{"id":1206,"date":"2017-02-08T11:36:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-08T17:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/?p=1206"},"modified":"2020-09-03T10:53:47","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T15:53:47","slug":"blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogger Interview: Mel Gunnell of Mel&#8217;s Kitchen Cafe"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">\r\n<article class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">\r\n<section class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-beige has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-772205c6 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained is-style-beige--1\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">\r\n<header class=\"wp-block-group c-breadcrumbs aligngrid has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-61973aa6 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\">\r\n<header class=\"wp-block-group aligngrid is-content-justification-left is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d68226ec wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\" style=\"margin-bottom:5px\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mediavine-dev.d1.moderntribe.qa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/chevron-left2.svg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-542\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9\/16;object-fit:contain;width:auto;height:20px\"\/><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"is-style-small is-style-small--2\"><a href=\"\/blog\/\">Back to Blog<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity aligngrid\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\"\/>\r\n<\/header>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default has-neutral-20-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--70);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\"><div class=\"aligncenter aligncenter wp-block-tribe-terms\"><ul class=\"wp-block-tribe-terms__list\"><li class=\"wp-block-tribe-terms__term\"><span class=\"wp-block-tribe-terms__link t-category\">Interview<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h1 style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);\" class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-post-title\">Blogger Interview: Mel Gunnell of Mel&#8217;s Kitchen Cafe<\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-center is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-9b38c6d9 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\"><div style=\"margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;\" class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-post-author-name\">The Mediavine Team<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u2022<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0;padding-right:0;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;\" class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-post-date has-10-font-size\"><time datetime=\"2017-02-08T11:36:00-06:00\">February 8, 2017<\/time><\/div><\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">Today we are chatting with Mel Gunnell, of none other than <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.melskitchencafe.com\">Mel\u2019s Kitchen Cafe<\/a><\/span>. I\u2019ve been a big fan for a long time of this blog in particular, and she was one of the sites that really inspired me to start a food blog of my own.\n\nShe started blogging way back in the early days of this business, and you are going to love this insightful look into her blog and her life.\n\n<em>(If you&#8217;re like us and can&#8217;t get enough deliciousness from Mediavine publishers, check out our interviews with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/interview-ask-chef-dennis\/\">Dennis of Ask Chef Dennis<\/a> and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blogger-interview-nicole-hunn-of-gluten-free-on-a-shoestring\/\">Nicole of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring.)<\/a><\/em>\n<h1><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/c104923f-041c-4539-812e-33e4ae6402fa_2016FamPic2BLOG.jpg\" alt=\"Mediavine publisher Mel Gunnell, of Mel\u2019s Kitchen Cafe, stands outdoors with her family (husband, four sons and one daughter).\" width=\"475\" height=\"317\"><\/h1>\n<h2>Tell us a little bit about yourself, your family, and your everyday life.<\/h2>\nI&#8217;m a mom to five crazy kids (4 boys and little girl), as well as one dog, 12 chickens, and 4 cows. Having moved eight or so times throughout the midwest in the last 14 years, my husband, kids and I now call Southwestern Idaho home.\n\nOur house is filled with lots of wrestling, cooking, piano practicing, drama (thanks to little sister), football watching and book reading.\n\n<figure style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/1c32a01f-f02d-41ca-934f-72aae7696d65_SS-Chicken-2-PSD.jpg\" alt=\"Sweet and Sour chicken\" width=\"600\" height=\"767\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This Sweet and Sour chicken recipe is one of the most popular on Mel\u2019s Kitchen Cafe! Readers love that it is baked and not fried, and that it uses ingredients that are common and you probably have in your pantry already.