When local food blogger Chrissie Nelson Rotko moved to Charlotte after law school, she struggled to adjust to life in her new city. She’d left her friends behind in Madison, Wisconsin. Though she was — and still is — happy with her job as a lawyer, she sought a creative outlet.

She found writing about restaurants in Charlotte could help her connect with her new city, giving her a reason to venture out to restaurants and a chance to ask her new friends to come along. 

“I just hadn’t really found kind of my life in Charlotte or hadn’t really settled into it, so I thought if I wrote about Charlotte, it would it really force me to explore Charlotte more and maybe get me out of my comfort zone,” she says. 

So she launched Off the Eaten Path in 2013, writing about her experiences in a way she would share her thoughts with a friend in conversation. The writing came naturally to her, as both of her parents are writers, though her photography has evolved from quick snapshots to professional-level imagery. The popularity of her Sunday Supper recipe posts led Off the Eaten Path to increasingly become a cooking site, bringing her a nationwide audience — and soon, her first cookbook. 

Stunning Spreads: Easy Entertaining with Cheese, Charcuterie, Fondue, and other Shared Fare ($24.99, Skyhorse) will be released on June 2, with pre-orders now available. According to Rotko, a publisher reached out to her about the book after seeing her work on Pinterest. She knew a cookbook would be the next step for the blog even before the publisher reached out, but was concerned about the amount of work it would take to create the book on top of her full-time career as a lawyer. When the publisher reached out, it made her really consider the option and talk it over with her parents. 

“My dad has been in the publishing and newspaper industry for over 30 years,” she says. “He really gave me the confidence and the inspiration to really take the leap and tackle this.”

She filed a book proposal, and the publisher gave her the freedom to create the book as she wanted. Rotko not only wrote the entire book, but shot all of the photographs, as well. The recipes all center on easy entertaining ideas for big celebrations or a simple night at home. Though her blog’s footprint continues to grow, Rotko doesn’t have any plans to give up her law career — or slow down her food writing career. She’s started teaching classes through SkillPop, and is also doing consulting work. The blog that started out as a way to inspire Rotko to learn more about her city has helped her become one of the city’s most educated voices in food.

“When I started it, I didn’t even know you could make money off of a blog,” she says. “It really was like an on-the-whim kind of project I started and I didn’t even see myself sticking with it for seven years now. I love seeing its growth.”

You can pre-order the book here. For each book pre-ordered, $1 will be donated to local charity. Rotko plans to host an in-person book launch in July; we’ll keep you posted on that. —Kristen Wile

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