Home chefs' digital blogs turn into new-age food encyclopedias

In the age of online food delivery platforms, standing in the hot kitchen to make a meal may seem not very appealing. A couple of clicks and our favourite dishes will land at our doorstep within minutes. While the convenience is a big plus with ordering in, concerns about food hygiene and the quality of ingredients remain a huge problem. Amid the aggressive marketing pushes by the online food delivery platforms tempting people to order more are the home chefs who are tirelessly filling social media with posts on healthy and traditional recipes. Right from their morning filter coffee, to lunches including authentic Tamil recipes, these home cooks’ posts on Instagram and Facebook are serving as the new-age food encyclopaedias.

Forty-two-year-old Neeru Srikanth, who runs a popular Instagram and YouTube account named Neeskitchen, has been documenting her daily cooking on social media for the past two years. Her filter coffee videos have been winning her the most support. “People say they are interested to see me cook in a clay pot, use the ammikal (grinding stone) for hand-pounding the masalas. Many want to go back to using the traditional utensils and cooking methods for their health benefits. With many battling health issues and taking precautionary measures by eating homemade food, my followers are often grateful for inspiring them to cook and helping them with daily recipes,” Neeru tells DT Next.

As a techie who works for long hours, city-based Natasha George, 29, says she finds the posts of food bloggers extremely helpful in planning her daily meals. “It becomes tough to find ideas and recipes to cook on a daily basis. Earlier I used to call my mother for recipes, but after I started following the home cooks, scheduling my cooking for the week became simpler. I’m able to even attempt some very authentic dishes, which I didn’t know earlier. During the time I spend on Instagram each day, I try to find inspiration for my cooking,” she shares.

Sharmilee Prakash has been a food blogger since 2009 and has been actively sharing her cooking on Instagram for the past 2-3 years. The followers of her cooking channels named Sharmispassions, mostly include young mothers taking note of her ideas to prepare lunch boxes for kids. “Many insist that I post the recipes of whatever I make for my child’s lunch box, so that they can replicate it. Through their feedback, people tell me that the pictures of my food tempt them to cook more at home instead of ordering in,” she adds.