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>How did you get started blogging?<\/h2>\nI started my blog almost a decade ago when I joined a newly formed group called &#8220;Daring Bakers&#8221; \u2014 back then, they issued a monthly baking challenge (I think it was lemon meringue pie the month I joined), and the only requirement to participate was you had to post your baking results to a blog.\n\nSo mykitchencafe.blogspot.com was born.\n\nIn the end, I only participated in the group once or twice, because I quickly realized how fun it was to post the amazing dinner recipe I&#8217;d made the night before&#8230;just so my mom and sister could have easy access to the recipes.\n\nAlthough my early pictures and blog style were terrifying, after a couple months, I soon noticed that other people, perfect strangers, were beginning to look at my blog and try my recipes. The first time someone left a comment on one of my recipes, I about fell off my chair.\n\nSince then, there are times it seems as though my blog just took on a life of its own and started to grow like crazy.\n\n<figure style=\"width: 430px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/70927972-041a-4bfe-bd8d-1622c59a930a_SW-Wraps-2-PSD.jpg\" alt=\"Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps\" width=\"430\" height=\"583\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">These Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps are super easy to make, and also happen to be healthy and delicious. The 2nd most popular recipe on MKC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>How do you think blogging has changed since you started?<\/h2>\nOh gosh, it&#8217;s changed so much. It would take pages and pages to talk about how vastly different blogging is now (don&#8217;t worry, I won&#8217;t bore you too badly).\n\nWhen I started blogging almost 10 years ago, blogging was really straightforward and authentic. If you blogged, it was because you really wanted to post\/talk about something you were passionate about. Sponsored posts were virtually unheard of and the only real ad option was Google AdSense. (You should have seen the bad cartwheels I was doing when I finally hit the $100 threshold of Google AdSense so I could actually get paid&#8230; six months after I put ads on my blog).\n\nThe motivation to blog, for any of us starting out back then, I really believe, was simply because we wanted to share&#8230;and write&#8230;and connect.\n\nThe idea of making enough money to support a family or quitting your day job to blog full-time would have earned you a spot in crazytown.\n\nWhen I started blogging, I was one of maybe a couple hundred food blogs. Isn&#8217;t that insane? It&#8217;s grown so much since then. I always feel like I got into the blogging world at just the right time. Little did I know that day I pushed &#8220;publish&#8221; on my first post that blogging was on the cusp of exploding.\n<h2>What&#8217;s the best part of the blog world for you?<\/h2>\nThe best part of blogging is the outlet it gives me for creativity, the growth I&#8217;ve seen in my blog, how it&#8217;s strengthened my confidence in myself, and the connections here and there I&#8217;ve made with other bloggers and readers who have become soul-friends.\n\nHearing from my readers is truly the best ever. Every positive email and comment I get makes the hard work of blogging worth it.\n\n<figure style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/9fce544d-1dd3-4a2a-8f1e-fe4c3fc4366f_cookie-dough-cheesecake-View-Back-Original.jpg\" alt=\"Cookie Dough Cheesecake\" width=\"600\" height=\"476\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smooth, creamy, decadent cheesecake studded with sweet morsels of cookie dough and bursts of mini chocolate chips. Another popular post on Mel\u2019s fantastic site.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>What&#8217;s the worst part of blogging for you?<\/h2>\nThe worst part of blogging is the competition, the comparing, that ridiculous feeling I sometimes (ok, often) get caught up in that I need to do more, be more, post more, make more&#8230;and that no success is ever really enough because there&#8217;s another blogger (or 500) that have more followers, more fans, more financial gain.\n\nBecause blogging has been analyzed to death, there&#8217;s so many strategies to focus on, and sometimes it gets overwhelming and the stress seems to destroy the reason I began blogging in the first place.\n\nIt&#8217;s also hard to sometimes turn the lights off in the so-called office and call it a weekend. Or even a night. Bless the flexibility of blogging, but curse it, too. It&#8217;s a job that really never ends. This sounds like quite a downer of a paragraph &#8211; clearly there are enough benefits that I&#8217;m still at it after nine years. But you asked, so there you go. \ud83d\ude42\n<h2>Who are your FAVORITE bloggers. Who inspires you? Why do you like them?<\/h2>\nMelissa @ <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefauxmartha.com\/\">Faux Martha<\/a><\/span>, Nicole @ <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/glutenfreeonashoestring.com\/\">Gluten Free on a Shoestring<\/a><\/span>, Sara @ <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/ourbestbites.com\/\">Our Best Bites<\/a><\/span>&nbsp;(among a handful of other favorite bloggers).