Half of the year has come and gone already! I hope everyone has been hanging in there and staying safe in the midst of these uncertain times. We got this!
1) Paderia Bakehouse (Santa Monica, CA) - @daviontran
It is so exciting to see Paderia Bakehouse open their third location! I did not get to check out the location myself yet, but a foodie friend was able to get some Portuguese Egg Tarts and Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies for me to photograph. Everything was amazing, as always!
2) Garo’s Deli (Los Angeles, CA)
Garo’s Deli invited me to check out their deli in DTLA. This place was a hidden gem, specializing in Armenian food and deli sandwiches. I loved that the deli was also a hangout area with TVs, and was also a market where they sold coffee, snacks, teas, etc. I had the chance to film them making three delicious sandwiches while I was there: Soujouk, Ham and Mortadella. The Soujouk (hot sandwich) was my favorite sandwich. I would definitely go back to try their Armenian and Arabic coffees!
Other Collaborations:
I went to Randy’s Donuts to do some video clips for their TikTok page. While I was there, I got to see the staff make all kinds of donuts from start to finish. It was a great experience and I enjoyed watching the process and meeting the employees! Check out some of my clips on their TikTok page!
Dash shared with me three of their products, since I was already a big fan of their popcorn maker. Dash sent me Everyday Griddle, Egg Bite Maker and Heart Mini Waffle Maker. I decided to create an entire breakfast feast for my posts, one of which was a giveaway I hosted where I would pick three winners, and they would each be able to choose their prize.
I got to collaborate with Harry & David and Mavrck Co in two collaborations over the past few months: once for Mother’s Day and once for Father’s Day. For the Mother’s Day collaboration I got the Tower of Treats Classic Mother’s Day Gift. The packaging the treats came in were so pretty and photogenic. For the Father’s Day collaboration, I got the Father’s Day Crate, which was perfect for a charcuterie picnic!
Frutero Ice Cream reached out to me to share about their ice creams that they were launching at the Northgate, Cardenas, and Vallarta supermarkets in the LA/OC area. Frutero is a tropical fruit ice cream company, with flavors like Guava, Passion Fruit, Mango, Coconut and Guanabana. The Passion Fruit and Guava flavors were my favorite so far!
I got to try out Challenge Butter (through a collaboration with Social Native) and cook using the butter in a recipe. I decided to make patty melts at home, using the butter to caramelize the onions and to toast the bread. I like how easy it was to spread the butter and that it comes with Olive Oil or Canola Oil options.
I was so excited when I got the opportunity to be an Airborne partner. It just so happens that I love the elderberry flavor so much already; I’ve been purchasing it myself since last year. I had so much fun styling the vitamins into a lifestyle shot and creating a stop motion video for it on my Instagram post.
626 Night Market is returning this year with some awesome new vendors. I got invited to the preview event and was introduced to a few vendors that were going to be part of this year’s lineup, including Bertz’ Waffles, Dulce Delights, Kefir Mix, Mason’s Den, Nova’s Grill, Try MY T Gourmet Iced Tea, VEGANO by Stick-Station, Warm N’ Fluffy, and WezzArepas.