Hot From the Kettle is the Montclair-based on-line source that takes you behind the scenes at NJ’s finest restaurants and casual eateries. Whether its American, Italian, Moroccan, Ethiopian, Indian, or Jamaican fare, Hot From The Kettle tastes it all!
From dairies to bakeries, breweries to bars, pork plants to butcher shops, farms to tables, and wine shops to wine cellars, Hot From The Kettle® goes deeper to satisfy NJ’s culinary curiosities! Owner, Melody Kettle, travels New Jersey and engages Top Chefs, Chopped Chefs, Iron Chefs, and the finest, most unique home cooks in candid, informative conversation, while learning and cooking along side them.
Just the Facts
+ Hot From The Kettle receives approximately 28,000 views per month.
+ Daily page views have quadrupled since April 2011.
+ Unique viewership has more than quadrupled with the last eight months.
+ Hot From The Kettle is based in Montclair, and covers northern New Jersey.
+ Hot From The Kettle is dedicated to publishing New Jersey restaurant news and recipes, videos, and information for food enthusiasts.
+ Our editorial team includes owner, Melody Kettle, contributor, Chef Elizabeth Palmer Starnes, contributor, John Lee, music writer Meg Beattie Patrick, and wine writer, Sara Lehman.
+ Melody Kettle is a member of Chaine des Rotisseurs, Charge de Presse, and founder of the non-profit Montclair Food & Wine Festival.
+ Hot From The Kettle is a featured on iFood.tv and heads up NJ Dining at Off The Broiler.
+ Hot From The Kettle is an inductee of the Culinary Hall of Fame.
Our Team
Melody Kettle, Owner and executive editor
Melody currently resides in Montclair with her husband and two children. She grew up in Bergen county, and spent most of her time beside her grandmother in the kitchen, where she developed a love for cooking, food, and entertaining. After receiving a B.A. in English from Rutgers University, Melody attended Rutgers Law School where she earned a Juris Doctorate. In 2010 Melody began blogging and “vlogging” (video blogging) for hyper-local news site, Baristanet, and later for Patch. In March of 2011, she launched Hot From The Kettle®, One Steamy Wine & Food Destination. Hot From The Kettle has established itself as the definitive on-line source for restaurant news and reviews in Montclair and surrounding areas. Hot From The Kettle also publishes content such as culinary demonstrations, recipes, and methods that have attracted national and international interest.
Hot From The Kettle has recently been inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame, and Hot From The Kettle videos are now featured on iFood.tv.
Melody Kettle heads up the North Jersey dining section of Off The Broiler. She is member of the prestigious Chaine des Rotisseurs, and holds the office of Charge de Presse Nationale. She has also appeared on Emeril's Table on the Hallmark Channel.
Elizabeth Palmer Starnes, Chef and food writer
After graduating from Hamilton College with a bachelors degree in history and a minor in art history, Elizabeth decided to attend culinary school in New York City. Cooking has always been my passion, and she jumped at the opportunity to refine and broaden it. Elizabeth studied at the French Culinary Institute, cultivating her palate and leaning all the classic techniques of French cooking from a group of amazing chefs. After graduating in March, Elizabeth was back to food writing for Hot From the Kettle, scoping out new and upcoming restaurants in the Montclair area, with her newly trained palate as her guide. Elizabeth loves traveling, writing, cooking, eating, and all things culinary.
Meg Beattie Patrick, Music writer and ad sales rep
Meg is the North Jersey Music writer and ad sales representative for Hot From The Kettle, LLC. She is also the host and executive producer of Arts Up Close at TV34 Montclair.
Meg has an extensive background in project management, internal communications, media relations, traditional media, social media, advertising sales, media account management, client relations, PR analysis, media measurement, marketing, and event planning.
Sara Lehman, Wine writer
Sara Lehman is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University, Providence RI. She has her associate’s degree in Baking and Pastry arts, along with a Bachelor’s degree in Food Service Management and Entrepreneurship. Sara has been in love with food and wine since she was very young. She spent much time in the kitchen with her parents who loved to cook and build their wine collection.
Her passion for this industry came about in high school when she took culinary classes and had incredible chef mentors. She then worked summers at their local restaurants, and knew this industry was where she wanted to focus her attention.
She has worked as Pastry Chef in various locations all over NJ and spent one summer in Cape Cod at an upscale hotel as a pastry chef and running the dessert night line. After her junior year of college, she studied abroad for her Sommelier degree which allowed her to study at The German Wine School where they analyzed, tasted, and paired wines from all around the world with food and or desserts.
Following college, Zod Arifai of Blu and Next Door in Montclair, NJ gave Sara her first management experience. Sara has recently accepted a position as General Manager at Grand Cru Wine Bar and Restaurant in Englewood, NJ.
About Hot From The Kettle
Q. How does a lawyer mom become a blogger?
A. In February 2010, Melody Kettle began writing and producing short video segments for hyper-local website, Baristanet.com. In July 2010, Melody Kettle founded Hot From The Kettle, LLC and began producing half-hour shows for Montclair TV34. The show then expanded to SOMA TV in South Orange and Maplewood, as well as Summit’s HomeTowne Television.
Q. How has your network grown?
Since our formal launch in March 2011, Melody Kettle, has contributed to many local outlets, such as Patch and Jersey Bites. Melody is currently working on a documentary movie, Montclair The Show, which is due out June 2012.
Hot From The Kettle is a member of Culinary Hall of Fame, and a Featured Partner on iFood.tv. In November, Melody Kettle was inducted into the prestigious Chaine des Rotisseurs, as a National Charge de Presse, and writes for the international publication, “Gastronome.”
Q. How much traffic does Hot From The Kettle receive?
A. Since our launch in March 2011, our daily views have increased 100x! Hot From The Kettle has developed a loyal following, both local and global, and now receives approximately 20,000 hits per month, from a demographic of serious food and restaurant enthusiasts.
Some of our videos have received over 40,000 views within a year.
Q. How do you market Hot From The Kettle?
A. In the community, Hot From The Kettle promotes, organizes and participates in many charity events, like Montclair Food & Wine Festival, A Tasteful Experience, and Montclair Restaurant Week. In addition to printed materials, like t-shirts, door decals, and mounted displays of our restaurant reviews, Hot From The Kettle also makes full use of digital and social media to assist our marketing.
Hot From The Kettle maintains thriving accounts and “fan pages” on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, and especially, YouTube.
We are also very excited to employ one of the newest forms of new media marketing, QR Codes, also referred to as “2D barcodes” and “smart tags.” We feature QR codes on our posters, business cards, and assorted printed materials.
Restaurantnews.com published an article about Hot From The Kettle’s implementation of tabletop QR Codes at Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant. This is a wonderful form of new media that also creates a revenue path in a very unobtrusive way.