FRAN Villani aka The Graphic Foodie, is known by many as the queen of Brighton food blogging. Nick Mosley spoke to her

You’re the first food blogger who made a proper – and lasting – name in the city. What prompted you to start The Graphic Foodie blog and social media channels?

I originally stated the blog in 2008 as a simple repository for my recipes. Having just moved into my first own home, I finally had a kitchen I could take charge of and experiment in. With little thought or any strategy, I simply clicked to create a blog account and there was certainly no intention for it to be seen by anyone else at that stage as the concept of blogging was only really taking off. I still cringe about the name of the blog, but I’m stuck with it now.

It seems that pretty everyone is food blogging today with new Instagram accounts popping up all the time. How do you keep on top of the game?

By day I’m a branding consultant and designer so am very aware of the blog as a brand in its own right.

I’m acutely aware of the restaurants and brands I feature, to stay true to the style and quality I’m known for. It’s very easy to get carried away with invites and PR companies wanting to work with you, but I turn down the majority these days as they are either a chain or brand that doesn’t align with my own values.

You obviously understand food and flavours. Where does that come from?

My family have always been passionate about food and ingredients, and this is how I grew up to love food so much.

Being Italian, this seems to come built in as standard, there was always something cooking, being grown, foraged or a dish being discussed – or argued – about.

Almost everything was made from scratch so you gain a good education of techniques, and respect foods that have taken months to grow and hours to put together.

You’ve always been honest and transparent with your posts, but how do you deal with either invited reviews or meals you’ve paid for?

A trick I’ve adopted is to keep an eye on other tables when I’m on review to see how paying customers are being served and their reaction to the food.

I also research the restaurant before my review to see what diners are saying about their experience and see if it aligns with my own as often you can be treated slightly differently as an invite. Only accepting invitations from restaurants I have genuine interest in and would go to with my own money helps retain integrity, driving people towards the best food in town has always been my aim.

It’s lovely getting direct messages from readers thanking me for a meal they’ve enjoyed after reading one of my reviews.

What food trends have you witnessed in the city over the years? Losers and winners? What does the future hold for the city?

Commercial business rates are high so many start off as a pop-up or residency. Brightonians are used to having to seek out the good stuff off the beaten track.

The casual food market continues to boom and improve and although these are testing times for hospitality, the consistent and good almost always make it through.

Traditional fine dining has always struggled, and sadly we were previously lacking in good quality restaurants.

But with more people relocating here from London, there’s a higher expectation and more choice within the higher end of the market so naturally there’s growth in this area which I welcome.

There generally has to be a Brighton twist to it to work though.

We do things on our terms here.

What are your tips in terms of where to start for bloggers?

Being in the era of the “influencer”, I see far too many get too enthusiastic for freebies – that can even be the reason for them starting a food social feed in the first place.

There’s often no qualms about featuring anyone and everyone and writing up a positive piece irrespective of if it was actually any good.

For those taking it seriously, try to carve out your niche and educate yourself as much as possible on the subject.

Know why something is good, how dishes are created and cook a lot - it’s the only way to really understand food.

If you can write with authority, then you will gain the respect from your readers and that of the restaurants or chefs who cooked the food you are critiquing.

You don’t need expensive equipment to start with, cameras on phones are so good but image is everything and a good quality feed with well lit and considered images is almost as valuable as your words.

Follow Fran on Instagram @thegraphicfoodie, on Twitter @graphic_foodie or via her blog www.thegraphicfoodie.co.uk