¡Hola! Namaste!
My love affair with food goes back a long way. My father ran a catering business and mum was an excellent home chef. I was fortunate to enjoy delicious meals every single day without having to enter the kitchen or be bothered about learning to cook.
However, in 2015, things changed. I got married and moved from New Delhi, India, to Barcelona in Spain. Neither my husband nor I knew how to cook. We either fixed a quick (barely edible) meal or simply ordered in. Having been spoilt with exceptionally great food throughout my life, I wasn’t happy with what we were eating. So I took charge. I started recalling all the voice notes my mum used to deliver from the kitchen. While stirring curries for hours, she often shared food anecdotes, hacks, and tips and told my sister and me, ‘‘If at all you cook one day, remember to…’’.
I didn’t pay much attention to her free advice back then but it is incredible how her ‘chef voice’ got embedded in my mind over the years and came in handy when I started to cook. Thank you, Maa! I owe it all to you!
As an amateur chef, I took help from mum, mum-in-law, and YouTube. My husband became my sous-chef and we went from “what are we going to eat…” to “let’s make…” in less than a year.
Home-cooked meals became easier, faster, healthier, and yummier with time and experience. I also started getting compliments from friends and colleagues over shared meals. My interest in culinary science grew tremendously. I learnt about Ayurveda-based food and cooking and its healing effects on our bodies. I also pursued a diploma in nutrition science from Stanford University.
Fast forward to the pandemic year of 2020. Locked at home, I started experimenting with food and challenged myself to try recipes, which I always thought were too complex. Physical activity and eating habits directly impact our health. So I also invested a lot of time in creating nourishing recipes with healthier substitutes.
I used to share my work with friends and family and their unanimous feedback was that more people should enjoy and benefit from my recipes. This is how @fancylittlecocinera was born!
(Cocinera [ko-si-nera]: Chef in Spanish). A journalist by degree, and currently a marketer by profession, I feel super excited about this space as it lets me combine my interests in writing, storytelling, cooking, and styling. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
As an extension of @fancylittlecocinera, I offer cooking classes and help create diet plans. I also develop marketing campaigns for F&B brands, brands associated with kitchen appliances, etc. To collaborate, please fill out the contact form. Stay healthy, stay happy!
Love & light,
Shruti
