Meet Amanda

We were lucky to catch up with Amanda recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I still experience imposter syndrome sometimes, especially when new opportunities are offered to me. For example, I am a creator on a cooking app with some amazing home cooks and chefs. When I saw their content and cooking skills, I questioned whether my traditional Mexican home cooking would be good enough for my audience. The very first time I got asked to do an ad for a brand, I doubted my abilities to be on camera. One thing that has helped me overcoming this is engaging with and seeking feedback from my audience through comments and direct messages. Even in person in conversations with people who watch my content, hearing their positive comments about my work and how much they enjoy my content confirms that I can be in this space. Connecting with other content creators has helped me tremendously. Exchanging ideas and supporting one another and knowing that it’s something we all deal with helps. Lastly, tracking my progress is amazing! Comparing my new videos to my older ones really shows me how my skills have improved. Analytics that help me track growth metrics is always a great confidence boost.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m Amanda, known as Amanda.eatz on social media, and I’m a content creator specializing in cooking content and showcasing food & beverage experiences, particularly those featuring local businesses. I produce recipes, videos, and social media posts that aim to inspire and educate my audience about delicious recipes and hidden gems in our community.

What excites me most about my work is the opportunity to celebrate and support local businesses, especially black & brown owned businesses. There’s something special about discovering a family-owned taqueria with the best tacos or a hidden gem of a restaurant that offers unique dishes reflecting their cultural background. Sharing these finds with my audience and seeing their responses is very rewarding.

One thing I’d like people to know about my brand is that I am passionate about food. My whole family cooks. My father & uncles, mom & aunts all love to cook and are amazing at it! We show love through food by getting together in the weekends and sharing meals. I focus on creating authentic and approachable recipes, making it easy for anyone to recreate amazing traditional Mexican food at home.

I also love collaborating with other food enthusiasts and local business owners, which not only brings fresh perspectives to my content but also fosters a sense of community. My goal is to create a space where food lovers can come together, share their experiences, and discover new favorites.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey are the following:

1. Passion for Food and Cooking: My deep love for food and cooking has been the driving force behind my content for both cooking and enjoying meals at places that offer food. This passion translates into the enthusiasm and authenticity of my work, which I believe resonates with my audience. For me, it’s not about how many followers I have, who’s watching, who’s engaging, or focusing on the negative. I truly love to cook and my husband and I connect over food. We love going on dates and trying new places. My family loves to eat together with all my uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents, it’s a crucial part of my life.
2. Storytelling and Presentation Skills: Being able to tell a story that resonates with my audience and present food in an appealing way is very important. Whether it’s through posts or videos, good storytelling keeps your audience engaged.

3. Creating content that is true to me and my identity: Highlighting local businesses that aren’t always trending has set my content apart and built a strong community connection. It’s not just about the food, going to trendy businesses, or using trending sounds, but also about the stories behind the businesses and how I connect with them on a personal level. Same idea with my cooking content, I cook meals that I make on a regular day after work for me and my husband. Most of that is food from my Mexican heritage. It’s fun to get your take on meals that are trending, but as someone who works full time and is always busy, sometimes I only have time to share what I was able to make without planning and is in my fridge.

Advice for those early in their journey:

1. Start Small and Be Consistent: Don’t worry about having the perfect setup or producing flawless content right away or how your kitchen and cooking tools look. Start with what you have, and focus on being consistent. I used to always give the excuse that I hated my tiny and outdated apartment kitchen. Posting my regular day to day meals helped me gain an audience and connect with them. Sharing my experience at restaurants that I would go to on a regular date night with my husband helped me find people in my community who could relate also helped.
2. Engage with Your Audience: Building a community is just as important as creating content. Respond to comments, reply to direct messages, and making regular day to day content helps to build a positive relationship with your audience.
3. Continuous Learning and Connecting with Other Content Creators:
Any time I have a question, I’m not afraid to ask whether I’m asking Google, YouTube, TikTok, or other creators. When I first started my cooking content, I had no connections to other creators and would directly message them and ask for support. I usually got great feedback and positive responses. With restaurant content, another foodie reached out to me and taught me a few things and motivated me to keep going. He was super helpful and would answer any questions I had and even connected me to other businesses. After that, other influencers, content creators, businesses, and audience members would reach out and motivate me even more. I try to do the same for others! Every time I see a new content creator, I try to reach out and connect them to others or try to motivate them too! It can be such a positive experience if you put that energy in, as well.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

Yes! Where do I start?! I would love to connect with other businesses outside of food ranging from plant shops to those in the beauty industry, fun family places, date nights, travel etc! There’s so many different areas to tap in to and I would love to connect my audience to them. Also, with my cooking content, I would love to connect with private chefs, restaurant chefs, other home cooks, those in the cannabis industry and anyone else who has a passion for food. I’m easy to get along with and love to connect with diverse groups of people. I’ve already made so many connections to people I would have never met before and would love to keep growing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Amanda.eatz

Image Credits

All pictures were taken with my own camera, but a few of the restaurants featured are Angelo’s Stuffed Pizza, The Soul Food Lounge, Mariscos el Puerto #2, Peke’s Pozole, and Borinken Cakes