Alison Roman describes herself as an unwavering champion of small, oily, tinned fishes everywhere. Based in Brooklyn, Roman is also a bi-weekly columnist for the New York Times cooking section, as well as the writer and author of the New York Times bestseller Nothing Fancy and the bestseller Dining In.
A foodie first and foremost, she has amassed more than 550k followers on Instagram alone, and at least two of her recipes (one for Cookies, another for a Stew) turned into a viral sensation. “If I had maxed out [Instagram followers] today, that would be fine,” she remarked in a recent interview with The New Consumer. “If I maxed out last year, that would have been fine, too. That’s never been my objective. It’s never been my goal. I have never done anything to try to amass followers. It’s happening organically.”
According to Roman, her tactic is pretty straight forward: letting her own appetite and hunger dictate when and what she makes. “I’m not looking to reinvent the wheel every time,” she stressed. “I just want to make people happy, honestly, and give them a reason to feel good about making food.”
Variety is also important, and also – accessibility, when it comes to choosing her ingredients. “I’m trying to be more accessible and more everyday for that, and then, for things like my books, I can really expand what that means,” she says. “I think it’s nice to be able to, in the same book, publish a recipe for lamb shoulder and also for a sheet pan chicken. And both belong in the same book because I want the book to have a range.”
You’d want to join in on the hype:
