Jacopo Mazzeo PhD
Journalist, Photographer & Consultant
Tell a story on The Typing Cellar
The coronavirus pandemic has turned the world upside down. It's hit the entire economy, yet some industries have been hit harder than others. The drinks and hospitality sector is one of them.
To help support the people who make this industry so extraordinary, I've decided to open The Typing Cellar to guest blog posts from any drinks and hospitality professional.
It's an "open mic" opportunity for sommeliers, bartenders, brewers, winemakers, buyers, restaurant managers, pub owners, etc... who have a remarkable or unique story to tell or want to comment on a given topic, to share it with the global drinks and hospitality community on an open, welcoming and safe platform.
Who the blog is open to
Any drinks or hospitality industry professional (sommeliers, bartenders, brewers, winemakers, buyers, chefs, restaurant managers, etc) is welcome to submit their pitches. As long as you work in the trade – or you would if it wasn’t for Covid – you’re welcome to get in touch, regardless of your race, ethnicity, nationality, geographical provenance or current location, class, caste, religion, belief, gender, age, health or any other status.
Charities and charitable initiatives aimed at the drinks and hospitality sector are also welcome to get in touch and pitch their ideas.
This opportunity isn't aimed at professional writers (there is no retribution involved) or at brands. For any sponsored content, please drop me a line and I’ll be happy to discuss it more in detail over a Zoom chat.
If you are unsure whether you qualify, do feel free to get in touch with your idea, but please ensure that any potential conflict of interest is clearly stated in your pitch.
Examples of ideas you can pitch
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Unique, personal stories: how you got into wine, beer, whisky… how you’ve overcome difficulties to achieve what you’ve achieved, a particular skill you’ve developed, your own personal view on a given topic or industry-related issue;
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Stories from lesser-known places: The Typing Cellar’s audience is mainly UK-, North America-, rest of Western Europe- and Australia-based. Stories from anywhere else in the world are likely to be of interest;
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Covid-related stories: for instance, how the pandemic is affecting your region/country, your business, or yourself personally;
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Funny stories: e.g. how you burned the label of that $3,000 bottle of wine while decanting it...;
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Anything you think a mainstream publication would never cover.
How to pitch
There is no formal way to do this. You can get in touch via the website’s contact form, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
When you send your pitch, just remember to:
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Introduce yourself (unless I know you already), explaining where you work, what’s your role within the industry, etc;
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Outline your idea/ideas or suggest your topic/topics in a short paragraph or two.
Don’t worry too much if you feel your idea is a bit vague, I'll help you give it more focus.
What happens after you send your pitch
Once I receive your pitch, I review it and get back to you with some feedback as soon as possible. I can't accept all pitches, but I try to give feedback on everything I receive.
In case we mutually agree to go ahead with your idea, we set a rough word-count and a deadline for your submission.
Once your draft is with me, I'll go through it and edit it before publishing it on the site (I might ask you to do some amendments first). Please appreciate that, although I'm willing to provide the platform and offer some of my time for this, I can't publish anything that requires a significant amount of editing.
Lastly, please bear in mind that I reject anything that contains discriminatory language, unsubstantiated allegations or words that inspire hatred. You're welcome to pitch a delicate topic, but please be prepared to be positive and give your thoughts, opinions, believes and ideologies the benefit of the doubt. If you like to attack someone, just do it on Twitter as anyone else does.
That's all from me. Have an idea you want to pitch? Tell me all about it here.