Bonnie: Happy Birthday, Bite of the Best!

We’ve certainly relished a lot of good eatin’ since we launched Bite of the Best last spring. That’s more than 52 outstanding FeaturedBites — aka products — that we’ve tried and recommended to you.

But we’ve gotta keep moving.

My culinary offspring and the others entrenched in the ever-exploding blogosphere tell me we must keep evolving, so we’re providing more and more content to further engage you in our ever-growing community — a community of people who want to share thoughts about their Bite of the Best foods, dinner experiences, gadgets and more.

So what’s next?

We’re adding a product listing that we’re calling Bite of the Rest — a list of products that we learn about. This sortable list is to keep you up to date on what’s available, or what will be coming to stores near you. There’ll be no write-up or evaluation from us. Just details about the product, its varieties and price. We will, though, ask you whether you’d consider buying this product: “To bite or not to bite?” That is our question.

We also plan to add an Open Bite Forum where you — as well as public relations or marketing professionals and manufacturers — can add info about products you like, represent or make..

Our goal is to be your premier food and food-related product site on the Web.

And — of course — we’ll continue to run our giveaways, with winnings available only to registered users on Bite of the Best. Be sure to watch for the chance to win a Cabot-sponsored spa weekend in Vermont, valued at $1,800!

So stay tuned for all of that.

Thank you for taking part in our community and for all your e-mails. Instead of your insightful thoughts, suggestions and queries ending up in my computer inbox, they will now be posted on our Open Bite Forum and answered there to engage more dialogue.

And to the 250+ winners of our giveaways this year: thanks for your notes. Those, too, will be posted for all to see.

And thanks for being a part of the Bite of the Best community. We love hearing from you!

Bryan: So we’ve reached our one-year anniversary; a success milestone in this time of infinite dot-com expansion, I’d like to think. Hooray! It seems that Web sites are the new “restaurants.” With all the exciting new openings and sad, shocking closings every day, we’re very happy to still be serving our “food” as we celebrate our first year together.

Like most first birthdays, this particular party is not about the birthday boy, but about bringing friends and family closer together on the occasion. In our upcoming second year, we are very excited to launch a variety of new features on BiteoftheBest.com as we grow into one of the Web’s premier sites for exciting new food products.

One of the most amazing things I’ve discovered this year is how much I still have to learn about food. Over 52 weeks, our readers have taught me more about the culinary world than I have ever hoped to teach them. The new Open Bite Forum premiering later this month on BiteoftheBest.com will now offer all registered users the chance to post their own food finds online. Write about great new kitchen products, hidden restaurant gems and more. Put forward your “best” product ideas and see if other readers agree. We’ve seen Bites come from the people before (e.g. sweet potato pancakes) and we truly look forward to uncovering more treasures. Maybe you’re looking for the perfect ingredients for a chocolate chip cookie recipe. Start a thread/post with your question and tap into our reader base’s wealth of food knowledge. I dream of an Epicurean round table, with bold new perspectives and shared dining experiences expanding common palettes and culinary boundaries (though I’ll be happy with a few good Atlanta pizza recommendations).

Readers should also look forward to Bite of the Rest, the “not quite ready for prime time” food products that grace our doors day after day. We’re not really ready to heap praise on them just yet, but why should that keep us from letting you know about them? You tell the world what you think, and your fellow readers can comment too; lets get some discussion going.

Thank you to our readers for making BiteoftheBest.com one of the fastest growing food blogs on the net. Stay tuned for our upcoming changes and, as always, some great new food!

Eric: ”Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” One-year…although it seems like a short period of time, this past year has been a turning point in my life. I had the chance to visit Israel, Spain and Bulgaria; I finished my thesis for college – “An Analysis for an Internet-based Company on Online Consumer Trends and their Impact on the Development of Internet Strategies and Tactics;” I was able to live and work in a Third World country on the Island of Zanzibar, and work as an assistant food and beverage manager in a resort; I graduated from an international hospitality management school (Hotelschool Den Haag) and I’ve recently decided on a future career path in the world of food…all of this in one year.FB_Anniversary_2.jpg

This past year has also challenged my ability as a food critic and writer, and although I’ve been traveling and concentrating on school, I’ve also been able to stay up-to-date with testing products while visiting the states or from packages sent to me. Writing the weekly columns has provided me with a voice, and throughout this experience, I have been able to discover more of myself.

Personally, I am not a fan of technology, and as part of the generation that grew up during the ‘90s when the Internet was introduced, I feel that we, as a society, have forgotten what it is to discover for ourselves. However, I praise the Internet for the presence of information and the ease in which it can be retrieved. If there is one thing I hope you gain from using BOTB, it’s the ability to feel comfortable discovering new products and expanding your palate. I hope you can use the Internet for what it is, a resource for knowledge, and in doing so, help us to make BOTB the benchmark for the “best” food (and beverage) discoveries.