\n\nI&#8217;m inspired by their hard work and authenticity. It comes through on their blogs, and each of them in their separate way make me want to be a better blogger. Plus, they\u2019ve become friends to me over the years and have taught me I can trust other bloggers and reach out for help when I need it (not something that comes easily to me).\n<h2>What are your top 3 posts on your blog?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n \t<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.melskitchencafe.com\/sweet-and-sour-chicken-updated\/\">Sweet and Sour Chicken <\/a><\/span><\/li>\n \t<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.melskitchencafe.com\/crispy-southwest-chicken-wraps\/\">Southwest Crispy Chicken Wrap<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n \t<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.melskitchencafe.com\/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-cheesecake\/\">Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What are your 3 FAVORITE posts on your blog?<\/h2>\nAck! This is like choosing a favorite child. Ok, here goes:\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.melskitchencafe.com\/grilled-lime-coconut-chicken-with-coconut-rice-top-pinterest-find\/\">Grilled Lime Coconut Chicken<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/8fc1b678-10de-46f7-b0e6-71de9ba30665_coconut-lime-chicken1.jpg\" alt=\"Grilled Lime Coconut Chicken\" width=\"450\" height=\"548\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.melskitchencafe.com\/cashew-chicken-lettuce-wraps\/\">Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/99bf2de9-9add-4710-b9eb-9317c1d24be9_cashew-lettuce-wraps3.jpg\" alt=\"Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps\" width=\"500\" height=\"725\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.melskitchencafe.com\/my-favorite-chocolate-molten-lava-cakes\/\">Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/a0413617-e93c-4739-991c-71edbdc5f563_molten-cakes4.jpg\" alt=\"Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes\" width=\"500\" height=\"729\">\n<h1>What tools and resources do you use to manage your blog?<\/h1>\nLots of dark chocolate. Ha! I kid. Kind of.\n\nI utilize <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Mediavine<\/span>, of course, for ads (best decision ever and I&#8217;m not just saying that). I also have an incredible hosting company (a small, local company out of Green Bay) that gives me real, live humans to talk to whenever I have a problem, and they manage the ins and outs of my caching plugin and CloudFlare.\n\nI use <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Tailwind<\/span>&nbsp;to manage Pinterest (and by I, I mean my awesome VA, Emily, does this for me), and she also schedules Facebook posts for me.\n\nI use<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">&nbsp;Yoast<\/span>&nbsp;for SEO and have a personal SEO checklist I refer to constantly to continually audit my site for SEO improvements.\n<h2>What is your biggest traffic source?<\/h2>\nSearch engine traffic with Pinterest as a close second.\n<h2>What strategies have you used to make that your top traffic source?<\/h2>\nSearch engine traffic has always been my largest source of traffic even though I didn&#8217;t actively pursue that. Now, knowing it is and wanting to keep that source of traffic strong, I work a lot with SEO (talking with experts, getting audits, correcting problems); I&#8217;m constantly tweaking SEO on my site.\n\nHaving said that, I know I can do more with Pinterest and Facebook to increase my overall traffic and I&#8217;m trying to focus on those two areas more lately.\n<h2>Do you have any advice for bloggers on how to grow their traffic?<\/h2>\nThis is such a hard question! I am certainly not an expert, but the growth I&#8217;ve seen over the years, I feel has been attributed more to consistency and content than anything. Despite the few bloggers who come on the scene and instantly hit the jackpot with crazy high traffic, I always tell other bloggers asking for advice that loyal, authentic growth takes consistency and time.\n\nPost on a schedule, focus on quality content, post with personality (and let your voice come through). Define the main reason you want to blog and stay genuine and true to that purpose. Good things will come with honest, hard work, I truly believe that.\n\nI also believe strategy goes a long way, too. Seek out experts who can help you (SEO audits, social media conferences and experts, other bloggers who are willing to share).\n\nInstead of taking on all of it at once, set a goal to get a handle on one certain area before moving on to the next so you don&#8217;t get overwhelmed. Facebook and Pinterest are great places to start (SEO, in my opinion, is something that should always be on our radar as bloggers).\n\nI haven&#8217;t done the following personally (although I totally see how it can benefit), but joining sharing groups on social media is a great way to get your content in front of lots of new readers, also, visit and comment on other blogs and start creating a recognizable name for yourself and your blog.\n<h2>Anything else you&#8217;d like to add to help other bloggers grow?