Next up in our series of blogger interviews, we chat to Dan from Essex Eating about the perfect London steak, excellent olive oil sold by electrical suppliers and surprisingly delicious food (duck heart, anyone?).

Qype: Can you tell Qypers who you are and what you do?

Dan: OK, I’m Dan, I’m 36 and I write a food blog called Essex Eating. (I live in Essex, but work in London). My blog is pretty much a mish mash of anything foodie related  that takes my fancy, but mainly restaurant reviews (in Essex, but mostly London and sometimes beyond), cooking (I love cooking at home), and of course, drinking. It’s a lot of fun, and I enjoy writing it.

Qype: What prompted you to start your blog, and what elements do you think have contributed to it becoming so popular?

Dan: I started my Blog just over a year ago. It was a New Year’s resolution! (About the only one I’ve ever stuck to actually!) I was working in quite an uncreative field, (Although, I was very recently made redundant, if anyone feels like offering me a job!), and I felt like I needed some kind of creative outlet. I’d always fancied writing about my interest in eating and cooking food, almost as a diary really. To be honest, I didn’t really expect many people to notice or read it, but they have and it’s turned out to be pretty popular.

I think the main element which has made my blog become so popular is that a lot of the foodie stuff I try is completely new to me, and therefore I write it as I see it, which makes it quite accessible to the reader. I also try and inject some humour into proceedings, so hopefully it’s an entertaining read whether it’s a restaurant review or my latest Orange-Lemon Tart failure.

Qype: If you had to pick one restaurant for your last meal on Earth (London or Essex, we don’t mind!), where would you choose?

Dan: Tough question, but I’m going to say Hawksmoor in Commercial Street in East London. My last meal would have to be a charred but bloody aged Steak, hot crisp Frites and at least a pint of Béarnaise sauce on the side. I can think of no other restaurant that could provide that particular meal so well. (The Hawksmoor Burger is incredible as well, by the way).

Qype: What would your perfect London Sunday consist of (let’s assume there’s perfect weather, the Tube is running smoothly and you have a perfect bank balance)?

Dan: OK, up nice and early and over to Brick Lane and up to Columbia Road for a wander around the streets in the sunshine, grab a coffee, check out the various stalls and shops, and then a slow walk back to the Tube and onto Covent Garden and Great Queen Street for Sunday lunch which would be the amazing 7 hour shoulder of Lamb. If I could move after that, perhaps a stroll over to Bloomsbury and the British Museum for a wander around a gallery or two…but more likely, I’d find a decent pub and get very, very merry.

Qype: Got any thoughts on the rise of the ‘citizen reviewer’? Are the bloggers/Qypers becoming as important as the Jay Rayner’s and AA Gills of this world? Do restaurateurs need to sit up and take more notice of the ‘man in the street’?

Dan: It’s interesting, there certainly has been a rise of the ‘citizen reviewer’ and it’s a great thing to behold, and also to take part in. Your ‘A list’ reviewers, such as Jay Rayner, AA Gill etc have certainly got their place, but what I tend to do is read one of their reviews – and then cross reference it with bloggers/Qypers reviews. There are certain food bloggers who’s opinions I value as much as, or even more in fact than the top food critics writing for the national newspapers. As for restaurateurs, well – they’ve always had to take notice of the man in the street if they wanted to survive in business for long, but nowadays it’s very public and very immediate. If a restaurant is terrible or has awful service, it spreads through the ranks of food bloggers like wildfire and that is something restaurant owners should take notice of, definitely.

Qype: What cooking tip would you give to Qypers?

Dan: The one thing that has seen my cooking improve beyond belief is having a bit of patience. Rather than whack things onto the hob on a high heat and subsequently burn it, take your time, cook things slowly - read the recipe, get your ingredients together. It’s all about the preparation. Oh, and get at least one decent sharp knife, helps immeasurably.

Qype: Give us the menu of one memorable meal you prepared?

Dan: A memorable menu I cooked for a dinner party for friends was:

Starter – Petatou (which is crushed potatoes, thyme, olives and goats cheese)

Main - Pan-fried Cod fillet, with Garlic Pomme puree and porcini mushrooms

Dessert – White chocolate and Lemon mousse.

Qype: What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?

Dan: The great thing about writing a food blog is that it really expands your horizons, you’ll try food you never considered eating before. In my case, I think the strangest thing I’ve eaten is the Pigs Trotter at Pierre Koffmans’ pop up restaurant on the roof of Selfridges last year (It was delicious) or Ducks hearts at the Coach and Horses pub in Farringdon.

Qype: Give us one place which you think every Londoner should have in their little black book of hidden gems?

Dan: Turkish Embassy Electrical Supplies in Compton Street, Clerkenwell for, believe it or not – Olive Oil! The owner sells superb Olive Oil made from olives in his own groves in Turkey and Cyprus (as well as electrical supplies!)

Qype: If you could recommend to Qypers one place to visit in Essex, where would it be?

Dan: Leigh on Sea, where I live. It’s the closest beach to London (50 mins out from Fenchurch St) and on a hot sunny day, it’s superb. Old Leigh is a lovely little cobbled fishing village with four pubs – you can sit outside in the sun and eat cockles whilst drinking a pint. Then walk down towards Southend to get the train back to London. It’s the quintessential day at the british seaside and I love it.

Read more of Dan’s foodie adventures in Essex and beyond at Essex Eating. Got any suggestions of fabulous bloggers you’d like us to chat to? Email us!