What Jesse Cunningham Failed to Mention
Photo Credit: Niche Pursuits.
Evaluating AI approaches to Food Blogging mentioned by Jesse Cunningham.
If you clicked this article for a hit piece on Jesse Cunningham, you might be disappointed. The purpose of this post isn’t to tear him down, but to flesh out some important nuance that wasn’t detailed in his video on how this food blog makes over $500,000 per year.
In the video, Jesse points out that you could theoretically replicate what Midwest Foodie Blog is doing using tools like Content Goblin—automating recipe write-ups, images, and social content. From a purely production standpoint, he’s not wrong. But the business reality is a bit more layered.
The Unique Selling Ingredient (USI) of Midwest Foodie Blog
From a business perspective, Midwest Foodie Blog has a Unique Selling Ingredient that a Content Goblin-style AI site will lack: brand value and trust.
Kylie, the creator, has built her audience over time through:
– Authentic recipe testing – Her audience trusts that every recipe has been personally tried and perfected.
– Genuine photography – The food photos are real representations of what readers can expect when they follow the recipe.
– Consistent voice & personality – Over time, her style, tone, and flavor have become familiar and comforting to her audience.
Why Trust Beats Automation in This Niche
This trust has tangible business value. Here’s why:
– It saves users time – Readers don’t need to guess whether the recipe will work or taste good; they know it’s been tested.
– It reduces perceived risk – For a home cook preparing a dinner party dish, a failed recipe can be embarrassing and costly. Trust removes that fear.
– It builds repeat traffic – When a recipe works the first time, people come back for more. That’s loyalty an AI-generated recipe site may struggle to replicate.
The AI Gap
An AI-driven site might churn out hundreds of recipes quickly, but:
– Can it guarantee taste and texture?
– Can it capture a real cooking process with authentic, appetizing imagery?
– Can it build a personal connection with readers who feel like they know the creator?
That gap is exactly where Midwest Foodie Blog thrives.
Bottom Line
Jesse’s point about scalability with AI is valid—tools like Content Goblin can help someone attempt to replicate the structure of Midwest Foodie Blog. But the missing piece is the human element: trust, authenticity, and proven quality.
For many niches—especially food blogging—that human touch isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s the main ingredient.
