Meet Taylor Stephens | Foodie Influencer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taylor Stephens and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
I think the one thing that I find myself mentioning a lot is the amount of time that has to be carved out to create content. Most think that food influencers just go to restaurants and take pics and stuff their mouths. And while this is not entirely untrue lol, there’s much more planning and organization involved. The medium for content is always changing so whether it is videos or photos, it must be edited. Along with the post production work, a lot goes into scheduling and producing a product plan for customers. Many influencers start off with just posting what they love to do, but as your audience increases and level of work evolves, most strive to put out a more cohesive, polished product.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The Atlanta Food Bae’s origin story is deeply rooted in me being an elusive Atlanta native. With so many new people moving here everyday and Atlanta changing at such a fast rate, I think it’s important to remember the foundations and history of the city. I try to incorporate that old Atlanta energy that I grew up on throughout my blog. I have an immense pride for my city and its growth so far. The pride in my community is also translated through my involvement in local nonprofits, especially food related programs. It’s important for me to be an advocate for food scarcity resolutions since I am privileged enough to represent a range of food options around the city. There are so many food related nonprofits that could benefit from more involvement and exposure. I am more than happy to do my part in helping the community that I call home!

Food blogging is a creative outlet for me because it intersects so many of my interests like writing, photography and content creation so when I have a creative block, it does become frustrating. Consistency is something that your audience expects from you as a blogger, so creative blocks directly affect timely content. I definitely experienced this during the onset of the pandemic, as did many others. My biggest advice to myself during this time is to acknowledge that it is ok to take breaks to reset and recharge. Your followers will be there when you get back. Take care of yourself first and then everything else will work itself out.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Hiking to the bamboo forest at the east Palisades Trail is number on my list for outdoors daytime activities.

EAT
Triton Yards Food Truck Park
Atlanta Breakfast Club
Everything Nola Cafe
El Super Pan
Chattahoochee Food Works
Food Terminal
Fudo

PLAY
Bamboo Forest at East Palisades Trail
The Battery
The Beltline
The Painted Duck
Atlanta Botanical Gardens
Puttshack
Fernbank After Dark

DRINK
Jojo’s Beloved
Sips Under the Sea
Reverb Rooftop
The Garden Room
Little Trouble
Hippin’ Hops
Supply and Demand

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my food bestie Jan Ward, aka @eatwith_Jan and founder of Baddies Love Beer. We started this foodie journey together because we love, LOVE to eat good food. Jan has introduced me to a lot of the Atlanta foodie community. She’s always down for last minute events and injects fun and levity into even the dullest tastings. We have encouraged each other to continue to grow our blogs and elevate content. She has been my biggest cheerleader and supporter.

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/theatlfoodbae