing) - Smitten Kitchen
Best New Food Blog - Apples and Butter
Nichi Bei Times Newspaper Article
A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed by the Nichi Bei Times, a Japanese-American weekly newspaper here in San Francisco. The journalist came to my house (uh oh, cleaning time!), took photos, and we chatted for a couple of hours about all things bento.
They invited me into their Japantown offices last Friday to pick up copies of the paper, mentioning that the article made the front page of the January 22-28 issue. I figured it would be a small blurb at most, so I was gobsmacked to see the Lunch in a Box headline and photos splashed across the cover like a fake newspaper you might have made up as a joke. (Click on either photo for a larger view, and here’s the full-text article on their site.)
This is the first time the site has ever made the cover story of anything! Totally unexpected, but I can see how bento lunches in America would be interesting for a Japanese-American audience. Welcome to new readers!
The story shows photos from my posts on how to make an octodog (octopus-shaped hot dog), how to mold hard-boiled eggs with ice cream sandwich molds, organizing your bento accessories, and the following five lunches:
- Sausage sunflower lunch & tutorial (cover)
- Ravioli lunch with surprise animal cap (upper left)
- Checkerboard onigiri rice ball & lengua lunch
- Faux latke meets shells & cheese lunch (a Leftover Remake)
- Chicken drumstick lunch with a foil “handle”
Seeking a Sacramento Mom
I’m looking for a lunch-packing mom located in the Sacramento area for a bento-related surprise, courtesy of the Warm Olives bento blog. If you fit this description, please e-mail me at lunchinabox {AT] gmail [DOT} com and I'll fill you in on the details. [1/27 Update: Wendy from Sacramento e-mailed and I hooked her up with Kate from Warm Olives for a targeted giveaway. Thanks, Kate!]
FURTHER READING:
- 2008: My Bento Year in Review
- Need for speed: A mommy’s lunch manifesto
- Lunch in a Box wins 2007 Food Blog Award, “Best Family/Kids Blog” category
- Lunch in a Box forum about bento and packed lunches
- Bento FAQ and Biggie’s Top Speed Tips
January 26th, 2009 | Categories: admin | 
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January 26th, 2009 at 10:48 am
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
January 26th, 2009 at 11:10 am
w00t congrats on everything Biggie! Well done and well deserved!!!
January 26th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Congratulations, Biggie! You deserve it!
January 26th, 2009 at 11:45 am
congratulations! you’re definitely my favorite blog!
January 26th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Congratulations!!!
January 26th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Congrats! Boy was that a spirited vote! I am glad all of us have such committed readership — frankly I was really surprised that we out-voted the “Best Overall” section.
As for butchering lessons, do you want to provide the animal or should I? If I do, the next whole (large) critter I expect to get is a lamb and a goat for one of our annual parties in April…
January 26th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Congratulations!!! I voted for you! I even visited the other sites just to make it “fare”! I love following you and what you are doing. You have inspired me to pack fun lunches for my kids.
~Thanita
January 26th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Congratulations to you!!
January 26th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Love the site. I have been using your tips and learning new ways to pack lunches for twin 3.5 boys. I have been trying to get registered for the forum because I bought some bento items and can’t figure out how to use them. I wanted to get some help from the forum. I signed up twice and have not been able to access the forum. I also never got an email verifying my registration. Thanks and I looking forward to joining the forum soon.
January 26th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Yay! I knew you would win!! I’ve been following your blog for a long time… it’s fun watching it grow and see you get recognized more and more ~
Congratulations!
January 26th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
@9 from Alyssa: Sorry about the problem getting activated; some people have reported not having received the activation email (span filters, mystery, etc.). I’ve activated your account manually, so try signing in and email me at lunchinabox@gmail.com if you still can’t get in.
January 26th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
WOOT! Congrats!
January 26th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
CONGRATS!!
January 26th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Congratulations! I enjoy reading your blog even though I don’t pack lunches anymore. Well deserved win.
January 26th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
@6 from Hank: You said it on the voting! It was a real nail-biter — at first I didn’t realize we’d be able to see the votes as they rolled in (last year you couldn’t).
I’ll email you separately to figure out logistics of the butchering lesson. I have no idea where to get a whole animal, but am willing to poke around to figure it out.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Way to go Biggie! Wow I can say I knew you when….when you were just another bored and desparate housewife with a penchant for plastic lunchware.
Hugs from us!
January 26th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
great news! And great job on all the hard work
Interestingly enough, yours is the only blog I read on that list. Guess I have a couple more to add to my reader.
Congrats!
January 26th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
yay!!
January 26th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Congratulations Biggie - you’ve worked hard, it’s nice to see you get rewarded
January 27th, 2009 at 5:16 am
WOW! Way to go, bento mama!
January 27th, 2009 at 9:28 am
I’m so happy for you! Congrats!
I voted from home and work. shhhhh
January 27th, 2009 at 10:15 am
yokatta ne!! omedeto-!
January 27th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Congrats, Biggie! We really enjoy what you do here! You deserve this pat on the back!
January 27th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Congratulations!
I love your website. I’m new to bento and find resources for everything I need here. Thanks for sharing all your great tips and know-how!
January 28th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
So happy for you, Biggie! Well done!
January 28th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
CONGRATS! I voted for you in this category - I love your blog! Keep up the awesome work!
January 28th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Congratulations! I’m so glad you won. I wish it was the top prize but just the same, cheers for getting frontpage in a newspaper. The Chinese New Year is truly starting great for you. I hope there’ll be more recognition to come for your blog. I always enjoy your posts.
January 29th, 2009 at 4:42 am
WIN!!!
Congratulations - I voted for you ‘cos I get so much enjoyment out of your site. Also what a cool newspaper article!
January 29th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Congrats! You absolutely deserved the award. Your pictures and creativity are just awesome!
January 29th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Congrats! Woot!
January 29th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Congrats, your website has been very inspiring.
January 30th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Congratulations!
February 1st, 2009 at 11:30 am
GREAT WORK BIGGIE! & Belated Congratulations to you.
You make Lunch in a Box such a warm and inviting place to learn and share bento?
Sincere thanks.
February 4th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Congratulations, Biggie, You’ve earned it!
February 5th, 2009 at 3:41 am
Thanks everyone! I appreciate all the kind words.