Cuisine Addict

Sandra Thomann grew up in the kitchen. Every Christmas, she would join her mother and grandmother as they baked cookies for the whole family. She then brought this passion for cooking into adulthood, always having friends over for dinner parties where they’d taste-test her latest recipes.

Friends would often ask Sandra to write down her recipes so that they could cook them at home for their families. After writing down recipe after recipe, a friend had a clever idea for Sandra: What if she created a blog with all of her recipes in one place?

So in 2009, Sandra started Cuisine Addict. Back then, it was just a fun hobby that made it easier for her to share recipes with friends and family. But one day Sandra opened Google Analytics and saw that 30 people visited the site — even though she certainly hadn’t shared the URL with more than a dozen or so friends. Then another day she had 100 visitors. Then 10,000. It just kept growing.

“I never thought I’d attract such an audience,” says Sandra. “Soon I had readers from all over the world — visitors from Switzerland, Canada, and more were coming to my site to find new recipes and learn cooking tips.”

Sandra was particularly interested in helping home chefs with “batch recipes” — easy, homemade recipes that would be hearty and healthy for a whole family. This approach resonated with readers and her batch recipes became among her most popular posts.

By 2015 — with her audience growing — it was time for Sandra to monetize her site and turn this hobby into a thriving business.

In the beginning, Sandra was only making a bit from her ad strategy. But as time went on and her audience grew, she realized she had the income to leave her full-time job and devote all her energy to Cuisine Addict.

“Going full-time with the blog was a huge step,” says Sandra. “Sure, it was scary at first. I was taking a big chance. But eight years later, I have no regrets. I’ve been able to spend so much time working on a project I’m passionate about. The fact that I can earn a living from it is something I never could have imagined.”

With more time to devote to the blog, Sandra has been able to build a real community around her site. A few times a year she’ll host cooking classes where she can meet her audience and get to know the people who support her and make the blog possible.

“We have a really tight-knit community, which means so much to me,” says Sandra. “We’re always getting great feedback and hearing from readers, who will send pictures they took of recipes from the blog. We’ll have discussions together on social media and the conversation is so warm and supportive — no haters, ever. It really motivates me to keep going.”

“I’m proud I managed to do all this when others thought it might not be possible,” says Sandra. “It’s work — it’s not always easy. But it’s so worth it in the end to build this site and foster this community.”

A few years ago, Sandra and her husband bought a new home on a property that used to be a farm. They’ve recently planted a big garden, and Sandra looks forward to posting more content about all the fresh fruit and veggies they’re growing.

“I want to expand into new content beyond just cooking,” says Sandra. “With the garden, we have a new way to show readers that you can slow down and really focus on what matters to you. A garden takes time to grow, but it’s a journey I want to share with my followers.”

Sandra’s site is a bit like that garden growing in her backyard. No, it didn’t emerge overnight. But with time and care, it grew big and healthy — and now it’s providing a steady harvest she can rely on.