<\/h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Don&#8217;t be afraid to ask for help.<\/span>&nbsp;I spent a lot of years thinking I could figure things out on my own, and I didn&#8217;t realize there are a lot of bloggers\/experts who are willing to share and help.\n<h2>What&#8217;s the one thing where if it is on the menu, you are ordering it?<\/h2>\nAnything with bleu cheese or dark chocolate (not together of course&#8230;although maybe someone should try that? eh, probably not).\n\n<hr>\n\nThanks so much to Mel for participating in our interview series!<\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0\">\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-09aec4f2 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-right:0;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\">\r\n<p class=\"is-style-small is-style-small--3\">About the author<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);\" class=\"wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__avatar\"><img alt='' src='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e3220aded17a2f76bff75294b4d13f344d81294787c0a43b7aa017ba65d79008?s=96&#038;d=blank&#038;r=g' srcset='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e3220aded17a2f76bff75294b4d13f344d81294787c0a43b7aa017ba65d79008?s=192&#038;d=blank&#038;r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-96 photo' height='96' width='96' \/><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/author\/guest\/\" target=\"_self\">The Mediavine Team<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__bio\"><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-7c04bf6b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0\">\r\n<p class=\"is-style-small is-style-small--4\">Share this page<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing has-normal-icon-size has-icon-color is-style-logos-only is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-outermost-social-sharing-is-layout-9d3a6402 wp-block-social-sharing-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10)\"><li style=\"color: #000000; \" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-linkedin has-base-black-color wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediavine.com%2Fblog%2Fblogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe%2F&#038;title=Blogger%20Interview%3A%20Mel%20Gunnell%20of%20Mel%27s%20Kitchen%20Cafe\" aria-label=\"Share on LinkedIn\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-anchor\">\n\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M19.7,3H4.3C3.582,3,3,3.582,3,4.3v15.4C3,20.418,3.582,21,4.3,21h15.4c0.718,0,1.3-0.582,1.3-1.3V4.3 C21,3.582,20.418,3,19.7,3z M8.339,18.338H5.667v-8.59h2.672V18.338z M7.004,8.574c-0.857,0-1.549-0.694-1.549-1.548 c0-0.855,0.691-1.548,1.549-1.548c0.854,0,1.547,0.694,1.547,1.548C8.551,7.881,7.858,8.574,7.004,8.574z M18.339,18.338h-2.669 v-4.177c0-0.996-0.017-2.278-1.387-2.278c-1.389,0-1.601,1.086-1.601,2.206v4.249h-2.667v-8.59h2.559v1.174h0.037 c0.356-0.675,1.227-1.387,2.526-1.387c2.703,0,3.203,1.779,3.203,4.092V18.338z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-label screen-reader-text\">\n\t\t\tShare on LinkedIn\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\r\n\r\n<li style=\"color: #000000; \" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-x has-base-black-color wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediavine.com%2Fblog%2Fblogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe%2F&#038;text=Blogger%20Interview%3A%20Mel%20Gunnell%20of%20Mel%27s%20Kitchen%20Cafe\" aria-label=\"Share on X\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-anchor\">\n\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M13.982 10.622 20.54 3h-1.554l-5.693 6.618L8.745 3H3.5l6.876 10.007L3.5 21h1.554l6.012-6.989L15.868 21h5.245l-7.131-10.378Zm-2.128 2.474-.697-.997-5.543-7.93H8l4.474 6.4.697.996 5.815 8.318h-2.387l-4.745-6.787Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-label screen-reader-text\">\n\t\t\tShare on X\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\r\n\r\n<li style=\"color: #000000; \" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-facebook has-base-black-color wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediavine.com%2Fblog%2Fblogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe%2F&#038;title=Blogger%20Interview%3A%20Mel%20Gunnell%20of%20Mel%27s%20Kitchen%20Cafe\" aria-label=\"Share on Facebook\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-anchor\">\n\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12 2C6.5 2 2 6.5 2 12c0 5 3.7 9.1 8.4 9.9v-7H7.9V12h2.5V9.8c0-2.5 1.5-3.9 3.8-3.9 1.1 0 2.2.2 2.2.2v2.5h-1.3c-1.2 0-1.6.8-1.6 1.6V12h2.8l-.4 2.9h-2.3v7C18.3 21.1 22 17 22 12c0-5.5-4.5-10-10-10z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-label screen-reader-text\">\n\t\t\tShare on Facebook\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\r\n\r\n<li style=\"color: #000000; \" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-telegram has-base-black-color wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/telegram.me\/share\/url?