Today we’d like to introduce you to Genny Li.
Hi Genny, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Food has always been a huge part of my life, and I especially love the aspect of learning about other cultures and cuisines through food and drink. Back in high school in 2012, I had a group of three friends who would all meet up together once a month to try a new restaurant or explore a new cuisine in the wider Houston area. We tried extremely spicy Indian food at Himalaya, ate fufu for the first time at a West African restaurant called Afrikoko, explored many favorite spots in Houston Chinatown and more. We called ourselves the Grub Club. That’s around when I first started my food Tumblr, Gennysgrubclub (named after my foodie group), which served as a place where I could document all of my food adventures. I didn’t have many followers and only used it as a creative outlet for myself to look back at all the food memories. Then, when a few of us moved to Austin a few years later, we continued the tradition by meeting up once in a while to explore Austin’s food scene. Frequently, I would share the link with my friends who would ask for food recommendations and in 2018 when many of my friends were on Instagram, I was persuaded to create an account to continue sharing on a newer platform.
That’s when my food Instagram started picking up traction. During my four years of college at the University of Texas, I would try new restaurants each week, post about it with my honest review, and encourage others to visit certain places. Whenever I visited back home in Houston or traveled somewhere within the US or internationally, I’d continue to post about the food I had and a little it about the background of what I was eating, what cuisine, the name of the dish, interesting ingredients, etc.
Towards the end of my sophomore year, I started dating Juan who started sharing his love for food and skills for cooking. The first time he cooked for me was actually more than a year before we were together when he made Venezuelan reina pepiada arepas, which was my first time trying Venezuelan food. For then until we both graduated, we shared our love for food and cooking which I also documented on my food blog.
In 2018, I decided to create a website to host longform content, as I realized it was difficult on IG to host food guides or recipes that others could find easily. There I created recommendation guides in different cities, shared recipes, and also started blogging about my travel.
In 2019, after Juan and I both graduated from UT, we moved to California for my job, and so my food blog focus also shifted to the west coast. There, we had delicious ramen, our first 3-michelin star restaurant, amazing coffee, and other unforgettable food experiences. When Covid hit and our bay area lease ended, we packed all our furniture in a 10×10 storage unit, packed my car, and drove back to Texas. We stayed in Houston/Austin until the end of the year with the expectation of returning to the bay when Covid was over. Little did we know, this six months road trip back to Texas then turned into a year long adventure across the US.
In January 2021, after news hit that my workplace had extended remote work until end of 2020, we packed up our belongings again and continued our road trip, staying month to month in different cities across the US, exploring new destinations and of course, new foods. We went from Texas to Colorado Springs, to Nashville, then D.C. to New York, Cleveland and Chicago. In Chicago, Juan landed a new job in Austin and we decided to pause our trip and drive back to Austin in June 2021. We’ve been in Austin ever since then, re-exploring the ever-changing food scene in Austin, missing our old favorites that didn’t survive the pandemic and also trying out the new places. That brings us to today, where we’re wrapping up our wider road trip and will have to travel back to the bay area early in 2022.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Because I started food blogging as a creative outlet for myself to document my food experiences, I didn’t have a goal to become a local influencer or try to hit a certain # of followers. Once I did start receiving sponsorships and invitations to local restaurants about once or twice a month, it definitely was a struggle to lose and rebuild that momentum by moving halfway across the country to California. There, I had to learn the food scene from scratch (it’s also very expensive), my existing followers couldn’t really act on my recommendations, and there were already so many other foodies in the area. Regardless, I continued to share our dining experiences, travel, home recipes, and more through my IG and food blog.
Another challenge that I’ve faced is balancing and playing the social media game, especially around the IG algorithm that rewards creators for the frequency of posts and activity among other metrics. This requires creators to constantly be online, not only to consistently push out new content but also to engage with others through comments, likes, shares, etc. When you get caught up in this, sometimes it feels more like a chore to force yourself to create engaging content to maintain your social presence. Now, I’ve found more of a balance, posting only when I feel like it, taking social media breaks, and being comfortable with the backlog of photos and content that still needs editing later.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My food blog is definitely my passion project. Full time, I work at Google as a Program Manager for a global network of companies who actually help thousands of content creators monetize their websites (think recipe websites, food and travel blogs, etc.). It’s really amazing to see first-hand the inspiring stories of individuals who were able to turn their hobbies and passions into full-time careers. I’ve been able to interview and interact with a handful of global content creators who’s stories and experiences have definitely inspired me to continue growing my food blog.
I’d say that something that sets me apart from others is my love for trying new cuisines and flavors. You’ll see my post about the insects I had in Mexico City, the tasting menu with capybara meat in Colombia, Japanese sukiyaki beef dipped in raw egg, among the other local cuisines and flavors in different countries I’ve visited before. Within that, you’ll also see the different recipes I share, often inspired by my family’s Chinese cooking or by Juan’s authentic Venezuelan cooking.
I’ve also been told that I also have a pretty sensitive palate (ability to pick up certain flavors in dishes or point out if a certain spice or seasoning is missing), which helps me detail certain interesting flavors and make uncommon connections across cuisines and foods with the various flavors I’ve had in the past.
I’m proud of staying true to my original mission of documenting and sharing my food experiences with others across cultures and cuisines and inspiring others to try new flavors and odd ingredients that are unfamiliar. If I can convince a stranger or a friend to try something new and they come back thanking me for persuading them, that’s when I’m the happiest.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Shoutout to my parents for financially supporting me in my food adventures. Shoutout to my high school Grub Club (Feng, Daisy & Dana) for being the original Grub Club.
Juan for spoiling me with the most delicious cooking, for inspiring me to see and enjoy the details of cooking and eating, and for being patient with my food photography each time we eat.
Shoutout to Charlie for being a fully converted foodie from my influence.
Shoutout to Johnathon for being the biggest supporter of Juan’s and my cooking.
Shoutout to all my followers on IG and readers of my food blog. Hope I’ve encouraged you to try a new restaurant, a cuisine, or a flavor.
Contact Info:
- Email: gennysgrubclub@gmail.com
- Website: www.gennysgrubclub.com
- Instagram: @gennysgrubclub
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/gennysgrubclub
