I know this post has been delayed for weeks, but this is just in time because we’ve got a lot to be thankful for today, including our home in Dampalit, Malabon being spared from complete destruction from Pedring.

When we joined the run for the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2011, Ken and I did not expect the amount of support we got from our fellow bloggers, foodies and friends. So, when we found out we got a record-breaking 100+ votes, we were in shock. We landed in #1 after the votes were tallied.

Thank you to the Pinay Mommies Community for the love and support, especially from Mommy Rubz who welcomed me to the group even in my single-blessedness.

Thank you to everyone who voted for us. I haven’t collated your names and links yet, but as soon as I do, we’ll give you a link back on this post.

As Cielo of Brown Pinay, a dear blogger friend, commented, “Taon nyo talaga ang 2011.”, and we couldn’t agree more. I mean, we are overwhelmed by the fact that right after emerging as #1 in the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2011, we also got in the Top 10 of FriendsEat.com’s 2011 Best Food Blogger. Ken and I can think of a hundred and million reasons why people voted for us, most of them are pretty funny, but we still appreciate the love and support so much.

There were hundreds of food blogs that were nominated, but our fellow Pinoys and friends rallied to keep us in the Top 10! We’re the only Pinoy food blog on the list so we are so grateful for the love and support. *BIG HUGS*

Update: The blog has been moved to the new server already. We hope everyone can already view our posts now.

Just a quick announcement. Our blog (this one) will be under intermittent maintenance from now until probably Saturday night. I’ll be moving this blog to a new server to address DNS issues resulting to some people not being able to access this site completely.

In the meantime, please check for updates at our Facebook page. We’re already working on finishing the validation of all entries in our first anniversary giveaway. And over the weekend, we’ll announce our California Crunch giveaway winners.

We have more giveaways coming soon so make sure you’ve already subscribed to our updates or followed us on Facebook and Twitter.

Hope you all have an awesome weekend!

It’s that time again when new emerging and influential blogs are recognized by the blogging community.

This year, choosing my list of emerging blogs for 2011 has been easy. My votes go to my blogger friends and some that I completely support.

Without further ado, here are my Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2011:

#1: www.CertifiedFoodies.com

Of course, on top of my list is our food blog, this blog, Certified Foodies. I believe that our food blog deserve a spot in the Top 10 this year because of what we have accomplished in a year of this blog’s existence. We may go on about our blog’s traffic stats and the number of readers and comments we get daily, but really, this blog is about how we affect other people.

When we started this blog last year, our main goal was to share our own recipes and to convince people that cooking can really be fun. In our family, food and cooking have played a big part in drawing us closer together. And we wanted to share that love and passion for food with our dear friends and readers.

We also share our foodie adventures here. And if you’ve been reading our posts, you’d get to read about some awkward and funny moments that we experience while we discover new things. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about – it’s part of the fun and adventure.

My bro, Kenneth, and I have become closer than ever because of this food blog. We enjoy going on food trips, and now, we get to discover new cuisines and flavors together. And we know that you all agree that nothing beats bonding with your closest friends and loved ones with something delicious to share with them, may it be a home-cooked meal or even a sandwich to make it special.

I believe that our food blog has received votes from numerous bloggers, a lot of them have known us up-close, because they’ve seen the bond between me and my brother. We only realized that when people started complimenting us about it – how close we are. I bet when they get to meet my whole family, especially our nanay, or even live in our home for even a day or two, they’d understand why we’re so close. Everyone here at home loves food and enjoys cooking.

Our family enjoys dining out more than ever. We get to try out new restaurants together.
Sorry, we don’t usually smile in our photos but we really had fun when we all went out for movie day.

And I know you’d agree that in every occasion or every emotion you feel, there’s a dish or food that will suit the moment. May it be a tub of vanilla ice cream to ease a broken heart, a fiesta of kare-kare and all sorts of Pinoy dishes to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary, glasses of wine or shots of tequila as you bond and drink with friends you haven’t seen for awhile, a home-cooked meal during the weekend when your family’s together, or a romantic meal before you propose to the love of your life.

This is why we enjoy food blogging as much as you, our dear friends and readers, enjoy reading and sharing your own foodie stories on our posts. And because of this, we’ll continue on spreading the LOVE, not just for food, but for our family and friends, and for each other as siblings.

Finally, now that my brother Kenneth is studying to become a full-fledged chef soon, expect us to share more tips, recipes and discoveries as he venture onwards to fulfill his culinary journey.

To everyone who voted for us already, THANK YOU SO MUCH! We truly appreciate your votes, especially those that came from people who’ve been following our foodie stories and adventures for months now. You’re a major part of why we’re enjoying this!