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediavine.com%2Fblog%2Fblogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe%2F&#038;text=Blogger%20Interview%3A%20Mel%20Gunnell%20of%20Mel%27s%20Kitchen%20Cafe\" aria-label=\"Share on Telegram\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-anchor\">\n\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 128 128\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M28.97 63.324c18.657-8.128 31.098-13.487 37.323-16.076 17.774-7.393 21.467-8.677 23.874-8.72.53-.009 1.713.122 2.48.745.648.525.826 1.235.911 1.733.085.498.191 1.633.107 2.52-.963 10.12-5.13 34.677-7.25 46.012-.898 4.796-2.664 6.404-4.375 6.561-3.716.342-6.538-2.456-10.138-4.815-5.633-3.693-8.815-5.991-14.283-9.594-6.319-4.164-2.222-6.453 1.379-10.193.942-.98 17.318-15.874 17.634-17.225.04-.169.077-.799-.297-1.131-.375-.333-.927-.22-1.325-.129-.565.128-9.564 6.076-26.996 17.843-2.554 1.754-4.868 2.609-6.94 2.564-2.286-.05-6.681-1.292-9.95-2.354-4.007-1.303-7.193-1.992-6.915-4.205.144-1.152 1.731-2.33 4.761-3.536Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-label screen-reader-text\">\n\t\t\tShare on Telegram\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\r\n\r\n<li style=\"color: #000000; \" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-whatsapp has-base-black-color wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?text=Blogger%20Interview%3A%20Mel%20Gunnell%20of%20Mel%27s%20Kitchen%20Cafe%20&mdash;%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediavine.com%2Fblog%2Fblogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe%2F\" aria-label=\"Share on WhatsApp\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-anchor\">\n\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M 12.011719 2 C 6.5057187 2 2.0234844 6.478375 2.0214844 11.984375 C 2.0204844 13.744375 2.4814687 15.462563 3.3554688 16.976562 L 2 22 L 7.2324219 20.763672 C 8.6914219 21.559672 10.333859 21.977516 12.005859 21.978516 L 12.009766 21.978516 C 17.514766 21.978516 21.995047 17.499141 21.998047 11.994141 C 22.000047 9.3251406 20.962172 6.8157344 19.076172 4.9277344 C 17.190172 3.0407344 14.683719 2.001 12.011719 2 z M 12.009766 4 C 14.145766 4.001 16.153109 4.8337969 17.662109 6.3417969 C 19.171109 7.8517969 20.000047 9.8581875 19.998047 11.992188 C 19.996047 16.396187 16.413812 19.978516 12.007812 19.978516 C 10.674812 19.977516 9.3544062 19.642812 8.1914062 19.007812 L 7.5175781 18.640625 L 6.7734375 18.816406 L 4.8046875 19.28125 L 5.2851562 17.496094 L 5.5019531 16.695312 L 5.0878906 15.976562 C 4.3898906 14.768562 4.0204844 13.387375 4.0214844 11.984375 C 4.0234844 7.582375 7.6067656 4 12.009766 4 z M 8.4765625 7.375 C 8.3095625 7.375 8.0395469 7.4375 7.8105469 7.6875 C 7.5815469 7.9365 6.9355469 8.5395781 6.9355469 9.7675781 C 6.9355469 10.995578 7.8300781 12.182609 7.9550781 12.349609 C 8.0790781 12.515609 9.68175 15.115234 12.21875 16.115234 C 14.32675 16.946234 14.754891 16.782234 15.212891 16.740234 C 15.670891 16.699234 16.690438 16.137687 16.898438 15.554688 C 17.106437 14.971687 17.106922 14.470187 17.044922 14.367188 C 16.982922 14.263188 16.816406 14.201172 16.566406 14.076172 C 16.317406 13.951172 15.090328 13.348625 14.861328 13.265625 C 14.632328 13.182625 14.464828 13.140625 14.298828 13.390625 C 14.132828 13.640625 13.655766 14.201187 13.509766 14.367188 C 13.363766 14.534188 13.21875 14.556641 12.96875 14.431641 C 12.71875 14.305641 11.914938 14.041406 10.960938 13.191406 C 10.218937 12.530406 9.7182656 11.714844 9.5722656 11.464844 C 9.4272656 11.215844 9.5585938 11.079078 9.6835938 10.955078 C 9.7955938 10.843078 9.9316406 10.663578 10.056641 10.517578 C 10.180641 10.371578 10.223641 10.267562 10.306641 10.101562 C 10.389641 9.9355625 10.347156 9.7890625 10.285156 9.6640625 C 10.223156 9.5390625 9.737625 8.3065 9.515625 7.8125 C 9.328625 7.3975 9.131125 7.3878594 8.953125 7.3808594 C 8.808125 7.3748594 8.6425625 7.375 8.4765625 7.375 z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-label screen-reader-text\">\n\t\t\tShare on WhatsApp\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<\/article>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group aligngrid  is-animated-on-scroll-25 tribe-animation-type-fade-in tribe-animation-direction-bottom is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);--tribe-animation-speed:0.6s;--tribe-animation-offset:50px;--tribe-animation-delay:0s;--tribe-animation-easing:var(--easing--ease-out-sine)\">\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-small is-style-small--5\" id=\"h-related-posts\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">Related Posts<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:0;\" class=\"b-related-posts b-related-posts--layout-grid  wp-block-tribe-related-posts\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"c-post-card c-post-card__layout-vertical\">\n\t<div class=\"c-post-card__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-post-card__image aspect-ratio-cover aspect-ratio-3-2\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"woman using computer surrounded by plants\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-320x180.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-375x211.