2024 by Numbers.

Highs and lows from social media and beyond.

Catch my 2023 numbers here. And all of my details here.

+1 pool, added to villa.

+1 kitchen, renovated (with tile!).

+912 followers for Substack (for a total of 6,717). I’m happy with the progress, especially as many are international, and my open rate continues to go up. (And yes, this is a gentle reminder that you are always welcome to become a paid subscriber).

+2 books published. Find them here and here.

+2 freelance positions — Senior Marketing Consultant with Tresind Studio and Unilever Food Solutions. These are my roles moving into 2025, but I had a few other small roles pop up as well. I’m also happy with a consulting role I pushed back on and ultimately didn’t take — sometimes, it’s about trusting your gut.

+1 hosting GulfFood’s Top Table, including a panel with culinary royalty: Chef Alain Passard of L'Arpege, Chef Enrico Cerea of da Vittorio, Chef Joan Roca of El Celler de Can Roc, and Chef Vladimir Mukhin of White Rabbit. There were 21 stars featured over the week, and it honestly didn’t seem real (and still doesn’t).

+1 manuscript (almost) edited (to release in 2025, inshallah — I’m on page 199/255 with the first draft.

27 Michelin stars. This number is definitely up from 2023! My fellow BonBons are much better at tracking their stars than I am, so I might be off by one of two, but it was undoubtedly a year of dining in lauded restaurants.

+1,290 followers on Threads. Given that I am passively active on Threads, I do not know how I accumulated more followers. Yay for the algorithm working in my favor?

4,739 total followers on LinkedIn (with 1,195 subscribers to my newsletter — up from 1,010 in 2023).

+671.9% increase in impressions on LinkedIn. Similarly to 2023, I focused more on this platform and am delighted with the results.

+8 international press trips: Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, Italy, France, Türkiye, Thailand, and sneaking in at the very end, the Maldives. This number is up from 2023, and I’m unsure how it will look next year. I’m always happy with my invites and the places I could visit, but trips can be tricky, and I’m always thankful for what I’m offered. And yes, I do turn them down occasionally (there was a second trip to Türkiye that didn’t work out). I was also able to sneak to the capital on a few occasions for some summer stays. This number didn’t include trips to Sri Lanka and the US, which were personal.

128+ million+ views on Google Maps, which is still my best platform.

+0 new publications written for. This number really comes down to me. I haven’t been as diligent in pitching as I have in previous years. With other commitments, it just hasn’t been the same priority. At the same time, I know the work I’m putting into this publication is worth it — and it’s mine. However, I do have one new magazine that will hopefully be posting an article in early 2025.

Overall, 2024 was an unexpectedly great year. I could do better with certain things (exercise being a priority), but otherwise, I’m happy with the trajectory. Bring on 2025!

Thank you for your ongoing support!