(Okay, I’m getting a li’l teary-eyed here. Only my closest friends know exactly why.)

The rest of my Top 10 after the jump.

If you’ve been following our blog, you’d know that my bro Kenneth already started culinary school at Global Culinary and Hospitality Academy last July 12th. We promised to share his progress in his culinary journey towards becoming a full-fledged chef so here we go.

This blog will serve as his journal where you can follow him towards fulfilling his culinary dreams. For now, we’d like to share some photos of his baked creations. They’re currently in the baking and pastry phase and I’m amazed at his progress. He’s competitive in nature so I know he’ll always aim for excellence. Mana sa ate *ehem* (Stage sister ).

Soft Rolls and Pull Aparts, Single, Double and Figure 8 knots

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Everything they prepare, they take home so we got to try almost everything he learned to prepare in school. Yum!

We have posted a photo album on our Facebook page where we’ll be posting what he’s learned to make in culinary school. You can follow this “photo blog” too.

Stay tuned for posts from him about his culinary journey. We promise more recipes and tips here so keep posted, friends. Plus, we might have giveaways where the prizes would be his own creations or an intimate dinner with all the dishes prepared by us.

For the Love of Learning & Food

UPDATES:

8/10/2011 – This giveaway is extended until August 31st to give way to more participants. We only have a few who have entered and some of them didn’t pick all the prizes so there were some that were only selected by 3-5 bloggers. Plus, we haven’t bought the prizes yet because of our really hectic schedule (sorry ). Please bear with us. This is good news though ‘cause all participants who join on or before August 12th will get 2 extra entries. Plus, you can all still edit your CAPTION for your Certified Foodie photo to increase your chances of winning the cash prizes.

7/29/2011 – With the approval of our partners, the mandatory tasks for them have been moved to the Optional Tasks. But, the participants who already completed everything as of this update (07/29/2011) will get 5 extra entries.

And, anyone joining from here on out will get 3 extra entries if they complete the tasks under “For our Partners”

Blogs that are at least 3 months old with quality posts the past months can join now. (Feel free to ask if you’re not sure if you’re eligible to join)

One year.

We can’t believe that this food blog, Certified Foodies, has been in existence for over a year now.

We started this humble blog in May 2010 with the purpose of sharing our own recipes of dishes that we Pinoys usually don’t prepare at home. It may be because they seem complicated or too messy to cook. We wanted to show people that noob cooks (Mhel) or better skilled ones (Kenneth) can experiment and add their own twists to different recipes and flavors.

Since then, we’ve aimed to hopefully encourage people that cooking is fun. Our very own Nanay (yes, we’re siblings! ) has shown us how much you can enjoy cooking at home. That’s why the kitchen is our favorite area in our home. We get to cook whatever we want, whenever we prefer. And she willingly (:D) tastes them, compliments or criticizes us accordingly and in a very amusing way.

She’s even very supportive of our food blog. Whenever we’re dining out, she’ll always recommend we try something new. Why? ‘Cause she’s seen the development of this blog and is actually enjoying being part of all this.

A lot has happened in the past year, including our discovery of new flavor combinations and cuisines that we usually would be scared to taste. Our palates have matured and we now are looking forward to more foodie adventures.

Fierce-fierce-an

We honestly can’t believe the amount of support we’re getting from our fellow foodies. From moms who have tried our recipes and added their own twists to it (definitely a win for us!) to fellow food lovers who finally worked up the courage to try something new just because of our recommendations, ahhh… for that, WE THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts… and bellies , especially those who find the time to visit our blog and comment.

By the way, we hope you’d consider this food blog for your list of Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2011. For all those who have already voted for us, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Why is this giveaway launching today, July 12, 2011?

Today, Kenneth, one of the authors of this blog, will be starting his journey towards fulfilling his culinary dreams. So, it was just fitting to start our giveaway on a very remarkable day in our lives.

Very soon, he’ll be sharing his new recipes, and tips and techniques that he learned from culinary school. So, make sure you stay tuned for that!

Alright, enough introduction. Let’s get on to our FIRST ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY. But, we hope you did read the paragraphs here. You’ll know why later.

First things first, who can join?