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-369x208.jpg 369w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-569x320.jpg 569w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-353x199.jpg 353w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-288x162.jpg 288w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-335x188.jpg 335w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-347x195.jpg 347w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-520x293.jpg 520w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-640x360.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-720x405.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Woman-using-computer-surrounded-by-plants-735x413.jpg 735w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-post-card__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__primary-category t-category\">Interview<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"c-post-card__title t-display-xx-small t-transparent-underline\">What to Look for When Hiring a Designer: Ask A Designer #1<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__metadata\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-author t-body-small\">Rosie Lin<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-separator t-body-small\">\u2022<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-date t-body-small\">May 12, 2021<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__excerpt\">Back to Blog \u2022 Your branding plays a large role in your success as a blogger. Having unique and visually consistent designs throughout your social media platforms helps create brand recognition and loyalty.&nbsp; But designing can be hard, and it can eat away at time you could spend planning and writing new content. If designing&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/hiring-ask-a-designer\/\" class=\"c-post-card__link-overlay\" aria-label=\"Read more about What to Look for When Hiring a Designer: Ask A Designer #1\"><\/a>\n<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"c-post-card c-post-card__layout-vertical\">\n\t<div class=\"c-post-card__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-post-card__image aspect-ratio-cover aspect-ratio-3-2\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jasmine_Feeling_Nifty-sm.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"jasmine feeling nifty headshot\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jasmine_Feeling_Nifty-sm.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jasmine_Feeling_Nifty-sm-320x213.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jasmine_Feeling_Nifty-sm-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jasmine_Feeling_Nifty-sm-375x250.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jasmine_Feeling_Nifty-sm-555x370.jpg 555w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jasmine_Feeling_Nifty-sm-344x229.jpg 344w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jasmine_Feeling_Nifty-sm-281x187.jpg 281w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jasmine_Feeling_Nifty-sm-335x223.jpg 335w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jasmine_Feeling_Nifty-sm-347x231.jpg 347w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jasmine_Feeling_Nifty-sm-520x346.jpg 520w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jasmine_Feeling_Nifty-sm-640x426.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-post-card__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__primary-category t-category\">Interview<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"c-post-card__title t-display-xx-small t-transparent-underline\">Jasmine Dhillon Interview: Content During COVID<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__metadata\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-author t-body-small\">The Mediavine Team<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-separator t-body-small\">\u2022<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-date t-body-small\">Oct 26, 2020<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__excerpt\">Back to Blog \u2022 In what has seemed like the longest and shortest year all at the same time, we can&#8217;t believe it but Q4 is here. Despite the roller coaster ride this year has been, our Mediavine publishers continue to impress us with their resiliency, even in the midst of a global pandemic! In&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/jasmine-khinda-interview-content-during-covid\/\" class=\"c-post-card__link-overlay\" aria-label=\"Read more about Jasmine Dhillon Interview: Content During COVID\"><\/a>\n<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"c-post-card c-post-card__layout-vertical\">\n\t<div class=\"c-post-card__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-post-card__image aspect-ratio-cover aspect-ratio-3-2\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sanitizergelrecipe9.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"essential oils on a towel to make your own hand sanitizer\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sanitizergelrecipe9.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sanitizergelrecipe9-320x213.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sanitizergelrecipe9-375x250.