Courtney Rowland

Hello, My name is Courtney Rowland. I started my blog, NeighborFood, in 2011, after being inspired by other early content creators like Joy the Baker, Smitten Kitchen, and The Pioneer Woman.

As a newlywed and fledgling cook, reading cooking blogs made me feel like I had a friend in the kitchen with me. I remember the first time I successfully flipped a chocolate bundt cake. What a rush!

I felt like an absolute rock star and getting to share that delicious cake with family and friends was even better.

I wanted other people to experience that same burst of pride and joy when they pulled a tray of warm cookies out of the oven or gathered with loved ones around a meal they cooked themselves.

In the 13 years since I started NeighborFood, it has grown from a hobby into a small business that supports my entire family. The site is viewed by millions of people every year, and I get so much joy from hearing the stories of visitors who have used our recipes for Thanksgiving dinners, birthday celebrations, and every day dinners with their families. I’ve heard from readers who discovered a recipe from their past they thought was lost forever or who won a contest at their local county fair with a recipe from my site.

Recipes have always been a primary way humans pass on traditions, culture, and memories. Eating is a distinctly human activity and one of the most fundamental ways we show love, celebrate, comfort, and nourish each other.

With the rapid rise of AI, I hope we can continue to cultivate an Internet built and sustained by real human connection. I have always considered my blog to be a virtual table. It’s more than a collection of recipes; it’s a gathering place where people can learn together and hopefully find a recipe (or 2 or 12) to share with the ones they love! I have also benefited from visiting the virtual tables of hundreds of other creators who have generously shared their expertise, their cultural heritage, and their family’s favorite recipes with the world.

A recipe is so much more than a list of ingredients. It is the result of thousands of years of humans experimenting, tasting, sharing, and creating together. It is my hope that in the future, the human experience behind every recipe continues to be prioritized and valued. While AI can be a useful tool, it cannot replace the love, care, and history that goes into each recipe humans make and share. Let’s Keep It Real.