Eligibility & Reminders:

1. One entry per person / blogger only.
2. Your blog should be at least 3 months old with quality posts per month (not contest-related).
3. Your blog must have PR0 and above to qualify to join. To check your blog’s PR, click here.
   UPDATE as of 07/25/2011: Blogs with or without PR can now join the giveaway. BUT, blogs with N/A (new blogs) must have AT LEAST 3 quality posts for the past 3 months.
   Feel free to ask if you’re not sure if your blog’s eligible.
4. You must have valid Facebook and Twitter accounts.
5. You must have Google (Friend Connect) and Networked Blogs accounts.
6. This giveaway is open to anyone in the world (internationally) BUT only the Certified Foodie Photo prizes will be sent through Paypal. The rest of the prizes can only be shipped or received by Philippine residents (if you live outside of the PH but has a relative or friend here, they can claim/receive the prizes for you . None of the prizes can be exchanged for cash.
7. Some of the mechanics and prizes here may be changed or adjusted. We’ll post updates at the top of this post and will post on our FB page and Twitter just in case we do.
8. The forms you need to fill up to submit your entries are listed at the end of this post. These forms are there to keep everything organized and to help you monitor which tasks you have yet to accomplish.

The Prizes…

We’ve got tons of prizes in store for you! That means we’ll have a lot of winners for this giveaway. So, your chances of winning anything is higher.

Early Bird Raffle

We already picked a winner! The other 2 early birds will get 2 extra raffle entries!

Congratulations to Dothy of Princess Wannabe!

The FIRST 3 who will finish all the mandatory tasks,
submit their entries and get validated will have a chance to win…

Php 500 worth of Angel’s Pizza gift certificates

Thanks to Orange Magazine TV!

Certified Foodie Photo Contest

Scroll down for the mechanics for this part of the giveaway.

We’ll be picking 3 winners who will win the following prizes:

First Prize: $30.00 cash

Second Prize: $20.00 cash

Third Prize: $10.00 cash

In case the winners don’t have Paypal accounts, we can send their prizes through bank deposit.

Gift Certificates Galore!

These gift certificates are from food places we’ve featured here already, those that we know you usually frequent and from our friends and partners.

Php 500 at Buon Giorno! Gift Certificates (1 winner)

Php 300 at Figaro +  Php 600 SM Sodexo Gift Passes (1 winner)

Php 500 at Magnolia Chicken Station (1 winner)

Php 2,000 LJC Restaurants Gift Certificates (1 winner)
Can be used at the following restos: Café Adriatico, Abe Trinoma, Bistro Remedios, Abe Serendra, Larry’s, Fely J’s, Mojito Bay, Lorenzo’s Way, Mulatta, etc.

Php 1,500 Joey Pepperoni Pizzeria Gift Certificates (1 winner)

 Php 2,000 The Stock Market Gift Certificates (1 winner)

Php 1,000 KFC Gift Certificates (2 winners)

Php 1,000 Kenny Rogers Gift Certificates (1 winner)

Php 1,500 Yellow Cab Gift Certificates (1 winner)

Php 500 Gelatissimo Gift Certificates (2 winners)

Php 1,000 Pancake House Gift Certificates (2 winners)

Php 500 Starbucks Gift Certificates (2 winners)

 Php 500 Dairy Queen Gift Certificates (2 winners)

Food for the ♥

Prizes marked with an asterisk (*) can only be picked up at designated places within Metro Manila.

16-piece Bento Box from My Pink Wasabi (3 winners) *

Who wouldn’t want to eat these delights?! Thank you, Chef Anna!
Stay tuned for our feature of her creations. And, yes, those are pastries / rolled-up cakes!
For pickup at Mercato Centrale only.

Php 500 worth of Fedhz Polvoron (2 winners)

They’re all homemade so you know they’re prepared with love.
Thanks, Fedhz!

We love these pastries from Rae of The Cookie Jar. We know you’d love them, too!

The Cookie Jar Gift Pack #1 (1 winner) *

Box of 8 French Macarons + Triple Chocolate Cookies

The Cookie Jar Gift Pack #2 (1 winner) *

Cookie Mix – Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

French Macarons – Box of 8

Triple Chocolate Cookies – Can of 10

Pringles 6-can Gift Pack (1 winner)

Doritos, Cheetos, and Lay’s Gift Pack (1 winner)

Food Trip with US!

Yes, you read that right!

We’ll pick 1 winner in random who’ll get TWO (2) invites to go on a food trip with us,
Mhel and Ken. OUR TREAT!
Yes, you can bring a +1 (friend, bf / gf, family member, etc).

Details of this will be discussed AFTER the giveaway,
but surely it’s at a buffet-style or eat-all-you-can restaurant within Metro Manila.

Note that the food trip will be featured here. Winners will also get backlinks on our post.

We might include additional prizes at the end of the giveaway. So, stay tuned!

All prizes will be shipped to you except when we indicate otherwise (e.g., for food products).

Are you ready for our first anniversary giveaway?!

Stay tuned on July 12th!