Conversations with Darren and Danessa Domingo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Darren and Danessa Domingo. 

Hi Darren and Danessa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
We were both raised in culturally distinct homes in Florida. Our childhoods were filled with our hard-working immigrant parents preparing delicious and elaborate meals for our families. Danessa grew up in a Haitian household in West Palm Beach so she has vivid memories of home-cooked Haitian staples such as rice, beans, stews, and plantains. Darren hails from a Filipino home in Jacksonville where his father was a chef for over 30 years. Throughout the years, his parents opened up several restaurants and catering businesses. He grew up with the Filipino essentials like lumpia (Filipino spring rolls), pancit (traditional noodles), chicken adobo (stew), and arroz caldo (chicken rice porridge). We loved flavor at a really young age and, although we both grew up in the United States, food was our bridge to staying connected to our cultural identities.

We also remember photography being a big part of our lives growing up, as both of our families believed in the importance of capturing every moment. Danessa has fond memories of her father taking her to get hundreds of pictures developed at the Kodak store and taking photos with her Barbie Polaroid camera. Darren found his love for multimedia at a young age, making short films with neighborhood friends and always keeping his camera close by during special occasions. We didn’t know it yet, but we were always content creators.

Fast forward to 2015, becoming a military family allowed us Floridians to travel to many different places. From eating green chili in Colorado Springs to shrimp and grits in Charleston, this is when we began to expand our palate and truly become foodies. Our foodie Instagram (@foodpeopleluv) was started in March 2019 and we wanted to post about food, share the stories of business owners, and spread “luv!” From then, our foodie travels became less about us and more about highlighting the beautiful souls behind the food. We take food photography very seriously because the better the food looks, the more customers are inspired to try an establishment. During this pandemic, we believe this is more significant than ever. Today, we are grateful to be a part of an awesome foodie community that strives to put the people of Tampa on to some deliciously dope, local, and/or diverse businesses.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We haven’t faced difficult obstacles as food bloggers, but one of our biggest challenges right now is time management. We do food blogging as a passion project so we have to find time to develop content, edit photos/videos, and engage on our pages all while balancing our careers, going to the gym, texting people back, and drinking enough water!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We are food bloggers who capture photos of bomb food and share the stories of restaurant owners. We have this series on our page called “Foodpeopleluv Spotlights” where we highlight business owners around the Tampa Bay community. Our passion in life has always been to have fun and bring people together. Whether it’s through game nights at our place or an Instagram post, we live for authentic community. It’s worth mentioning that the only restaurant owners who agree and respond to our spotlight requests are small, minority-owned business owners. As minority food bloggers, we’re compelled to shine light on these business owners, creating an additional sense of community for us.

We also know what it’s like to feel less than, unwelcome, and left out. We want the people we meet to feel heard and seen. This fuels our passion for the people and business owners we encounter through @foodpeopleluv. That’s where we really felt our calling in life: to create a sense of belonging the way Jesus does for us. We’re not perfect, but we try our best to do this!

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
1. Stick to your “why.” Truthfully, we get discouraged sometimes if the Instagram algorithm is not working out for us, but we continue to stay grounded in the reason we began blogging. All of these platforms are going to shift direction and algorithms will change, but if you stick to the reason you started blogging, your passion won’t fizzle out.

2. Get to know the people behind each establishment. Everyone has a story and taking the time to listen to them fosters genuine connection among the foodie community.

3. We can’t stress this one enough. Good photos are all about good lighting! Find. That. Lighting. And clean your phone lenses before you take a shot!

4. Have fun with blogging and be an adventurous eater!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodpeopleluv/?hl=en
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@foodpeopleluv?