You can be your own boss. You can monetize it on your own. In my opinion food blogging can be a legit career if you can give your whole time. A lot of time is required. You need to be very active and social about what are you doing.
My name is Monisha Arora and I run a food page called Delhi_fooodie on Instagram. I started my journey on Instagram two years ago.
Since my childhood days I was very fascinated towards food. I remember when I was in school I used to sit up on the kitchen top and watch my mother cook delicious meals for us.
As I started to grow being typically a teenager who loved to go out with friends and party and dine out at amazing restaurants and cafes I used to click food pictures, Capturing coffee's in my phone while doing conversation with friends.
One day I was going through my phone's gallery and I realized my phone has more food pictures than of me. I was about to clear storage and I did not want to delete them. Being an active user on Instagram on my personal profile since 2013
I never knew there are food bloggers or anything like that exist. Just for memories I created an account to keep my food clicks. I never had the intention of being a food blogger. Initially my page was slow as I was not very active and posted pictures just for my sake of keeping it. But then I saw people are liking and appreciating what I was posting.
This motivated me a lot. They used to send me personal messages and suggested that I upload more photos. Instagram has a very supportive audience. I then explored some profiles and saw there are food bloggers and I researched everything and started being active and posted more pictures.
I totally have organic followers by which my reach and engagement rate is good. One can easily spot fake followers, likes , comments and I am completely against that. Recently during the lockdown period when we couldn't go out to explore food I did not stop
I started posting my home cooked meals. People used to relate with them more. I saw my work was seen by many verified profiles and due to that I got collaborations with highly known brands.
I have also attended bloggers meet and Invitation to restaurants for food tasting sessions. Its always fun to interact with similar people as you can connect with them quickly.
2. Which is your favourite cuisine and dish?
My favourite cuisine is Italian. Italian cuisine offers different varieties to try. It mainly contains tomatoes in most of the dishes and all the food is prepared in olive oil.
Some of my favorite dishes include pasta , thin crust pizzas to wood fired pizzas , spaghetti and lasagna. Also I love Italian cuisine because it contains a lot of cheese and cheese is the secret of my energy. (Lol)
Since my childhood days I was very fascinated towards food. I remember when I was in school I used to sit up on the kitchen top and watch my mother cook delicious meals for us.
As I started to grow being typically a teenager who loved to go out with friends and party and dine out at amazing restaurants and cafes I used to click food pictures, Capturing coffee's in my phone while doing conversation with friends.
One day I was going through my phone's gallery and I realized my phone has more food pictures than of me. I was about to clear storage and I did not want to delete them. Being an active user on Instagram on my personal profile since 2013
I never knew there are food bloggers or anything like that exist. Just for memories I created an account to keep my food clicks. I never had the intention of being a food blogger. Initially my page was slow as I was not very active and posted pictures just for my sake of keeping it. But then I saw people are liking and appreciating what I was posting.
This motivated me a lot. They used to send me personal messages and suggested that I upload more photos. Instagram has a very supportive audience. I then explored some profiles and saw there are food bloggers and I researched everything and started being active and posted more pictures.
I totally have organic followers by which my reach and engagement rate is good. One can easily spot fake followers, likes , comments and I am completely against that. Recently during the lockdown period when we couldn't go out to explore food I did not stop
I started posting my home cooked meals. People used to relate with them more. I saw my work was seen by many verified profiles and due to that I got collaborations with highly known brands.
I have also attended bloggers meet and Invitation to restaurants for food tasting sessions. Its always fun to interact with similar people as you can connect with them quickly.
2. Which is your favourite cuisine and dish?
My favourite cuisine is Italian. Italian cuisine offers different varieties to try. It mainly contains tomatoes in most of the dishes and all the food is prepared in olive oil.
Some of my favorite dishes include pasta , thin crust pizzas to wood fired pizzas , spaghetti and lasagna. Also I love Italian cuisine because it contains a lot of cheese and cheese is the secret of my energy. (Lol)
3. Should food blogging be just a passion or can it become a regular career?
It depends on you. You can be your own boss. You can monetize it on your own. In my opinion food blogging can be a legit career if you can give your whole time. A lot of time is required. You need to be very active and social about what are you doing
One has to be very creative in order to make it a career. Many food bloggers have become successful and are earning a great amount of money by making their passion their profession. One has to create blogs and monitor everything.
Once you’re able to build a substantial following, you’ll be able to use your blog to promote and advertise products and make money. Also if it’s just your passion you can still be seen on platforms like Instagram and do what you love to do.
It depends on you. You can be your own boss. You can monetize it on your own. In my opinion food blogging can be a legit career if you can give your whole time. A lot of time is required. You need to be very active and social about what are you doing
One has to be very creative in order to make it a career. Many food bloggers have become successful and are earning a great amount of money by making their passion their profession. One has to create blogs and monitor everything.
Once you’re able to build a substantial following, you’ll be able to use your blog to promote and advertise products and make money. Also if it’s just your passion you can still be seen on platforms like Instagram and do what you love to do.
