We were lucky to catch up with Darren and Danessa Domingo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Darren and Danessa, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Growing up, we both struggled heavily with confidence and self-esteem. For me (Darren), I grew up very self-conscious of my physical appearance. I put a lot of value in how people saw my clothes, the music I listened to, as well as my athletic abilities. I grew up surrounded by a lot of love in my family, but we didn’t have the best financial resources. I would beg my parents to take me to the mall to get clothes that I thought would help me fit in at school. I remember my second day of middle school when I got ROASTED for wearing the same outfit as the first day. I look back and laugh at it now, but at the time, it was traumatic. Finding my worth in trying to be “cool” and popular among my classmates became an idea that consumed me as a younger kid. I possessed a lot of unhealthy mindsets back then. I thank God my journey would include mentors and an authentic community that would teach me about loving myself, receiving love, and walking out in my identity in Christ.
For me (Danessa), I was raised in Caribbean culture where having more voluptuous features were preferred and valued. I was very thin and had an unhealthy relationship with food. I would only eat high-calorie foods to attempt to gain weight and find my worth and beauty. Through a series of events and realizations, I came to the conclusion that beauty was subjective. Some cultures would criticize me for my weight, whereas other cultures would compliment me on my weight. I had to go on a journey of self-love and self-worth because I realized that it was solely my job to make myself comfortable in my own skin. This journey consisted of tuning out other voices, surrounding myself with friends who were secure in themselves, and appreciating the way I was physically built. It’s been a long and irregular journey, but one that I am so happy I went on. Now my relationship with food is in a healthier place, with me eating food out of enjoyment and excitement.
So in summary, we developed our confidence and self-esteem by individually going on self-love journeys and surrounding ourselves with people who supported those journeys.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
We are food bloggers who highlight delicious restaurants around Tampa Bay, FL and share the stories of restaurant owners. Our passion in life has always been to have fun and bring people together. As multicultural food bloggers, we’re compelled to also shine light on smaller, lesser-known businesses, creating an additional sense of community for us. We love to explore different parts of Tampa Bay for unique things to do and ethnically-diverse restaurants.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. BOLDNESS – Touching back on how we developed confidence, one of the most impactful qualities you can have in this industry is having the boldness and courage to put yourself out there. Meaning: not being afraid to create and post your art knowing that people will see it, judge it, and maybe even criticize it. You have to inherently love what you’re producing and stay firm on that. 2. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS – Being able to effectively interact with complete strangers to make them feel comfortable with you is an important skill in this industry. As a blogger, you are essentially letting restaurant owners know that you will be showcasing and putting a spotlight on their business (aka their “baby”) for your audience to see. Building trust, operating in humility, and practicing active listening have been very impactful for us.
3. CULTIVATE YOUR AUDIENCE – There are some bloggers that thrive on solely tearing down and criticizing businesses. Let’s be honest – that is what gets higher engagement from their audience! It was very important for us to cultivate a platform and audience that does not do that. Whenever comments like that would pop up on our page, we aim to let them know that’s not the way we operate here. Even if we don’t like food at a certain restaurant, we either don’t post it or find ways to say it respectfully. We strive for a culture of honesty and feedback on our page.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
Both sets of our parents were incredible cooks. They filled our homes with authentic and well-seasoned Haitian and Filipino food.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodpeopleluv/?hl=en
- Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@foodpeopleluv
