All Good things Will Come To An End (Eventually……….)

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Linus: Nothing goes on forever. All good things must come to an end.
Charlie: When do the good things start ?

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Dear Friends of ChefsOpinion,
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After Posting 1245 posts on ChefsOpinion, I have decided that it is finally time to slowly but surely hang up my apron and put away my pen.
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Just before I fully retired last year (I partially retired a couple of years earlier and only worked a few days a week during the last two years of my professional life), my health has deteriorated to the point where producing this blog has become a chore instead of the pure joy it was for many years.
Also, when I started doing this  (before I started ChefsOpinion, I owned and ran a culinary/hospitality website together with my wife Maria before she passed away), there was much greater interest in culinary sites/blogs than there is now, and if you have been following different blogs and sites, you’ll know that a great many have given up long ago, as public interest has shifted from real food to more sensationalistic and bombastic topics within the food world, rather than embracing beautiful, rich tasting food in general. At the same time, in a world where there are more and more Chicken Wing Festivals, Burger Festivals and other such “Food Festivals” glorifying fast food of often questionable quality, real food, real cooking, love for proper food and the joy of lovingly preparing a wonderful meal from scratch has mostly disappeared in many homes, blogs like ChefsOpinion have mostly given way to commercial websites. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles and bloggers like me will have to accept the fact that nothing goes on forever, especially not blogs about “Real Food”  🙂
At the hight of ChefsOpinion’s popularity, there were usually between 500 and 1000 clicks a day from direct subscribers alone, and about another 200 to 500 from other links, such as Foodspotting, Flickr, LinkedIn, etc. This has shifted to a point were ChefsOpinion directly now gets about 100 to 300 clicks a day, while LinkedIn accounts to anywhere from 400 to 2000 clicks and other links about another 100 to 200 per day for ChefsOpinion.
While any clicks are satisfying, the only ones that are counted for (a tiny) monetary reward are the ones from direct ChefOpinion subscribers “IF” they click on an advertisement, which means although ChefsOpinion still gets a total of about 20000 to 30000 visits a month, the financial reward has dwindled to a point where ChefsOpinion is barely financially self-sustaining.
From the very beginning, I did not run ChefsOpinion for monetary gain but welcomed the fact that the single advertisement I allowed on my blog was covering at least the cost of running it. To run ChefsOpinion costs about $500.00 per month. Lately, I have to finance this more and more from my own pocket. This was fine as long as I enjoyed doing the work involved, which amounts to at least about 3-4 hours a day.
But when I realized that while most folks enjoy the pics and recipes, the inspiration and the stories, I also realized that most folks, after a while, don’t appreciate stuff they can get for free, so even a split-second effort to click the “like” button is too much of an effort for most readers to reward the work and money spent for ChefsOpinion. (Of course, there are exceptions – you know who you are 🙂 .
So, I have decided to let ChefsOpinion come to a slow but steady end. At this point, I have about 100 Posts on standby, with the photos all done but awaiting the writing of the recipes. I will do this in the weeks and months to come, at a leisurely pace and with no false sense of urgency. I might even add a few new pics and recipes, mainly for my own pleasure and the pleasure of a few diehard fans of ChefsOpinion.
I want to thank all the folks who have stayed with ChefsOpinion over the years and want you all to know how much I enjoyed being part of your culinary life.
ChefsOpinion will stay online for the time being, so if anyone is still looking for inspiration from “Real Food and Real Opinions”, there will still be posts of the past to draw from.
For now, this is not yet a goodbye, but rather notice that ChefsOpinion will not be updated as frequently as it has in the past and eventually, in the near future, will cease to exist.
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Life is Good !
Hans 🙂
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31 comments

  1. I am glad you won’t be completely stopping, I should miss finding you in my inbox. I just passed the 100 blog post milestone and I sometimes think about maybe moving on to other things. I do three posts a week and sometimes it does seem like a bit of a chore … I’ll hang on for a bit longer though.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. And there you have it, John.
      Once it becomes a chore and there are no monetary considerations, the only counterweight is the joy blogging brings to oneself. I guess this balance will go back and forth a few times until the ultimate decision or the ultimate happening will decide 🙂
      Cheers !

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  2. Thank you, Hans, for all the passion and work you have placed in this blog, Chef’s Opinion. I have followed you for several years after my uncle introduced your work to me. I would love to have a cookbook of your recipes but also know that health is more important and quality of living a good life paramount, so don’t fret. Many hugs with endearment are being sent to you. Thank you, I’m forever grateful for your work.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thanks, William.
      If somebody want’s to collaborate on a book, I might be willing.
      To do it by myself, that would be more work than I am willing to handle at this point 🙂
      Cheers !

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  4. Good morning Chef Susser,

    I’m sorry to read this news but I do hope you are getting your health back up to par. I’m still going to have that dinner party and I’d like to know if you could advise me of some Monday nights you’d be available in April/May. Reason for a Monday night is that my wife and stepson now work in Mexican restaurants… Stepson at La Bamba Delray Wife at Hacienda Delray They are off Monday’s….. I hope you can make it this time as we’d love to meet you and enjoy a lovely evening. Please feel free to bring your precious pooch with you. Please advise when you might be free and we’ll say arrive around 6pm and depart after dessert around 9pm. Thanks chef! Aaaaaaand you’re correct “Life is Good” Best, Bob, Anyi, Camilo ________________________________

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Bob.
      I will be in Nicaragua until the 19th of April, so the next Mondays I could enjoy this invitation would be on 4/23, 4/30 or 5/7.
      If any of these dates suit you, pls let me know 🙂 (Pls use FB messenger).
      Cheers !

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  6. I understand you cutting back on the blog posts, Hans. It is very time consuming. I’ve enjoyed your posts and will enjoy any future posts you may want to put on here. Meanwhile, I wish you well. Time to relax and have a good retirement.

    Liked by 1 person

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  10. Like you, I am a chef and a writer so I fully understand your position, but I am saddened by it – because I really enjoy and appreciate your work, but this is a road for us all, so I wish you happiness, tranquility and God’s richest blessings – be well my friend!

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. Well Chef. I am sure going to miss all the posts and recipes you have shared. If I could afford it, and IF I was as good a chef as you, I would take over the reigns and run ChefsOpinion for you. GOD bless in your future endeavors.
    Dwayne Bacon

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Thank you Dwayne 🙂
    Eventually, I’ll have to give the reigns to the next blogger who shows interest and seems a fit. For now, I am still going, although at a much slower pace 🙂
    Cheers !

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  13. Oh Hans,
    Beautifully written, though sad for me as I just found you recently! You have been an inspiration to me as my personal chef work is known locally because I cook Real foods from scratch! Thank you for trail-blazing!
    Karla

    Liked by 1 person

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  14. I have never gotten into the whole online social craze, so it seems odd that Chef’s Opinion is the only correspondence I’ve responded to. Love your recipes and your photos and your heart. Family and friends are to be enjoyed with good food. Thanks for all the time and love you’ve put into your posts. The Charlie Brown comment was perfect!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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