There lies a significant difference between food and good food. Every mother’s prime concern revolves around nourishing their child with the right, balanced diet daily. But very few end up making this a passion cum profession of sorts. Rekha Kakkar, a popular food blogger and food photographer, turned her passion for cooking good and healthy food into a business idea. Let’s hear her side of the story, as she talks to Paroma Sen-Basu of indusladies..

How did your journey as a food writer, blogger, and photographer begin? 

I started out as a blogger to document my journey to good health. With time, more and more readers started visiting and liking my blog. I asked my friends to contribute their articles too, so that my readers could get a taste of different flavours. My interest in healthy eating and cooking encouraged me to take up another thing, a healthy cooking blog, where my aim was to encourage people to cook healthy and interesting meals through my ideas.

Photography is something that I have been pursuing since childhood, but serious photography started about two years back when I started photographing food for the brands I was already working with.

Did you receive any formal training in your chosen field?

As far as cooking goes, I did not have any formal training. In fact I did not even know how to cook till I got married.

I am mostly a self-taught photographer and cook, and have learned from my own experiences and mistakes. But as far as formal training goes I have done few short courses in photography, as well as post processing, to develop my skills.

What inspires you to create newer and healthier recipes every day?

My inspiration is my family.  I have two ‘always hungry for food’ teens at home. For me food, along with providing sensory pleasure, should be nourishing too. To meet the demands of my children, I keep on trying interesting stuff that they can eat and actually enjoy, while maintaining their health.

There are several women who love to cook and eat healthy, they also dream of sharing their work or ideas with the world. What advice can you give them?

With so many diverse media available these days, if the goal is to simply share your philosophy with the outside world and connect with like minded people, blogging is the best option. If your blog becomes a popular one, you can look to generate some income from it eventually.

If you are looking for something that is an out and out commercial venture, one can start a catering service for students or working people, who have a time crunch but still want to eat healthy, home cooked meals.

There are so many options, only thing you have to decide what’s right for you, and focus on it.