Welcome to Viva Flavor!

Hi there and welcome to the site!

My name’s Mark Wright and I started Viva Flavor at the beginning of 2019. 

I’ve been fascinated with cooking ever since I was a little boy. Even though there wasn’t much I could do back then, I was always first to help with the mixing, sifting and stirring – whatever I could get involved with. I just loved being around the smells and bustle of the kitchen.

When I got my first job at 18, there wasn’t a lot of money to go around. This was also long before things like multi-function smart oven technology was around to help me explore new areas of cooking.

Still, the experience taught me how to do more with less, think carefully about what I was buying, and look after my hard-earned gear. I’m not sure my then-girlfriend enjoyed every one-pan experiment I forced on her, but fortunately she married me anyway!

By the time we’d bought our own house I was ready to indulge myself in kitting out my first proper kitchen. There were so many gadgets and gizmos though, and so much conflicting information about what I really needed. It took a lot of costly mistakes to get to where I am now.

That’s why I started Viva Flavor. I want to help other people get more out of kitchen life, become more ambitious with their love of food and drink, and do so without wasting money and effort on needless or ineffective equipment.

How Articles Are Written

This blog was created to provide you with a place where you could gain the information you need to enjoy your kitchen more, and make the right purchasing decisions when you want to expand your collection of kitchenware.

I’ve researched and created every article that’s published on Viva Flavor, and I have extremely high standards for the quality of the site. I never use freelancers to cut corners, so you can be confident that every single article has been given the same amount of care, research and attention by me.

Where possible I’ve tried to get hands-on time with all of the products mentioned on my blog. In those cases where that isn’t possible, I extensively research the online feedback (good and bad) from real people, with real experience of the products.

I also spend a lot of time monitoring the latest trends in kitchenware, swapping tips with my network of foodie friends based on their own adventures, and talking to people who work in the industry.

I want Viva Flavor to be a place you come back to time and again when you need independent advice. In asking for your trust, I also promise that brand sponsorship plays no part in the content published on the site. Everything featured here is evaluated on its own merits and nothing more.

Landfill full of plastic and electronic clutter

Quality Versus Quantity

It’s no great secret that at this moment in history an unsustainable amount of plastic and electronic stuff is cluttering up the planet in the form of landfill.

It’s not sustainable, and we all need to start thinking about how much we buy, and how important it is that we get our consumer purchases right first time.

I also believe strongly that where your budget allows, you should invest in products that have a proven long life. That’s not always possible, but a product that lasts a long time will pay for the extra cost many times over.

All other things being equal I also give bonus points for companies that have a strong environmental policy – and a track record to back it up.

You’ll also find plenty of advice on Viva Flavor about how to care for those items, so they continue to provide you with great value, and for much longer than they otherwise would have. That’s something we can all do to help stem the tide of landfill, and save money at the same time.

None of this stuff is easy, and there’s a difficult balance to strike between enjoying life and making sure future generations get to do the same. If Viva Flavor can help with that in even a small way though, then I’ll be delighted.

Why Read Viva Flavor?

That’s a lot of information about me and want I want Viva Flavor to be! Why should you read the site though?

I think the simple answer here is that the site will be valuable if you want to develop your love of cooking, make kitchen life more convenient, and free up more of that precious time we all fight hard to keep hold of.

If any of the following statements resonate with you, I think you’ll get real value out of reading the site:

  • You want to do more with your kitchen and develop your cooking skills and knowledge.
  • You’ve started a family and you want to make cooking and eating more convenient, without sacrificing the enjoyment of both.
  • You want independent advice about the best food and drinks equipment on the market.
  • You think it’s important to make the right buying decisions first time, so you minimize your impact on the environment.

If that sounds like you, then welcome to the site! I hope you enjoy your journey as much as I am my own.

Mark Wright