Food Connects Us All - Aparna Srivastava


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1. Tell us about your background and journey.

Hello! My name is Aparna Srivastava, the face behind The Food Lust. I'm extremely passionate about food which made me create my own page and talk about food. When I was studying in college, I used to explore various street food places in Varanasi and later expanded to restaurants. 

Initially, I used to post pictures of food on my personal account where my friends used to ask the location of the food places. This gave me an idea to create my own platform dedicated to food. I started by posting my food trails on Instagram and created "thefood_lust" in 2018. 

Later on, I started meeting other food bloggers of the city and soon some bloggers united to form the Varanasi Food Association headed by me as the Co-founder. Currently, I'm working as an analyst in a big four audit firm which made me shift to Bengaluru. 

So my page talks about Varanasi and Bengaluru food joints along with homemade recipes and lifestyle product reviews. Instagram is my main platform. But I’m everywhere - on Facebook, Twitter, Zomato, and Tripadvisor. I'm also planning to create content on YouTube.


2. Which is your favorite cuisine and dish?

Currently, I crave for the Indo-Chinese cuisine. Chilli Chicken, Chowmein, Fried Rice with Manchurian, and the list goes on. The fusion of Chinese food with an Indian touch is what makes it so tempting for me.


3. Should food blogging be just a passion or can it become a regular career?

Food blogging can be a regular career if you do it with passion and keep up the creativity alive in your work. There are many food bloggers who are earning much more money than their regular 9 to 5 job.


4. Which restaurants/food joints would you recommend to food lovers?

Keshri chaat Bhandar from Varanasi which is famous for its Tamatar Chaat where the main magic lies in their mashed tomato gravy. Painstakingly prepared over several hours, it includes dried fruits, mustard oil, desi ghee, lime juice.

Kota Kachori from Koramangala Bengaluru, this is the best place to have Alo Pyaaz Kachori and is famous for its variants of Kachori.


5. What makes you appreciate a particular dish or a restaurant and talk about it on your blog?

For a dish beside its taste what I do look for is the food presentation, the service of a restaurant, and of course quality.


6. Is there a dish you particularly associate yourself with?

I would say I am like a bowl of Ramen, consisting of many variables in a warm bowl. Likewise, I cover home-made recipes, street food, food joints, pub, fine- dine all together on my Instagram.


7. Which is your favorite book and why?

I'm not what you call a book worm but I do read from time to time. Harry Potter is my favorite book and Even though the books are about the world of wizards and magic, the Harry Potter series contains a lot of lessons for real life. Firstly, it teaches us the importance of friendship. 

Further, the series and its characters have taught me that no one is perfect. This I feel has helped me in making better choices and becoming a better human being.

- Aparna Srivastava
  IG: thefood_lust

- Interviewed By: Anurag Jaiswal