Hello, thanks for falling into The Flavor Hole!

Where am I?

This is the Flavor Hole, a cooking blog run by ClockworkCloak (Nate Smith).

Who is this strange creature before me?

My name is Nate Smith (he/him). I graduated with a major in hospitality almost a decade ago and while I wound up in a different field instead of restaurants, cooking has still remained a passion of mine and I have been working on a cookbook in my spare time. ClockworkCloak is my gamertag, seemed fitting to use it here and with my Etsy shop (here). I figured a goofy little caricature of myself would fit for the blog name and the casual/goofy tone I was going for (thanks to othatsraspberry for the art!)

What will be posted here?

Tips and tricks for cooking and grocery shopping, the occasional recommendations for ingredients or tools (I will clearly state if I am ever sponsored), but mainly my own original recipes, that will eventually go in my cookbook: What you can expect:

• My cuisine can best be described as New American Comfort Fusion: America is a melting pot, the flavors and cooking techniques of all our different cultures play wonderfully together. I may get a little fancy from time to time with a dish, but the bulk of the time I focus on how I can make something tasty with as little fuss as possible.
• 90% of my recipes are gluten free (a family member has a gluten intolerance)
• 100% of my recipes are delicious (at least I think so)
• Expect quite a few chicken wing recipes! (That’s going to be like 50% of the planned cookbook)
• Do not expect a lot of vegan or vegetarian dishes; I have pollen allergy that makes it difficult to eat raw veggies, has kind of skewed my cooking! That said, I do try and make sure all of my dishes are delicious AND nutritrious.
• I promise not to ever have a long winded story posted alongside my recipes. Maybe some suggestions for what to pair it with, flavor description, the occasional short joke, etc. but never will I post a a recipe about how I learned about a recipe while on a road trip with a friend.
• No, I don’t use AI to make my recipes, art, etc. Cooking is a human art; also I don’t want to poison someone.

When will new stuff be posted?

This blog will be updated sporadically (I am still treating this as a hobby in addition to my day job). Please subscribe so you can receive a notification when new recipes are posted (I promise not to spam you with anything).

Why are you doing this?

I have been working on this cookbook for years in a vacuum, and while the very positive feedback from family, friends, and coworkers is great, I have been told several times I need to start up a food blog to get my name out there. So finally doing that! (Also launched an Etsy store for my Perler Bead art and Christmas ornaments if you are looking for some hand-made gifts). Cookbook is still several years out, but until then, let’s have some fun together!