Hello all. This is our first post here at Patch, but it is certainly not our first post in the world of blogging.

My wife Lisa and I started Eating in South Jersey back in April 2008 as a natural extension of what we were doing already: trying different restaurants, going to food festivals, reading food-related books and attempting recipes from cookbooks, and then talking about our experiences with others. We certainly could not have expected back then that in three years' time a) we would still be doing it, b) we would have a nice little following of readers, c) we would end up meeting and interviewing people like Paula Deen and Ted Allen, and d) we would get mentions in the New York Times and New Jersey Monthly. We are ever so grateful for all of the experiences we have had so far.

So what's next? Well, you're looking at part of it. We are joining forces with Patch to help support hyperlocal media and to utilize another channel in sharing our thoughts and experiences with folks in the area. Although we talk about all things food in South Jersey, our posts here will tend to focus on restaurants, farm markets and food events in Ocean County. We will still talk about things outside of Ocean County as well, since fellow food enthusiasts like ourselves don't mind travelling a bit for tasty foodstuffs. 

To our new readers here at Patch, we hope you will enjoy what we have to offer. And to those who know us already, thank you for your patronage and keep on following along!

John