CINCINNATI — Surrounded by friends and family in a Milford restaurant, Heather Johnson could hardly contain her excitement as everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen. The judges were about to read the final score of the competition and as the numbers appeared, the results were clear: she’d won Guy’s Grocery Games and the room erupted in cheers.
What You Need To Know
- The Food Hussy is a Cincinnati blogger named Heather Johnson
- She recently won an episode of Guy’s Grocery Games
- The blog has been active since 2008
- She’s publishing a cookbook of air fryer recipes
- Her goal is to make it back on the Food Network in a few years
After nearly 15 years of building up a brand as an online food blogger, the Cincinnati cook had accomplished a lifelong dream, appearing on the Food Network, meeting her idols and taking home the top prize, $20,000.
“These are people I’ve watched for 15-20 years, and to meet them and then they ate my food,” Johnson said. “I just, I bawled. I cried. I was just like, ‘Oh my God. You’re eating my food!’”
Best known through her online persona, the Food Hussy, Johnson started her culinary career as a restaurant reviewer. She had moved to the Cincinnati area from Iowa, and found herself eating out a lot.
Johnson tries out new recipes in her kitchen. (Spectrum News 1/Michelle Alfini)
“So I’d come back and write about it,” she said. “Just you know for something to do (as) a little hobby on the side.”
That was back in 2008. In the years since, she started growing a following and looking for a name, she settled on one she knew would help her stand out.
“Like, I call everybody hussy, so it just flew out of my mouth and I knew that day, I was like, Food Hussy,” she said. “It’s very memorable, nobody ever forgets it.”
As her blog grew, Johnson then began shifting her focus from reviews to recipes, focused on making copycat restaurant foods or creative ways to make easy, long-lasting meals. Recently, she’s been working on a series of air-fryer recipes to help cooks make the most out of the appliance.
“I try to make things I know people would be looking for,” she said. “And make it quick and easy to follow.”
Johnson works on a post for her blog. (Spectrum News 1/Michelle Alfini)
For most of her time blogging, Johnson said it was a part-time gig, but as her notoriety grew, a fellow food blogger told her she was at a turning point.
“She asked, ‘Is this a hobby or a job?’” said Johnson. “And I said, ‘I don’t know. I’d like it to be a job.’”
From then on, Johnson said she treated the blog like a job, posting more often, adding more video and photo elements, and improving her production quality.
“You have to know everything, you have to know marketing, you have to know photography,” she said.
Within two years, Johnson said she’d amassed a big enough following that she was able to quit her job and focus full-time on Food Hussy.
“Sometimes people are like, ‘What are you doing today?’ and I’m like, ‘I’m making spam in the air fryer and that’s my whole day.’ I love it,” she said.
With her newfound confidence, Johnson started looking for a way to take her cooking to the next level, applying for an episode of Guy’s Grocery Games on the Food Network.
“They were looking for super fans,” Johnson said. “And I’d recreated some of Guy Fieri’s recipes on my website, so I thought that might help.”
After a few weeks of applications and interviews though, Johnson said she was still surprised to get the call that she would be on the show.
Johnson took home an autographed plate from Guy Fieri. (Spectrum News 1/Michelle Alfini)
“I thought it was crazy I was like are you guys punking me?” She said.
Johnson said she spent the next few weeks trying out any recipes she could think of, working hard to complete everything in less than 20 minutes.
“And then I got there and I couldn’t use any of it,” she said. “You can’t really prepare for it.”
In the end, though, Johnson said she stuck to her basics, winning the judges over with a loose meat sandwich, a staple Iowa dish she’s made her whole life.
“I can’t believe I won,” she said. “It was crazy but it was so much fun!”
In the end, she took home $20,000, a signed plate from all of the judges and a strong motivation to keep cooking.
“Hopefully there will be more appearances on the Food Network,” she said. “It would be my lifelong dream to get back there.”
For now, though, she said she’s focusing on keeping the blog active, publishing an air fryer cookbook by the end of the year and making her Food Hussy brand even bigger, ensuring her personality shines through every recipe and video she makes.
“Can’t forget Hussy,” she said.
