An Interview with Amanda Ponzio-Mouttaki

I first met up with Amanda Ponzio-Mouttaki at a TBEX Europe conference and then saw her later at one in Istanbul. I wanted to circle back years later to talk about her unique perspective as an American blogger living in Morrocco and how her MarocMama blog and Marrakech tour business have evolved in the past decade. 

So you met your dream man in Morocco, moved to Marrakech, and went all in as a local. How did you then get started as a travel blogger?

I actually didn’t start out as a travel blogger. I started my blog, Marocmama, when my husband and I were living in Washington DC. I started writing a food blog and would share recipes – mostly just for my younger sister who would call and bother me regularly for my Moroccan recipes. I didn’t think anyone else was reading but I started to get comments and requests.

When I was laid off during the recession of that time I decided to take what was a hobby and try to at least make some money. I still wrote recipes and worked with companies doing brand ambassadorships, recipe development, and social media work. About a year before we were moving to Morocco, when our lives were more stable and we were traveling more thanks to a steady income, I began writing more about travel and that’s where it took a turn to where I am today.

Food and travel are the things I love and I have figured out a way to combine them both in what I write and how I travel.

You obviously write from a unique position on many levels. What has worked best for you in growing an audience and making an income from your work?

I think it was a combination of luck and foresight in how I positioned myself. Morocco was always a part of what I wrote because of my marriage and our travels to visit family. I just happened to also fall in love with Moroccan food and other types of cuisines as well so it has been a natural fit. I have really tried to go out of my way to learn as much as possible about this country and it’s food culture.

I also am naturally motivated to share my passion with others in a candid and honest way. I don’t try to hide who we are or what our experiences are and I think readers really appreciate that. I get so many comments and emails from people who say they felt they had connected with me through my writing and that’s really gratifying. I would say that’s what has made it work. I don’t hide who I am, I am honest and I go out of my way to be helpful.

When we started our food tour business, one of the things that helped it become successful out of the gate was that people trusted me and knew I knew what I was talking about. Were it not for that I don’t think it would have been successful.

Has being there in a foreign country led to any freelance jobs that have landed in your lap and do you pitch stories to publications?

Certainly. I have been approached many times by people who are looking for different content about Morocco. It certainly helps that I can speak decent Arabic and my husband is a built-in translator. I am able to convey more than people who are just visiting and I always have my ear to the ground for unique stories.

In the beginning of our time here, I did quite a bit of writing for magazines and publications. Podcasts, TV, and streaming services (like Netflix) have also increased their interest in the last 4-5 years. It’s been really interesting to say the least! At some point, however, there has to be a conscious decision made between how your time is spent and what the payoff is. I have gotten a lot more selective in the last two years about these choices. I used to always say yes.

I think this is something people should consider when they start gaining traction in this industry. You can’t say yes to everything so what is the trajectory you really see your career going? That’s where to funnel your time.

I know you run a very successful food tour business in Morocco.  How did you get started with that and how have you grown it since?

When we moved to Morocco in 2013 I had heard, seen, and experienced so many tourists leaving Morocco with either a distorted idea of what Moroccan food was or a bad idea. I was that tourist the first time I visited in 2004. When we finally moved to Marrakech, I had the idea to do a food tour to show tourists what they were missing out on. We love doing food tours when we travel so it made sense to me. We wanted to create something to show tourists what and where Moroccan people would eat and do it in a way that would give them the confidence to try it themselves.

After a few months of planning, I did one blog post which directed readers to a website for the tours and our first reservations for Marrakech Food Tours were literally rolling in overnight (we’ve since changed our name to Moroccan Food Adventures). We had hoped to do one or two tours per week as something fun and we now are operating daily tours and often two tours a day.

I have never paid for advertising but do regularly mention it on my website. We use Instagram and I also think TripAdvisor has been very helpful as people tend to see our reviews and book a tour. We offer an evening street food tour, a hands-on artisan tour in the souks of Marrakech, and several other offers in Marrakech. We also have a food tour in Essaouira with a few new tours on the horizon. 

You’ve done very well with your blog and food tours company. What else are you working on now or planning for the future?

Amanda Ponzio-Mouttaki is a curious world-traveling mom of two busy boys, foodie, and lover of all things Moroccan. She writes the blog MarocMama, is a freelance writer, and business owner living in Marrakech, Morocco. Starting with only $50 in seed money Amanda and her husband launched what is now Moroccan Food Adventures, the first food tour in Marrakech. Her goal in writing is to introduce readers to her global life, inspire them to try something new, and show them the world is waiting. 

You can connect with Amanda on Instagram or Facebook.