For the fourth edition of our Chronicles of the Homechef series we
present you another gem from the Cookpad community who in a very short
time has added variety of recipes to her profile. She is more that a
cook, she is a presenter, creator and a promoter of all the recipes that
she makes. She has recently hit her 200 published recipes mark. Lets
find out what motivates her to post on Cookpad and how does she go
about it.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and what does cooking mean to you?
I am a homemaker now by choice after having served in a bank for a
decade and a half. I have 2 sons who are well settled in their
respective fields in India. I started cooking only after my marriage and
in fact my mother was my first teacher. I love spending my time
cooking and trying out new dishes that are off the beaten track.I also
love experimenting and give a new touch to the standard recipe thus
making a fusion out of it.
What inspired you to join Cookpad ?
I came across Cookpad by chance and am so glad that I did. It is a
great platform where home cooks like me can post recipes and at the same
time get to learn new and interesting dishes from others. Kudos to
the cookpad team for doing a wonderful job and also organising contests
from time to time. This motivates and inspires me a lot.
What inspired you to start food blogging and how did you go about it?
Right from childhood, I used to maintain a book of recipes. These
were handwritten and learnt from my mother, who was one of the best
cooks in the world. Alas, she passed away recently and I owe my love for
cooking to her. But it was my younger son, who really drove me on to
become a chef of sorts. He was finicky about food. He always wanted
something different and the nights were spent contemplating in dishing
out new fares for him. Every day I had to bring out something new. That
started my journey to food blogging. I used to conduct classes in
Chennai for those who wanted to learn Bengali cuisine. Surprisingly
there were many takers. I then made an attempt to write and publish 3
recipe books that needs to be reviewed now.
As I wanted a wider audience, that's when I first started posting my
recipes in various websites. This encouraged me to put together all my
colIection of recipes. So I ventured into the world of blogging as I
wanted to document all the recipes and also to share them. This way I
can refer to them when needed. I also like to share the step by step
method.of cooking as it makes it easy to follow and go about preparing a
dish. Here I would like to mention and thank my family, especially my
sons for helping me out in each step.
Are you using the Cookpad app or website? How much time do you take to post a recipe?
I am more comfortable using the website and it takes just a couple of
minutes to post a recipe.
Prior to Cookpad how did you find your recipes. Is there a favourite blogger or website you follow for inspiration ?
I already had a blog
(bethicaskitchen.com) where
all my recipes were stored. It is been three years now since I started
blogging. My inspiration is derived from a string of ideas and
suggestions doled out by my family from time to time and also from the
support I get from all the viewers. I also love watching cookery based
shows and youtube. My fav. being Vahchef and Nisha Madhulika.
How does writing on Cookpad help you in your daily life ?
Writing and posting recipes on Cookpad makes it easier for me to
share my creations and I am also able to learn more such interesting
recipes from others. I try to incorporate it in my cooking and also it
keeps me busy and occupied in a healthy way.
Do you use social media to share recipes?
Yes I use social media a lot to share my recipes. I post in various
facebook cooking groups and also in Instagram.
Do you know what are cooksnaps? Have you ever received or posted any cooksnaps for recipes?
Yes I am aware of cooksnap. I did receive 2--3 so far. As I am new to
the Cookpad community, so i haven't got the opportunity to post any
cooksnaps yet. Will surely do so in the near future.
How often did you post when you started off on Cookpad as opposed to now ?
I post quite a number of recipes in Cookpad. It has become more of a
habit to me and is fun. It gives me a lot of satisfaction and during any
contest the number keeps increasing.
How do you plan your post on Cookpad? Is it planned well in advance or is it spontaneous ?
There is no planning done while posting on Cookpad. If I create
something new or any fusion style recipe, I go ahead and post the same.
When there are any contests or when there are any theme given, I post
accordingly.
Does posting recipe with picture help ? Do you spend time on food styling? Which device do you use to click pictures of your recipe ?
Posting recipes with pictures absolutely helps. The viewers get an
overall idea of the particular recipe and try to create a same version
of it if not slightly different.Yes I focus a lot on food styling and am
very particular about it's presentation and the props I use for a recipe
picture. Because as the saying goes ---*** 'You eat with your
eyes first.'***
I use a DSLR to click my recipe pictures and it takes a lot of time and
effort to take them in different angles till I get satisfactory results.
Do you feel motivated looking at statistics?
Absolutely. Statistics helps us to gauge the outcome of our effort in
cooking, taking pictures and presenting it. Bouquets and
brickbats --- both are essential to motivate a cook to improve in every
respects.
Any message you have for Cookpad users ?
This is a great platform where you can showcase your creative cooking
talent. So make the most of it and if possible post step by step
pictures. This will make it easy for others to follow the recipe.
Moreover try to present your recipe in an appealing and an appetising
way.
Do you have any feedback/suggestions for Cookpad ?
Kudos to the Cookpad team. You all are doing a wonderful job and making
every effort to keep us motivated by regularly holding contests and
theme based recipes. Am glad I am a member of your community and will
look forward to many more such exciting interactions. All the best.
Thank you Bethica for taking the time to share your story with the
Cookpad community.
So there you have it! Bethica Das tells us what how easy it is post to
regularly share recipes . Women like her who believe in the
Cookpad mission and are helping us get there is why we are
striving to make this world a healthier place one step at a time . If
you have any questions for Bethica or would like to know anything in
specific, don't forget to reach out to us on info-in@cookpad.com.
Till then keep sharing recipes, keep cooking. Enjoy Cookpad