The 2011 Saveur Best Food Blog Awards

What makes a top-notch food blog? Check out Saveur's top picks for 2011.

Sauveur magazine, a culinary and culinary-travel magazine, announced its second-annual food blog award winners earlier this month after receiving 40,000 entries from devoted food blog readers touting their favorite online sites and recipes. Listed below are some of the winners. To see Saveur's full list, including finalists, go to Saveur.com

BEST ORIGINAL BAKING AND DESSERTS RECIPE
Cafe Fernando: Brownies with Hazelnut Butter and Chocolate Lace
About Cafe Fernando: "Hello! My name is Cenk (Jenk). I am a food blogger, novice photographer, seasoned home baker and a shameless chocoholic from İstanbul, Turkey. In 2006, I started this blog to share my kitchen adventures with friends and it got bigger than I’ve ever imagined. I made some wonderful friends along the way and look forward to many more."

BEST BAKING AND DESSERTS BLOG
Joy the Baker
About Joy the Baker: "I’m Joy. I’m a baker. Had you guessed as much? I’m currently hurtling towards my thirties, trying to show the world, and my kitchen, what’s what. I’m a self taught/ family taught/ taste buds taught baker. I grew up in the kitchen in between my father, who makes a mean Sweet Potato Pie, and my mother, who makes a really weird purple hot dog casserole… don’t ask. Between my kitchen loving parents, the clinking cake pans, and the flying flour, it became clear that baking is in my blood."

BEST COOKING BLOG
Smitten Kitchen
About Smitten Kitchen: "Deb is the kind of person you might innocently ask what the difference is between summer and winter squash and she’ll go on for about twenty minutes before coming up for air to a cleared room and you soundly snoring. It’s taken some time, but she’s finally realized that there are people out there that might forgive her for such food, cooking and ingredient-obsessed blathering and possibly, even come back for more."

BEST ORIGINAL SAVORY RECIPE
101 Cookbooks: Quinoa Skillet Bread
About 101 Cookbooks: "The premise this site was built on is best summed up in two sentences: When you own over 100 cookbooks, it is time to stop buying, and start cooking. This site chronicles a cookbook collection, one recipe at a time."

BEST FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
What Katie Ate

BEST FOOD PHOTO

What Katie Ate: Double Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova
About What Katie Ate: "What Katie ate is a resource of info. relating to all things food and drink. Based in Sydney, Australia it includes recipes and photography by Katie herself ~ a professional photographer - specialising in food, lifestyle and interiors. It also documents local, national and international culinary offerings; restaurant reviews; gourmet shops; artisan producers and general foodie related items."

BEST CULINARY TRAVEL BLOG
David Lebovitz
About David Lebovitz: "Having been a professional cook and baker most of my life, I launched my website in 1999 to coincide with the release of my first book, Room for Dessert. The site was intended as a place to share recipes and stories and in 2004, to coincide with my move to Paris, software which allowed me to post more frequently became available and I turned the site into an official blog."

BEST VIDEO CONTENT
FoodWishes
About Food Wishes: "Chef John officially started his culinary career by enrolling at Paul Smith’s College, New York, in 1981. Two years later he graduated with an AAS Degree, with Honors, in Culinary Arts/Chef Training and was also awarded “Outstanding Chef Training Student.” Over the next 20 plus years, Chef John held just about every position possible in the food industry. After having seen and done it all in the food industry, Chef John went on to teach at the California Culinary Academy. After almost five years of teaching, John eventually decided to leave the school and follow his dream of teaching a larger audience how to cook, and share his passion for fine food."

BEST REGIONAL CUISINE BLOG
Homesick Texan
About Homesick Texan: "I have always enjoyed cooking and photography and this blog has been a wonderful outlet for these two passions. I started Homesick Texan in September 2005, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2006 that I became more regular in my posting. At first, it was just a place to share recipes with friends and family but eventually some other fine people started visiting as well—both homesick and non-homesick Texans alike!"

BEST KITCHEN TOOLS AND HARDWARE COVERAGE
The Kitchn
About The Kitchn: " This is a site for people who like to get their hands dirty while they cook. It is for those who care about the quality of their food, and how it affects the health of themselves and the planet. It is also for those who want to cook more, but are shy in the kitchen. It’s a place to dive in deep, and embrace the joy of one of our basic needs: food."

BEST CULINARY ESSAY
Bon Appetempt: "In the Kitchen With Grandma"
About Bon Appetempt: "Hi. My name is Amelia. I live in Los Angeles. I started this blog after a major culinary collapse."

BEST COOK-THROUGH BLOG
The Bitten Word
About The Bitten Word: "We started the blog as part of new years resolution after being inspired by this post on Serious Eats. We resolved to start putting our food magazines to work, cooking at least one recipe from each magazine. Our current stable of magazines includes Bon Appétit, Cook's Country, Cook's Illustrated, Everyday Food, Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, Food Network Magazine, Martha Stewart Living and Saveur. On occassion, recipes from other magazines sneak in, too."

BEST SPECIAL INTEREST BLOG
Tartelette
About Tartelette: "I'm Helene, a French expatriate living in Charleston, SC since 1998. I started this blog in 2006, after I left a position as Pastry Chef of a French restaurant, unsure of what to do next. I just knew it would evolve around food. And not only sweets!"

BEST RESTAURANT/DINING COVERAGE
The Girl Who Ate Everything
About The Girl Who Ate Everything: "I learned to cook while majoring in food studies at New York University (graduated in May 2007), so training has occurred. Minimal training, that is. I currently have the best job in the world at Serious Eats. I'm quite sure that cooking in any professional manner is nowhere in the horizon."