His love for good food is one of the main reasons why John Jenkinson’s journey towards exploring local restaurants in Newcastle has given food lovers out there a taste of what Newcastle’s local restaurants have to offer.​

John Jenkinson’s life has been always connected to the North East. He grew up in South Shields and is currently living in Gateshead. After working in the IT field for a couple of years, he decided it was the time to go back to university, doing a degree in Linguistics and Chinese at Newcastle University. His interest in learning about new cultures will take him all the way to Sichuan in China, where he will be doing a year abroad at Sichuan University. His new adventure will give him an opportunity to experience a new student life, in addition to a world full of new dishes to taste.

Growing up in Newcastle, John describes it as a vibrant city that has a lot to offer. However, when it comes to restaurants and eating out, he felt that people here are not willing to try out the local restaurants, rather prefer going to all the big franchises. He felt, as though local restaurants in Newcastle are hidden behind all the big names. The idea of his blog ‘Scobberlotch’ came along for two main reasons. Firstly, because he and his wife love food and enjoy trying new places. Secondly, John wants people to start exploring local restaurants in their local areas.

John joined the blogging world in 2012, it all started after a holiday to New York with his wife, Rosie.  The city of New York is exciting itself, but it is also known as one of the greatest food destinations in the world. During their stay in New York, the couple enjoyed trying all the different local restaurants, which they found about through various blogs. This made them realise that nothing like this was done back in their hometown.

When John and Rosie started their blog, their aim was to build awareness of local restaurants in Newcastle. “We think that when you start exploring your local food places then you truly start to know your area”, the couple added. Both John and Rosie find new restaurants to dine in and blog about by simply walking around the city, “you don’t know what restaurants you find hidden around the corner”.

The name of the blog 'Scobberlotch' is an old English word, which means ‘to loaf around, doing nothing in particular’, came along as a coincidence. However, the couple fell in love with the name and believed it suited the theme of their blog.  They don’t regard themselves as professional food critics, though use their blog as a platform to show their readers that Newcastle has more to offer other than Nando's.

In a few months, Scobberlotch gained popularity amongst its readers. Local restaurants in Newcastle started taking notice of the blog. The couple has received a number of invitations from different restaurants around the city to try out their food and write a review about their experience dining at that particular restaurant. As much as they enjoy it, John expressed how "it felt weird not having to pay your bill after you are done with your meal, you just leave. At the beginning it was as though we were stealing something, but now we are used to it”.

As for promoting their blog, John and Rosie put a lot of effort into it. They use social media to engage with their readers, “so far we’ve got only positive feedback”, says John. In regards to blogging in Newcastle, John points out that there are not so many bloggers. “It is obviously not a big scene, so there is a good chance to be noticed once you step out and become an active blogger”.