There are those who love to eat and then there are those who make you effortlessly fall in love with food. Meet the foodies and bloggers who are making the most of the online space to share their passion for food and connect with a gourmets and gourmands world over.
From beer cupcakes to Mexican quesadilla, there’s a whole range of exotic and traditional delicacies dished out by food lovers in the virtual kitchen space. The trend has spread to Vizag too, where a large section of people are logging into the online world to create a vibrant community of food lovers.
According to an analysis of Google trends for the past year, people in India are interested in their food and are increasingly looking online for information. It’s no surprise then that bloggers, passionate cooks, star hotels and popular restaurant chains are looking to tap the online space with added vigour.
Vizag-based food blogger Sailaja Gudivada’s blog sailusfood.com that started in 2005 is one of the most popular food blogs in India, especially for her authentic Andhra recipes. Her Facebook page has more than 3.5 lakh fans and there are followers from countries like USA, UK, UAE, Australia and South East Asia. She also has a dedicated segment for children called kids zone that dishes out recipes for children.
Mumbai-based homemaker and food lover Padmaja Nair says that she has been following Sailu’s blog for the past four years. “The presentation is very appealing. I love the friendly narrative which makes you feel that you are cooking with a friend,” she adds.
Chef Srinath Sambandan of The Park says that there has never been as much awareness about food and different cuisines as there is now. He attributes this to the rise of social networking sites and food blogs. “People are travelling a lot and are seeking out the local cuisine of the place. For instance, they want to find out how different Vietnamese cuisine is from Cambodian one. And there are forums in Facebook that hold detailed discussions on such topics. This has expanded the culinary awareness of people,” says Sambandan, who has an active Facebook page called Epicure@ThePark that unites food lovers.
For some, cooking comes as a stress buster. Lawyer Vydula Ravindra Prasad takes over the kitchen twice a week to experiment with Indian and Continental dishes. “I share my experiences, recipes and pictures on Facebook. Food is a great connecting factor. I made many friends who share the same passion, including chefs from countries like Dubai,” says Prasad, who also is a member of the Facebook page ‘Foodies in Vizag,’ a group that brings together food lovers of the city. A few foodies of Vizag have also started their own Facebook page, though at a fledgling stage, like ‘bananaleafrecipes’ dishing out Andhra delicacies with an innovative touch.
The Facebook page of Food Bloggers Association of India has over 10,000 likes and is a common platform for bloggers to share their recipes and ideas. Seasoned food bloggers say that a passion for the topic one is writing about is a key to make a blog or a website popular.
“Being well organized and possessing good time management skills are critical to managing a blog or a page in the social networking space. Also, one needs to be social and genuinely enjoy helping others,” says a popular Indian food blogger.
Passion for cooking turned into a lucrative profession for Alka Kumar who conducts cooking classes and plans to launch her own website under the domain ‘Alka’s Kitchen Academy’. Social networking sites like Facebook have helped her to connect with many youngsters who are getting serious about learning a variety of cuisines. “The young crowd is looking for innovative, healthy cuisines and are becoming more passionate about learning to cook with a dash of creativity,” she says. She shares her signature recipes through her Facebook page along with pictures. “I get instant feedback on this platform and that keeps me motivated,” she says. Alka also has more than 50 YouTube videos of cooking demonstrations.
