In 2008, I was a college student beginning an obsession of food that I never thought imaginable. I received a student discount pass to the artisanal food festival, Slow Food Nation. Then…Slow Food Nation took a hike. Little did I know, Susan Coss and Anya Fernald, who put together the event, decided to aim for something more casual and launched the “Eat Real Fest” last year. This time, the food festival would still offer great, tasting food but it would consist of cheap, casual eats out of food trucks (after all, that is the new phenomenon these days, no?).
In its second year in the running, Eat Real Fest 2010 resulted in another grand success this past weekend at Jack London Square in Oakland. From anxious foodies to energetic kiddies, this event had something for everyone.
La Cocina
Kara’s Cupcakes attracts loyal fans
Ricotta cheese demonstration
The final product
Hot and steamy corn tortillas
Beer brewing
For the first time, The Food Pilot brings you exclusive interviews with some very cool people…
Ashley Rowe & Carolynn Webb of Fat Bottom Bakery based out of Oakland, California
What distinguishes you from other cupcake bakeries?
All of our cupcakes are vegan and we like to put a lot of thought into our flavors, and we like to go for classic flavors with just a little bit of a twist.
What flavors are you featuring today?
Today we have an almond cake with vanilla frosting and fresh blueberries and our red velvet with cream cheese frosting.
What kind of alternative ingredients do you use since you are Vegan?
We use canola oil or earth balance and that’s usually the kind of thing we focus on. There’s also palm fruit shortening but it depends on what we are going for.
Where are you guys based out of and how much are your cupcakes?
We are based out of west Oakland, and we don’t have a store front but we do special events, special orders and we are expanding into farmers markets. The big guys are $28 and the mini cupcakes are $14.
To order from Fat Bottom Bakery, e-mail fatbottombakers@gmail.com.
Alexa Andrzejewski, Co-founder of Foodspotting.com
What do you guys call yourselves? 
We say we are “Foodspotting” and our shirts mean I “spot” food!
When did you guys officially kick off?
We originally kicked off the idea last year, around this time exactly. I was actually brainstorming a lot during Eat Real Fest..so it’s kind of Foodspotting’s birthday. But we launched it this past January.
We were talking earlier, and you mentioned that the idea sort of started in Japan?
When I went to Osaka, Japan and learned about foods like Takoyaki (if you don’t know what that is, it’s octopus balls)…which I had never heard about in the U.S..and so, I originally came back trying to find those, and I feel like you can’t really search for a specific dish you are craving. So, originally I wanted to create a “Yelp” for dishes so people could rate dishes, but as I was prototyping and testing it out, everyone was into the food photos so I realized the easiest way for people recommend a dish was, to take a picture of it. The picture taking trend makes it really easy for people to share photos.
Can you tell us a little bit more about the Anthony Bourdain guide on Foodspotting?
We are super excited about this. Since I started Foodspotting..when you turn on the App, you can see things that have been recommended nearby but I’ve always wanted to know what Anthony Bourdain recommended nearby and what other celebrity food chefs recommend, and Anthony Bourdain is the one that foodies trust the most. We reached out to the Travel Channel and they were so excited. So wherever you go, you can turn on the Foodspotting App and see the nearest things that Anthony Bourdain has tried.
Alexa also shared with us that one of her favorite foods is Ramen and she really enjoys Hapa Ramen of San Francisco. You can follow Alexa at twitter.com/ladylexy.
The Food Pilot 
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