Where are you from? I was born in Taipei, Taiwan and grew up in Vancouver, Canada. Toronto is my current home base.
How do you pick the people, places and foods that you feature? Sometimes I choose places based on recommendations from research, friends and family, and sometimes, restaurants or companies will reach out to me directly and propose a visit or collaboration. When it comes to travel, inspiration can come from anywhere, but it is often the desire to visit a dear friend that brings me to a certain destination. More often than not, I tend to focus on places that are reasonable weekend getaways from Toronto.
Do you do all the photography and writing for the blog? Unless otherwise clearly specified, yes. I will only use other people’s photos with credit and only if I did not have the opportunity to take it myself (or needed a photo of myself to be taken). I write all the content you see on the blog, but a few other people’s voices will occasionally come in through the form of an interview post.
Can I use your photos, recipes or repost you? If you would like to use any content on my website or across my social media channels (including, but not limited to photos, recipes and stories), please email me to ask for my explicit permission. I work really hard to create the content on this website, and hope that you’ll respect that. Legal action is not pleasant (trust me).
What camera do you use? Most of my photography now is done with my Fujifilm X-T30 (my first mirroless camera) or Canon EOS Rebel T5i . I use the VSCOcam app to edit photos for Instagram.
Why do you do restaurant profiles rather than reviews? When Chu on This started, restaurant reviews were very important in the blogosphere, However, as the food blog scene grew, I began to feel like I was unable to review restaurants with objectivity (especially when you’re at a media event where they either put out their very best or get so stressed out that they fail miserably), and moreover, could no longer keep up with the sheer volume of places to report on. Now, when I discover a place or person I think has a good story with a good fit for the blog, I will go out of my way to profile them and capture them in their best light.
Where have you traveled to? You can see the full list here: here.
Who do you host your website with? I host my website on SiteGround and they’ve been pretty good to me so far! I would highly recommend them.
What’s your favourite restaurant in Toronto? It’s like being asked to choose your favourite child! All my favourite restaurants at the moment can be found here.
Do you do sponsored posts? I occasionally create sponsored posts and content for brands that are a good fit for the blog in a formal way, so please do reach out if you have something in mind. However, I’m also open to all sorts of collaborations and opportunities (including climbing mountains in Banff, doing cooking demonstrations, camping trips, farm visits, hotel stays, photography crawls, speaking on podcasts, speaking to your high school or university students, and definitely anything that involves Italian wine and pizza). Please send me a quick email at annie(at)chuonthis.ca for more info and to obtain a speaking or media kit!
