Leadership Is the Ability to Get Extraordinary Achievement From Ordinary People - Neha Mathur

1. Tell us about your background and journey

I come from a small town of UP in India; I studied to be a Dental Surgeon, however I could not foresee myself being bound by the clinic boundaries. Right from my childhood, I was fond of food and learnt nuances of cooking from my mom and dad. Early in my career I got multiple opportunities to explore the Globe, from South East Asia to Europe and US and got fascinated by a variety of cuisine.

I started to document a number of recipes I came across while traveling the globe and felt there was an opportunity to help people experience food as more and more people look out for Global recipes. Whiskaffair just followed naturally and started to garner the love from its readers.

2.  What led you to take up this career path?

 

My blog initially started as a hobby to document interesting recipes that I came across. I used to recreate these recipes to perfect taste. I used to make these recipes and my family and friends loved them. My vision to help people experience food naturally followed from there. I also followed many initial bloggers and saw the potential of blogging as a full-time business. The work has kept me fulfilled as this is something I love and of course it even pays well and I love this as a career.

3. What does your typical day look like?

 

This is more than a full time job now and I love planning for it. Typically, my day starts with posting content on my site (https://www.whiskaffair.com/). I love to have breakfast with my family after a small stint of work; followed by cooking and shooting new recipes. Later part of the day is mostly spent with my team on researching new recipes, scheduling their work for content writing, social media posts etc. 

I also love to learn continuously and I spend some time looking at webinars and videos on relevant topics. I try to take part of the weekends off to watch a movie or some television series with my family. 

4. Does one's approach change when cooking professionally and at home?

 

Well yes, the approach is a bit different. Professionally you want to make sure that the authentic taste of the recipe with a personal touch turns out with the same good taste every time. While cooking at home you can experiment a lot more. However, you can have a variety of good taste even when cooking at home. I make a variety of recipes; so, you can get a taste from across the world at your home. 

 

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

 

Well I love my dad’s mutton curry. I’ve grown up having this very often and I still can’t resist its amazing taste. I also love a simple homemade Khichdi and that’s my comfort food.

 

6. Can cooking be learnt at culinary schools or a natural talent is required?

 

I believe that everyone can cook and hence my vision to help people experience food. You need to experiment with your skills and you don’t need to be a chef to eat good food. If you follow WhiskAffair, every recipe is sure to turn out good as I personally try and test it before I publish it. Of course, if you have any questions, please do ask me through a comment on my blog.

 

7. Which is your favourite book and why?

 

I love to read fiction novels; however, I love cooking books. My favourite are New York Times Bestseller “Joy of Cooking” and “Prashad – Cooking with Indian Masters”

- Neha Mathur

Interviewed by- Gurleen Kaur