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sanitizergelrecipe9-555x370.jpg 555w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sanitizergelrecipe9-343x229.jpg 343w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sanitizergelrecipe9-280x187.jpg 280w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sanitizergelrecipe9-335x223.jpg 335w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sanitizergelrecipe9-347x231.jpg 347w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sanitizergelrecipe9-520x347.jpg 520w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sanitizergelrecipe9-640x427.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-post-card__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__primary-category t-category\">Interview<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"c-post-card__title t-display-xx-small t-transparent-underline\">Cari Dunn Interview: Content During COVID<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__metadata\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-author t-body-small\">The Mediavine Team<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-separator t-body-small\">\u2022<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-date t-body-small\">Sep 2, 2020<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__excerpt\">Back to Blog \u2022 If there is something we can count on throughout this year, it&#8217;s that our Mediavine publishers continue to show their resiliency, even throughout a global pandemic! We love celebrating their hard work, and how they doubled down, continued listening to their audience, stayed visible, updated old posts and created new content&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/cari-dunn-interview-content-during-covid\/\" class=\"c-post-card__link-overlay\" aria-label=\"Read more about Cari Dunn Interview: Content During COVID\"><\/a>\n<\/article>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/aside>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Back to Blog \u2022 Today we are chatting with Mel Gunnell, of none other than Mel\u2019s Kitchen Cafe. I\u2019ve been a big fan for a long time of this blog in particular, and she was one of the sites that really inspired me to start a food blog of my own. She started blogging way&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44459,"featured_media":1213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,82],"tags":[],"audience_post":[],"class_list":["post-1206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview","category-publisher-interview"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Blogger Interview: Mel Gunnell of Mel&#039;s Kitchen Cafe - Mediavine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Read our blogger interview with Mel Gunnell of Mel&#039;s Kitchen Cafe. Take an insightful look into her blog and her life.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blogger Interview: Mel Gunnell of Mel&#039;s Kitchen Cafe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Read our blogger interview with Mel Gunnell of Mel&#039;s Kitchen Cafe. Take an insightful look into her blog and her life.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mediavine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mediavinepublishernetwork\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-08T17:36:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-03T15:53:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/c104923f-041c-4539-812e-33e4ae6402fa_2016FamPic2BLOG.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"475\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"317\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The Mediavine Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mediavine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mediavine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Mediavine Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"The Mediavine Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/42bab770c4abea46b536a202c15e3cbf\"},\"headline\":\"Blogger Interview: Mel Gunnell of Mel&#8217;s Kitchen Cafe\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-08T17:36:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-03T15:53:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/\"},\"wordCount\":1750,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/c104923f-041c-4539-812e-33e4ae6402fa_2016FamPic2BLOG.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interview\",\"Publisher Interview\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/\",\"name\":\"Blogger Interview: Mel Gunnell of Mel's Kitchen Cafe - Mediavine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/c104923f-041c-4539-812e-33e4ae6402fa_2016FamPic2BLOG.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-08T17:36:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-03T15:53:47+00:00\",\"description\":\"Read our blogger interview with Mel Gunnell of Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Take an insightful look into her blog and her life.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/c104923f-041c-4539-812e-33e4ae6402fa_2016FamPic2BLOG.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/c104923f-041c-4539-812e-33e4ae6402fa_2016FamPic2BLOG.jpg\",\"width\":475,\"height\":317,\"caption\":\"Mel's Family standing in front of a white fence\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blogger Interview: Mel Gunnell of Mel&#8217;s Kitchen Cafe\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/\",\"name\":\"Mediavine\",\"description\":\"Full Service Ad Management\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Mediavine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/mediavine-yoast-favicon.