Sites We Love: Miss Foodwise

Gorgeous photos? Check. Engaging writing? Check. Seriously inspiring recipes, tips, and culinary curiosity? Check, check, and check. The best food blogs all seem to have a lot in common—but what separates them out are the strong personalities behind them. In our Sites We Love series, we sit down with some of our favorite bloggers to find out how they do it—and why it’s as much fun for them as it is for us.

Today's site we love is Miss Foodwise, where Belgian graphic designer and photographer Regula Ysewijn celebrates all things British with traditional British recipes, brilliant British products, and fascinating accounts of British food history. Here's what Regula has to say about her site:

Live since: A rainy day in early 2011

Posting rate: Once a week and a monthly feature of British products and small companies

Geographic location: Belgium

Why Is the site called Miss Foodwise? My blog was born with the name 'Foodwise', not as a blog for people to read but just a place for myself to gather my food finds and adventures. Soon I noticed people were visiting my blog, and I started to investigate. I discovered the food blog world and by then I just kept the name. After some time, friends, family and fellow bloggers started to call me "Miss Foodwise," so I changed my blog name when I re-designed my logo.

What's been your most popular post? My Britannia sandwich cake. It still gets a lot of attention every month; I think it just appeals to people visually. I'm quite pleased that this is my most popular one, as it was posted at the moment I decided to do it my way or no way at all. It was also a crossroad in my personal life. I had just found out about having an autoimmune condition, and the changes that would mean for my life. It made me more aware that life is too short not to focus on the things you love doing the most.

What's your favorite post? Jo's Hotpot, a recent post. I started a challenge where people can send me their traditional British recipe, and I will cook it and blog it. The same day I announced it, a friend sent me her Lancashire hotpot recipe. When I visited her in Birmingham a week later she had cooked the dish for me to take home, and handed me a jar of pickled beetroot and the instructions to heat it up. When I cooked her recipe myself, it felt like she was standing next to me telling me what to do. It was a special moment.

Credit: Regula Ysewijn

What's something great that you've learned or that's happened to you since starting your blog? I've learned that it is important to stay true to yourself and to do it your own way. A blog is a lot of work but very rewarding. I meet fantastic people like fellow bloggers and interesting producers. I enjoy visiting farms and honoring the hands that feed us in my new monthly 'Brilliantly British' posts, where I celebrate British products and producers. Many of the lovely people I meet become good friends and that's the beauty; food brings people together regardless of religion, political opinion or whether or not they choose to spread their scone with the cream before the jam or the other way around.

What's the usual process for developing one of your posts? I find or think of an ingredient or region in Britain, and I start researching it in vintage cook books. When I find a recipe, I will look in my collection of historic cookbooks to see how it has been cooked over the centuries.

What are your favorite ingredients and tools? Lately I've been obsessed with Kentish Cobnuts, a beautiful type of hazelnut exclusive to Britain. My favorite tools are my cast iron griddle pans and casseroles.

Credit: Regula Ysewijn

What are your favorite food and cooking resources? Farm shops or markets, my vintage and historic cookbooks and programs like the Great British Food Revival.

What photography equipment do you use? A Canon SLR with 24/70 mm 2.8 or 50 mm 1.4 lens and my iPhone for my instagram diary.

Where else can we find your work? My recipes and photography have been featured in The Cheese Magazine, Huffington Post Taste, Jamie Magazine and Great British Chefs. I also have a website dedicated to my photography.

What food blogs do you follow? To name a few: Emiko Davies, Jul's Kitchen, Farmette, Cook Your Dream, Zizi's Adventures, Dirty Kitchen Secrets, and Eating the Sheep's Head.

What is one thing that sets your site apart from others I think it might be my life-long love for Britain, a country that regretfully isn't my own. My quest is to discover the food Britain has got to offer now and had in past times.

Do you know a blog or blogger who deserves to be featured in this space? Email a nomination—including a link to the site and a few sentences on why they're worthy of love—to__siteswelove@saveur.com.