4. Can cooking be learnt at culinary schools or a natural talent is required?
Cooking is a natural talent. However, your skills can be polished by learning in a professional environment. I have seen many chefs’ even after learning from renowned culinary schools suffer from stagnation due to not having aptitude(talent) for the same.
You should be passionate about what you are doing. We have seen our mother's cook the most delicious food and they never went to any culinary school but their natural talent and the way of preparing the food justifies it.
Cooking is a natural talent. However, your skills can be polished by learning in a professional environment. I have seen many chefs’ even after learning from renowned culinary schools suffer from stagnation due to not having aptitude(talent) for the same.
You should be passionate about what you are doing. We have seen our mother's cook the most delicious food and they never went to any culinary school but their natural talent and the way of preparing the food justifies it.
5. What makes you appreciate a particular dish or a restaurant and talk about it on your blog?
Whenever I visit a restaurant I observe the hospitality and staff at first. I observe how welcoming they are. I always love to try their suggested and top selling dish because it’s the restaurant’s highlight. It also helps other people to know what they can order when they visit next.
I think their special dish plays an important role for maintaining the name of the restaurant. My focus remains on the smallest of details like the menu card, how are they taking orders is it on papers or is it digitally. How is the staff dressed how neat and clean the environment is.
Whenever I visit a restaurant I observe the hospitality and staff at first. I observe how welcoming they are. I always love to try their suggested and top selling dish because it’s the restaurant’s highlight. It also helps other people to know what they can order when they visit next.
I think their special dish plays an important role for maintaining the name of the restaurant. My focus remains on the smallest of details like the menu card, how are they taking orders is it on papers or is it digitally. How is the staff dressed how neat and clean the environment is.
One should always pay attention to washrooms while most café’s do but there are some big named café’s which don’t. Washrooms are a major factor for hygiene.
6. Is there a dish you particularly associate yourself with?
Yes absolutely ! I can compare myself to Pizza. Pizza is the only food I can relate with. First of all It has cheese and a lot of cheese. Pizza can be eaten anytime of the day like I can nap at any time of the day. Pizza has lots of vegetables which makes it look colorful likewise I love to dress up in colorful clothes.
Pizza comes in all shapes and still taste better every time you eat. Pizza can change your mood swings into happiness like I make my friends laugh all the time. Pizza is like bae. Sad? Order a pizza. Happy? Order a pizza. Want to celebrate? Order a pizza.
Pizza is a cure. Yes, the Italians may have invented it, but ever since, the rest of globe has been gripped by its undeniable power. there’s always time for a slice. Pizza is one food which can unite us.
Yes absolutely ! I can compare myself to Pizza. Pizza is the only food I can relate with. First of all It has cheese and a lot of cheese. Pizza can be eaten anytime of the day like I can nap at any time of the day. Pizza has lots of vegetables which makes it look colorful likewise I love to dress up in colorful clothes.
Pizza comes in all shapes and still taste better every time you eat. Pizza can change your mood swings into happiness like I make my friends laugh all the time. Pizza is like bae. Sad? Order a pizza. Happy? Order a pizza. Want to celebrate? Order a pizza.
Pizza is a cure. Yes, the Italians may have invented it, but ever since, the rest of globe has been gripped by its undeniable power. there’s always time for a slice. Pizza is one food which can unite us.
7. Which is your favourite book and why?
Although I am not a book lover and I don’t enjoy reading. But 2 years ago there was a book which attracted me to a point that I so wanted to read it. The book was “The subtle art of not giving a f***
Author is Mark Manson and this orange colored book was making rounds on Instagram and I wanted to read it because I actually want to know is it worth all the hype? So Yes, It was worth it.
While the title of the book is THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK, throughout the book the writer actually tells you how to in fact give a f***/ care about the right things. He constantly explains simple concepts with simple examples with a heavy dose of humor and sarcasm. That’s what makes the book a light read that you just can’t seem to get enough of.
But I love reading recipe books and magazines the most. They help me in gaining the knowledge I want to be in the food industry.
I want to suggest something to new budding bloggers if you want to be successful in the food blogging industry keep these points in mind. Don’t be in a rush. Nobody is showing their failures on social media. Follow your passion
Although I am not a book lover and I don’t enjoy reading. But 2 years ago there was a book which attracted me to a point that I so wanted to read it. The book was “The subtle art of not giving a f***
Author is Mark Manson and this orange colored book was making rounds on Instagram and I wanted to read it because I actually want to know is it worth all the hype? So Yes, It was worth it.
While the title of the book is THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK, throughout the book the writer actually tells you how to in fact give a f***/ care about the right things. He constantly explains simple concepts with simple examples with a heavy dose of humor and sarcasm. That’s what makes the book a light read that you just can’t seem to get enough of.
But I love reading recipe books and magazines the most. They help me in gaining the knowledge I want to be in the food industry.
I want to suggest something to new budding bloggers if you want to be successful in the food blogging industry keep these points in mind. Don’t be in a rush. Nobody is showing their failures on social media. Follow your passion
Work on your content and photography. Try to be active daily. Post something for your followers on a daily basis. Post more of relatable content. Make conversations with your followers. Support fellow food bloggers.
- Interviewed by - Suhitha Mahendran
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