We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jose and Erika Fontanez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jose and Erika below.
Jose and Erika , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?
Shockingly enough, we embarked on a new trail about eight years ago, unaware of the adventure awaiting. Many of our friends today would consider us social butterflies, but we weren’t always so outgoing. At least not both of us. Erika was relatively introverted and shied away from posting on social media. While dating, one of the first things we understood about each other was that we both appreciated a good meal. We’d take turns choosing where our next dinner date would be, and every dish would leave us just as packed with love as our stomachs were. Our families would always ask what we had eaten, but we never had much left over to share. Descriptions did not always do the food justice. As time progressed, it dawned on us to create an Instagram page to share our food with the world. We are both creative in different ways, and this allowed us to bond while creating something beautiful to share. It’s been an adventure of curiosity, love, and food, one plate at a time. If we have learned anything throughout this voyage, it is that adventure is out there. We share our dishes to inspire anyone with an empty stomach to reach outside their comfort zone; just imagine what adventure awaits you.
Jose and Erika , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Our brand (SofloFoodJunkie) is a food/lifestyle blog. We share the progress throughout our adventure one plate/place at a time. We specialize in transparency; you experience what we experience. We are no more than your average Floridians. The only difference between us is we stepped out of our comfort zone. We are proud to be apart of this community. Through our journey, we’ve met other bloggers who have welcomed us with open arms and are proud to have developed the relationships we have today. We believe what set’s us apart is our unique dynamic. We’re human, we’re not perfect and we know that. Just all the more reason to take on this adventure.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
When we started this voyage, we weren’t expecting all that we have experienced thus far. We have always expected this to be another hobby, but this hobby has blessed us in many ways. In a fast-paced world where being someone with many followers is the new fad, we’ve been rewarded by being reminded that being yourself is just as cool. Being true to yourself can be one of the most rewarding things because you’ll always find yourself surrounded by those who like you for you, much like all of the new friends we’ve made through this journey. We’ve not only been rewarded with new friends, but we’ve also come to meet new people and make new connections that we may not have made otherwise.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Being our authentic selves helps us connect with everyone who shares their time with us. What you see on your phone screen is what you get in real life. Being fake is like keeping up with a lie. It gets tiresome, and sooner or later, it’ll catch up to you. Why stress yourself out. Food is not just for your appetite, it’s for your body, mind, spirit & soul.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Soflo_food_junkie
- Facebook: Soflo Food Junkie