Food Feud: Which Indian Food Bloggers Should You Follow? Vol. I

The image has been used for representational purposes
The image has been used for representational purposesAnand Upender

first volume

I. Nikhil Merchant: A Nonchalant Gourmand

Age: 32

Nikhil Merchant
Nikhil Merchant

In his own words: "I come from a corporate background, which I quit 3 years ago to pursue my love for food. I had been writing for various publications (starting with a food column for DNA) even while I was working in a sugar export firm and finally transitioned to taking up food writing, blogging, consulting and cooking (as a passion) full time. This transition landed me a superb project attached with a social cause and dealing with food on the grassroots level. I now work for Shop for Change in the capacity of their food project, India's first and only Fair Trade certification label which works closely with small and marginal farmers and artisans to certify them for fair trade and create market access for them through various, mainstream channels."

Homegrown Verdict: Nikhil's blog is wonderfully gluttonous. If it's decadent treats full of dough and butter and rich desserts that your palate tends to dream of, or all-round insights about food culture, this blog is designed for you. We especially love his nonchalant insider series that personifies the great chefs behind some of the country's most renowned restaurants through quick and riveting tete-a-tetes.

The HG Questionnaire:

"Blogging has given me an opportunity to interact and mingle with some of the best talents associated with the food industry thus expanding my knowledge base extensively."

1. 5 foodies who inspire me..

C. Chef Paul Kinny

E. Pooja Dhingra

2. Blogging has...

3. The best part about blogging is…

4. A dish i'd never turn down...

5. In the future I will have…

II. Roxanne Bamboat: The Tiny Taster 

Age: 28.

Roxanne Bamboat
Roxanne Bamboat

In her own words: "I’m a freelance writer who focuses solely on food and travel. My blog is called The Tiny Taster and I chucked up a lucrative job in ad film production to write full time. I enjoy writing about food, the new things I've discovered, my likes and dislikes and I find it extremely interesting to try new things. The blog is two years old and currently I'm in the process of making it a food and travel website where I will review places, cities, hotels and a lot more including food. The idea of documenting my eating and travels excites me. Apart from writing, I also curate food works, the largest one being the food section at the Kalaghoda Arts Festival which I've been doing for the last 2 years alongside running my company Comida, where we host food experiences and culinary workshops for people who would like to learn more about food and recipes."

The HG Questionnaire:

1.  5 Foodies who inspire me...

F]. My father -

3. Blogging has...

4. The best part about blogging is..

5. One dish i’d never turn down...

6. In the future I will have..

III. Amrita Rana - Life ki Recipe

Age: 28

Amrita Rana
Amrita Rana

In her own words: "I'm a Mumbai based food blogger. I was an RJ for a few years before I realized that kitchen held much more for me. I've been doing cooking workshops and filling happiness in jars ever since. Last April I also started curating recipes."

Homegrown Verdict: 

The HG Questionnaire:

1. 5 People who inspire you...

B. Pooja Dhingra

C. Insia Lacewalla

D. Adarsh Munjal

E. Pratishtha Khan

2. Blogging is...

3. The best part about blogging is...

IV. Amber Sinha and Pooja Saxena - Enzo the Baker 

Ages: 26 and 25 respectively.

Amber Sinha and Pooja Saxena
Amber Sinha and Pooja Saxena

Amber:

"I am a lawyer by profession and I work for a leading Indian software company. Blessed with a gargantuan appetite, I realised early that the only way to eat good, healthy food consistently was to be able to cook it myself. My taste in food is largely eclectic and I am game to giving any kind of food a shot. Aside from food and law, my interests include etymology, film, cricket and theater. I am a fan all things old-fashioned and I also run another blog, The Mensch, where I write about the lost sense of gentlemanliness."

Pooja:

"I am a typeface and graphic designer, better known for my many side projects such as Typerventions, public and collaborative lettering installations; and The Ballot, a visual compendium of information about India's democracy and its workings. I fried my first poori when I was just eight, and haven’t looked back since. My latest cooking fetish, masochistic as it might be, is to cook using ingredients I finds gross. I would describe myself as a full-time nerd and aspiring linguist, and I am also an unapologetic bibliophile who collects real books while my e-book reader gathers dust."

5 Foodies who inspire you...

C. Not a single relative, but family recipes

V. Priyanka Sirohi - Recipe Follows 

Age: 29

Priyanka Sirohi
Priyanka Sirohi

In her own words: "I love food! If I do not get good food I feel like crying and I have numerous times just because of non-satisfactory meals. Anyway...I am a media professional who specializes in video editing and I’m dribbling in corporate events currently. It is very stressful and to escape the whole jingling of a fast life I turn to baking.The aroma of vanilla and cinnamon at home after a long day is very therapeutic - believe me! I am from Delhi (foodies heaven) and currently living in Pune with my husband Siddharth and our little daughter Ojasvi."

Homegrown Verdict: Priyanka’s blog reflects a person who does not pursue baking simply as a hobby but also as a passion. The blog aims at satisfying your sweet tooth, while also occasionally offering other recipes along the way. What’s refreshing to see is that Priyanka seldom takes the easy route of chocolate and often experiments with fruits and nuts in a bid to create some of the best, delicious desserts known to man.

The HG Questionnaire:

1. 5 Foodies who inspire you...

A. Shaheen from purplefoodie

B. David Lebovitz 

C. Mami (Aunt)

D. Stephanie from Joy of Baking

E. Jessica from Howsweeteats

VI. Sneha Mittal - Genes Recoded (Also, Co-Founder of Food Adda) 

Age: 22

Homegrown Verdict:

Sneha, who calls herself a hedonist, lives by the same rules while writing her blog as all kinds of starters, main courses, desserts and even mocktails feature extensively on the list. Apart from that, the blog also offers a wide range of recipes, making it one of the most versatile in the business.

The HG Questionnaire:

1. 5 foodies who inspire you...

A. Rashmi Uday Singh

B. Adarsh Munjal (The Big Bhookad), Anuja Deora (Miss Eating Out) & Anaggh Desai (Anaggh's Blog)

C. Shivam Gupta

2. Blogging has..

3. The best part about blogging is...

4. One dish i'd never turn down.

5. In the future I will have...

VII. Gaurav Jain - Eating Out In Bombay

Age: 34

In his own words: 

I am a third-generation entrepreneur, producing video and animated content for film, television and broadband.

Homegrown Verdict:

The HG Questionnaire:

1. 5 Foodies who inspire you...

VIII. Revati Upadhya - Haathi Time 

Age: 29

Revati
Revati

In her own words:  "I’m a writer. I lived in Bangalore for a large part of my life where I worked in Advertising and Marketing as a copywriter, until life brought me to Goa 4 years ago. I have since been working as an independent writer in the features space. When I am not writing or cooking, I spend my time reading, listening to music, travelling and dreaming."

cake

1. 

5 foodies who inspire you...

B. Joy the Baker

C. Edible Garden by Nags

D. David Lebovitz

E. Love Food Eat by Chinmayie

2. Blogging has...

3. The best part about food blogging is..

4. One dish i'd never turn down...

5. In the future, I will have...

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