Epicurious, 15 years and counting

"In some ways it's trying to be ahead of the curve a little bit and figure out what people want and don't have yet." Tanya Steel on what's next for Epicurious.

Long before I went to culinary school, I loved to cook and bake. Like many people I hunted around for the best recipes to test out my skills on. Epicurious has been a go to me for a long time for many reasons. It is convenient, easy to navigate and always has recipes that translate to 'yum!'

It was also a fantastic resource in school for when you needed something last minute and didn't have time to go through a ton of books to find what was needed.

When I heard that Tanya Steel was going to be in San Francisco and that Bay Area food bloggers were being offered the chance to sit down with her, I jumped at it. Who wouldn't want to sit down with the Editor in Chief of one of the most well recognized online recipe sites in the world?

Epicurious is 15 years old, and for the last five years has been led by Tanya Steel. They've won 62 awards and they are an amazing daily online publication for food and drinks. The growth they have shown since their inception shows that the passion for good food gets stronger everyday.

Tanya herself is warm, friendly and open, so it made me infinitely more comfortable to sit down with her and talk about what's new, what's good and what's next. Also, two days after I met her, I got to see her on Hell's Kitchen which was pretty awesome.

Oh and in case you don't know, Tanya wrote Real Food for Healthy Kids with Tracey Seaman and during our chat expressed a desire try and help tackle childhood obesity and food insecurity. Here are some kid friendly recipes from the book.

So now, what's new and good? Well how about Epicurious being the #1 lifestyle IPAD app? They were one of only 9 apps actually launched with the IPAD, which shows good sense on the part of Apple!

As for what's next, Tanya would love to see new growth with cooking for and with kids, healthy eating and entertaining becoming more a part of the Epicurious community, possibly even a spin off site or two. The great part of Epicurious is that they listen to what their readers want and try to be ahead of the curve in providing it.

Where else can you go global with around the world in 80 dishes, discover classic drinks, learn to make fudge, get seasonal recipes, and travel dining all in one site?!

Tanya would also love to provide more content where people can tackle more difficult and unusual dishes. She recognizes that the readers cooking level is growing and wants to be a part of the newest food revolutions. Having more complicated, technique driven dishes on the site is just one exciting idea we discussed.

I can't wait to see what Epicurious does next and I am glad I had the opportunity to tell the Editor in Chief how much I love the site and hear what excites her about working with Epicurious and helping people to learn more about cooking at home.

"The way for us to do that is to show how easy it is to pull these things together." Tanya Steel on making real food and cooking accessible to everyone.