Richmond Food Blogger for a Year: What to Know About 365 Days of Dining

Tourism Richmond launched a campaign this week to hire a blogger to dine out at one of 800 local restaurants every day for a year, providing social media updates and posts about their experience. The winning applicant will be set up with a gym pass for the Richmond Olympic Oval, a negotiated daily stipend for meals, and a salary of $50,000 for the year — a blogger’s dream job.

Photo credit: nonstopdesign on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.

I spoke with Tracy Lakeman, CEO of Tourism Richmond, to find out more about the project who said the inspiration simply came from local love for Richmond’s asian cuisine. “We have been experiencing a lot of exposure from media, residents, and visitors and we were thinking ‘how can we elevate the exposure of our wonderful asian cuisine?’.” While this would appear to be the perfect fit for a food blogger, the chosen individual will be enjoying more than dining in the island city.

“It’s about one individual connecting with the entire community,” Lakeman told me. “They’ll be engaging, getting to know the locals, getting to know the people who live, work, and play here.”

Personally, I would love to see someone like a Jaeger Mah, who lived at YVR Airport for 80 days, get the position. Someone dedicated to creating content and engaging with the community – and it looks like Tourism Richmond is in that mindset as well.

The job description does call for an experienced blogger but hobby and part-time bloggers are very welcome to apply. Lakeman added that it’s all about quality. “If the right individual is creative and social media savvy, they are just as eligible as a professional blogger. This is about someone who is adventurous, willing to try new things, and who can get that across through printed words, photography, and video.” She highly recommends that bloggers of every type apply.

When it comes to the duration of the stay, the blogger will need to be in Richmond for the full-pull, 365 days. However, they are free to explore Metro Vancouver at their liesure throughout the day, thanks to the Canada Line and proximity to Vancouver, New Westminster, and neighbouring cities. On top of eating, which is a great draw on its own, the individual will also get to experience everyday life and activities. Lakeman said they could jump on a bike, walk around Steveston and have lunch on the docks, or head out to London Heritage Farm for tea.

The position is not asking for a food critic, but more-so for a personable documentarian. They will be fully expected to provide transparent and authentic experiences and their content will be determined with minimal input from Tourism Richmond.

Download the full job description PDF and apply online before March 31, 2012 if you’re up for experiencing and telling the story of life (and food) in Richmond.