A baking book that’s a complete package
Sitting on the counter to watch his mother and naani bake delicious dishes, little did Delhi boy Shivesh Bhatia know that the same, someday, would become his following. Having amassed a huge following online (116k Instagram followers), Bhatia is all set to come out with his debut baking book, Bake with Shivesh. We caught up with the star baker on all and talked to him about all and sundry.
“My naani used to make this decadent chocolate cake for us whenever we’d visit her. But she had a paralytic attack in 2012 after which, of course, she couldn’t get back to baking. That is when my cousins and I decided to bake a chocolate cake, and got premixes and readymade frosting for it. We ended up burning the entire batch, but the process really excited me. I was really fascinated about how simple ingredients could be turned into something so delicious and beautiful. And that spark led me to start baking on my own,” says Shivesh, adding that as he progressed with baking, he also began posting pictures of his creations online. Soon after, a blog followed, where the self-taught baker also began sharing recipes.
Talking about the relaxed schedule at DU’s Hindu College that he attended, which helped him maintain and grow his blog, Bhatia says, “We used to get free by 12 or 1 at times, and while my friends would hang out and chill, I chose to invest that time in blogging. My friends were supportive and often helped me with shoots and ideas,” shares Shivesh, who is now pursuing his post-grad at IIMC. The 21year-old has had his first tryst with the food industry, and he says that working with chefs Pooja Dhingra and Kunal Kapoor has taught him a lot.
“The chefs I work with always have something to share, and that is what I realised the community is all about. I [have] also got to shoot with Chef Gary Mehigan, and it was a good experience,” he shares.
Shivesh adds that his book will have four sections — tips and tricks, recipes, food styling and food photography. For the recipes, he says, “We’ve tried to include eggless recipes, gluten free options and vegan options too. The book will give the readers a detailed look into what I do and how they can emulate the same.”