Rajeshwari Kanodia - I Started My Blog During My College Days at SRCC (Pastry Chef From Nepal)

I’m a pastry chef from Nepal, living and working in Sydney, Australia. I did my undergraduate degree in B.com Hons from SRCC (DU) but I hated every minute of it. It was during this time that I started my little food blog to keep me in touch with my passion for baking in some way.

Tell us about your background and journey. 

I’m a 24-year-old pastry chef from Nepal, living and working in Sydney, Australia. I did my undergraduate degree in B.com Hons from SRCC (DU) but I hated every minute of it. It wasn’t something I wanted to do and I just wanted to get out of there. It was during this time that I started my little food blog (IG- @myyummyspatula) to keep me in touch with my passion for baking in some way. 

My Yummy Spatula was sorta like my happy escape. In my last year of college, I was approached by popxo to join their team as a video coordinator for their food videos so I did that for a while which was really fun. 

Next thing you know, my three years are over and I’m outta there! As soon as my college was done, I wanted to study pastry professionally and that’s exactly what I did. Just before coming to Australia for my culinary course, I did a quick internship at this Goan- Portuguese restaurant in Bombay ‘O Pedro’. 

I was working 6 days, 55 hours a week for no money and it was one of the best times of my life! That’s how you know you’re on the right path.

What led you to take up this career path? 

Ever since I was 8, I have loved baking with my mum. My childhood best friend’s mum used to make this divine vanilla cake and I coaxed my mum for days to get the recipe off of her and make it at home. I would get onto a little stepping stool and help my mum mix in the cake batter. 

Soon enough, what do you know, I’m baking on my own. What began as agreed for cakes quickly turned into my passion and I haven’t stopped baking since! I was a decent student at school so I could have gone into the corporate world, but I knew baking is what makes me truly happy and that’s what I want to do.



What does your typical day look like? 

Apart from my food blog My Yummy Spatula, I work full time as a pastry chef at one of the most prestigious restaurants in Sydney so for five days of the week, I’m at work so it’s not really exciting. 

If I’m working, depending on my shift if it’s a morning or an evening shift, I get up, get ready, get my morning coffee, and head to work by 7.30 am if I’m working in the morning. I’m there until 4-4.30 pm. I come home and usually go for a quick run or workout in the park. Then it’s dinner time, so I cook some food, watch some Schitts Creek and do some blog work if I have to. It’s reversed if I’m working an evening shift. 

My days off are dedicated entirely to my blog work. Sundays are usually for lots of baking and recipe testing for the blog and Mondays I like to dedicate to photography and shooting videos if I have to and writing the blog posts.



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

I’m probably the wrong person to ask this because I cook/bake professionally at work and quite a lot at home for my blog. Most chefs usually stay clear from cooking/baking lots at home because they already do it so much at work so they just want a little break from it, which is totally understandable. 

If I wasn’t running my food blog, maybe I would bake less? I don’t know, I can’t imagine really. I wouldn’t know what to do with all the free time haha! (I’m super restless and need to constantly do something all the time!)



Is there a dish you particularly associate yourself with?

Interesting! I don’t know, this could take a while haha. I would say salted caramel sauce. It’s sweet yet balanced with the right amount of salt. And while it may seem quite technical and complicated at the beginning, once you get the basics down, it’s actually pretty simple. 

That’s how I like to approach life and take it with a pinch of salt. I wouldn’t complain if you throw in a little whiskey.



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

I strongly believe you can learn anything, except singing because I have tried to learn that and I’m really bad still. If you truly want to get in this industry, you don’t HAVE to go to a culinary school. Let’s be honest, culinary schools are quite expensive so it’s an investment. 

This is an industry where work experience is of utmost value so while culinary schools are great as a starting point, you can also learn cooking/ baking by working at different places. Intern at restaurants and learn that way. Some so many chefs will be happy to mentor you while having free labour, it’s a win-win for them.



Which is your favourite book and why?

I’m not really an avid reader so I don’t really have favourites but one of the books I read recently that really stayed with me was americanah by this Nigerian author Chim. The protagonist is a really strong-willed woman who gets out of her comfort zone in hopes of a better life. 

I love how her character has multiple facets- she’s strong-headed and yet she’s down to earth and kind-hearted. She’s opinionated and still receptive. More importantly, she’s just like any other woman out there. It’s a true portrayal of a strong modern woman and I love that!

Interviewed by - Muskan Gupta