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/mediavine-yoast-favicon.svg\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"Mediavine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mediavinepublishernetwork\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/mediavine\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/42bab770c4abea46b536a202c15e3cbf\",\"name\":\"The Mediavine Team\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e3220aded17a2f76bff75294b4d13f344d81294787c0a43b7aa017ba65d79008?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e3220aded17a2f76bff75294b4d13f344d81294787c0a43b7aa017ba65d79008?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"The Mediavine Team\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/author\/guest\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Blogger Interview: Mel Gunnell of Mel's Kitchen Cafe - Mediavine","description":"Read our blogger interview with Mel Gunnell of Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Take an insightful look into her blog and her life.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Blogger Interview: Mel Gunnell of Mel's Kitchen Cafe","og_description":"Read our blogger interview with Mel Gunnell of Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Take an insightful look into her blog and her life.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/","og_site_name":"Mediavine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mediavinepublishernetwork\/","article_published_time":"2017-02-08T17:36:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-09-03T15:53:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":475,"height":317,"url":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/c104923f-041c-4539-812e-33e4ae6402fa_2016FamPic2BLOG.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"The Mediavine Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mediavine","twitter_site":"@mediavine","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The Mediavine Team","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/"},"author":{"name":"The Mediavine Team","@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/42bab770c4abea46b536a202c15e3cbf"},"headline":"Blogger Interview: Mel Gunnell of Mel&#8217;s Kitchen Cafe","datePublished":"2017-02-08T17:36:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-03T15:53:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/"},"wordCount":1750,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/c104923f-041c-4539-812e-33e4ae6402fa_2016FamPic2BLOG.jpg","articleSection":["Interview","Publisher Interview"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/","name":"Blogger Interview: Mel Gunnell of Mel's Kitchen Cafe - Mediavine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/c104923f-041c-4539-812e-33e4ae6402fa_2016FamPic2BLOG.jpg","datePublished":"2017-02-08T17:36:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-03T15:53:47+00:00","description":"Read our blogger interview with Mel Gunnell of Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Take an insightful look into her blog and her life.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/c104923f-041c-4539-812e-33e4ae6402fa_2016FamPic2BLOG.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/c104923f-041c-4539-812e-33e4ae6402fa_2016FamPic2BLOG.jpg","width":475,"height":317,"caption":"Mel's Family standing in front of a white fence"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/blogger-interview-mel-mels-kitchen-cafe\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blogger Interview: Mel Gunnell of Mel&#8217;s Kitchen Cafe"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/","name":"Mediavine","description":"Full Service Ad Management","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#organization","name":"Mediavine","url":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/mediavine-yoast-favicon.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/mediavine-yoast-favicon.svg","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"Mediavine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mediavinepublishernetwork\/","https:\/\/x.com\/mediavine"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/42bab770c4abea46b536a202c15e3cbf","name":"The Mediavine Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e3220aded17a2f76bff75294b4d13f344d81294787c0a43b7aa017ba65d79008?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e3220aded17a2f76bff75294b4d13f344d81294787c0a43b7aa017ba65d79008?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"The Mediavine Team"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/author\/guest\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44459"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1206"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22586,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1206\/revisions\/22586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1206"},{"taxonomy":"audience_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/audience_post?post=1206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}