I’ve loved “Om Shanti Om” Ka dialogue where Shahrukh says “mein kaash Nahi kehna chahta” that is just what I believe in. If I want something so bad that i have a fire in my belly for that thing I will go do it. I will give it my best shot. It might not work out for me, it has not at various times but atleast I’m happy I tried.
And trust me, doing something with a pure heart can never fail you. It might not get you the results that you wanted but definitely you will get something good out of it. Go follow your dreams and your passions and prove to the world you can be the change.
1. How and when you discover that you want to follow your passion for food blogging and taking it forward to become a blogger?
I Have always been a foodie and loved cooking too. I started my journey in blogging basically as a Zomato reviewer without knowing anything about this industry. This was in 2015 when I was diagnosed with jaundice and was hospitalised and on complete bed rest for about three months.
During this time I used to see people posting on Instagram about their food pictures , their experiences and also used to read food reviews on Zomato. It was around this time that I started writing about my food experiences on Zomato & started posting about the same with pictures and descriptive captions on Instagram.
Later when I recovered I shared my cooking and food experiments on the gram. I also used to go to this library in Keshav Puram for studying and there was this very small kiosk which used to sell some really amazing Oreo shake, I posted a picture of that and it went viral.
Numerous prominent food pages of that time shared my picture. That is the time when I realised that food blogging was something and people actually pursue it as a passion. This is how I started posting more and more on my Instagram and it gave me a reason to follow my passion for food in a more fulfilling way.
I got a lot of support from my friends and my followers started to increase. I got motivated by that and felt really happy that I was doing something that made others happy too.
My page is a source of happiness for me and it motivates me to share my journey with food experiments and most of all make people aware of new places to eat.
2. What do you think is your biggest achievement?
I think my biggest achievement in my journey in Food Blogging has been the kind of love and support I have got in the form of the community that Lady Epicurean as a family has become.
I have also met some of the most wonderful people through my page and now we are like the closest of friends and they have my back in thick and thin.
3. What are your future plans?
I want my page to be like 1 big family and I should be accessible to my followers when they want to reach out to me. I would definitely love to work with the brands from which my followers would definitely benefit in some way. Would be more than happy if I’m able to recommend my followers things and brands that really are good.
4. What is that one incident which changed your vision towards your passion?
I think the fact that I changed my line of career from CA to law was a turning point for me in terms of how I look at following my passion. The fact that what gives you happiness is extremely important and will drive the way you feel about your life in the future is something that we all need to understand.
Doing something you feel strongly about makes you push harder and will sooner or later make you reach where you really want to reach. Lady epicurean is that driving force for me. The same is what I feel about law too. Even though I’ve started off late in law it’s something that drives me.
And I definitely recommend each one of you all to actually sit and think what is that one thing that makes you push harder. That one thing that you just can’t get off your mind. Get up, lace up and just do it. Coz if you don’t do it now, when will you?
5. Who is your inspiration or role model and why?
I have a lot of people who have inspired me in my journey to pursue food blogging. As a kid, I used to love watching Sanjeev Kapoor with my grandmother. We used to do all these crazy experiments from the recipes that used to come on TV.
So she plays a big role in making me fall in love with cooking for sure. Other than that I love how amazing Rocky and Mayur were on HOMP. they knew so much about food and they got the best of both worlds- food and travel.
Along with that I’ve actually met some really amazing people in the industry who I love and appreciate their work a lot.
6. How were your family and friends support during this journey?
During my initial days when I was pursuing CA and I wanted to create content for my page I used to get a lot of resistance from my family. The fact that this gives you peace and happiness isn’t a good enough reason for most people to support you in following your dreams and passions.
Though now that I have reached this place they support me fully but that took a while to reach this place for sure.
My friends have always been a pillar of support. Initially i had a few friends who always pushed me to follow my passion and now I have a bunch of friends who keep pushing me even now, when sometimes I feel demotivated thanks to the instagram algorithm and when I’m not getting the reach because of the algorithm. Really feel blessed to have that set of people.
7. As a blogger, what are the 3 important things which you always keep your focus on and are important for you?
Content is primary. Know what your followers want to see and make content accordingly.
Always be genuine with what you are saying. Don’t tell the people something is amazing when it’s not. They will know and then you loose your worth
Always interact with your audience. They should know you like a friend. Talk to them, be accessible and make an effort for that.
8. What is your message for the people who want to follow their passion for blogging?
I would just say, if it’s going to matter to you 5 years hence just don’t let the moment slip by. If you will repent not doing something then just get up and do it. It might not always work out for you the way you want it to. But atleast you made an effort. Always do something that gives you happiness.
If this makes you happy do it, be consistent, create quality content and be genuine. Don’t be in the rat race for followers. Make an aim to create a cult, a family and always always always grow. This is not about free food. Learn and understand, be authentic and be original. Do not follow other bloggers blindly. See what works for you and your audience and build accordingly.
9. What does passion mean to you?
Passion to me is something that gives you happiness, a sense of calm and a sense of accomplishment when you do it. To me feeding people always made me happy. If I make something and the person is happy after eating it, gave me another level of happiness.
Trying out new places was always something I loved and through blogging I’m just amplifying whatever makes me happy. I feel passionately about food and that gives me a sense of accomplishment when people ask me about food and I’m able to recommend something to them.
My page is my baby and from the very beginning it’s always given me a sense of achievement. If you feel the same way about something there is no two thoughts to it just dive right it. Jo hoga dekha jaega. Pehle karo badme socho.
10. What makes you appreciate a particular dish or a restaurant and talk about it on your blog?
As they say we first eat with our eyes, Instagram is majorly about how appealing the image is to the audience.
However the best dishes are not always the best to look at.
When it comes to local cuisine I always appreciate authentic flavours and traditional recipes. I’m not really a fan of modernised versions of traditional food.
I always appreciate a dish more when it is made with the age old traditional recipe and has the perfectly balanced flavour that has the essence of the dish.
When it comes to restaurants aesthetics and service play a very important role in making me like the place too.
11. Is there a dish you particularly associate yourself with?
I’ve always been a foodie and since im always on the look out for some new place to explore it is difficult for me to pick just 1 dish that I associate myself with. I always love to try new things and are more happy trying new things than sticking to 1 particular dish.
However if you ask me my comfort food, it’s got to be pizza. I love pizza and it difficult for me to say no to pizza.
- Anviti
- Interviewed By Kusum Jha
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