Blogception: Meet James Malnati

I'm guilty. Three post-less months. No. way. Mozart, singing and 
reporting have kept me busy. Although I am stuck with Mozart, the others 
have vanished. This story — written for class — should give you a taste 
of my last 10 weeks as a journalism student at Medill.

             As he whipped the eggs, milk and chocolate chips, James Malnati was determined and in the zone.

“I have a lot of things that don’t turn out,” he said. “It’s understandable. I’m not a master chef.”

However, when the smell of pancakes wafted through the air of the kitchen in Chapin Hall on the Northwestern University campus, he knew he got the recipe right.

About 6 feet tall and slim as a spatula, the 18-year-old blogger of three months and Weinberg freshman posts cooking instructions and restaurant reviews six times a week to his website: edibleescapade.com.

Malnati is not the only one in his family involved with food. His uncle, Lou Malnati, started the popular Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria and his other uncle, Rudy Malnati, opened Pizano’s Pizza & Pasta, according to their blogging nephew. His cousins run the place, now, he said.

“Twenty-five percent of the people I meet ask me about it,” he said. “The next question is always, ‘Can you get me free pizza?’”

This favor may prove difficult, as Malnati said he does not visit Lou Malnati’s often.

“I don’t like deep dish pizza and prefer better thin crust at other places in the city,” he said.

Malnati said his inspiration for blogging did not come from the family success.

“I went to restaurants often and decided I should probably make something out of it,” he said. “The recipes are my way of making sure the blog isn’t too Chicago-specific.”

Malnati’s mom said she believes his interest in food came out of his own heart because “his own dad was not in the restaurant business.” Malnati’s late father was a luxury car salesman, she said.

Although he tries to be discreet, Malnati exhibits odd behavior in restaurants in order to capture the perfect photos for his blog, he said.

“Sometimes you have to stand on a chair to make it happen,” he said. “I have also asked people to photograph what they were eating, but that was awkward, and I probably won’t do that again.” Malnati said he has been invited to review places through Instagram and has also had his meal paid for.

Malnati’s mom said she enjoys going on food adventures for the blog.

“He brings me to a lot of restaurants I would not normally go to on my own,” she said.

The blog has also brought Malnati closer to his sister, Catherine. Although she enjoys going to restaurants with him, his sister is skeptical of his cooking abilities.

“She thinks I don’t know how to prepare food—which is kind of true,” Malnati said.

Her doubt proved true when Malnati tried to recreate a Russian merengue that he saw on Pinterest.

“The first time, I was slow taking the meringue out of the oven and the thing literally crackled and collapsed on itself after it had been baking for an hour,” he said laughing. “I went to bed at 5 a.m. that morning after doing it a second time.”

Despite his passion and investment, Malnati said he is confident the blog will remain a hobby.

“It’s not challenging enough that I would want it to be my career,” he said. “Even if I found a way to monetize it so that it could support me financially, I wouldn’t be happy doing it.”

His friend Sierra Lai said she is a big foodie and trusts Malnati’s opinions on restaurants.

“His personality goes with the idea of the blog,” she said. “He is very ambitious and creative. Whatever he writes about, that’s just him. He doesn’t change himself for his blog.”

Photos courtesy of James Malnati