About

Meet the Chef... a little bit about me.

Namaste. My name is Shilpa. Born and brought up in the colourful, beautiful country India, I now reside in Melbourne with my family.
A techie by profession, my passion lies in cooking, photography, and travelling. I love to prepare food for family and friends, and most of all my biggest fans - my little kids and my food critic - my husband.

"Cooking is love made edible"
My little girl who is just three years old is a foodie by heart, just like her dad. She absolutely loves and enjoys eating and never hesitates in trying out new food. It is soul-satisfying to watch her lick her fingers after finishing her plate of food.

"I love having picky eaters and making more than one meal at dinner time," said NO.MOM.EVER.
My son is a very picky eater, just the opposite of his elder sister. There is nothing that can impress him easily. It is very difficult to make him try out new foods. He has a few favourite foods and doesn’t want to step out of it. Every time I try something new, I keep my fingers crossed that he will give it a try and like it. Cooking for him is the biggest challenge I have faced in my food journey.

"People who love to eat are always the best people" - Julia Child
My better half is a big foodie and he absolutely loves his food. He introduced me to lots of new cuisines and inspired me to try them out at home. Cooking for him gives me so much joy and happiness.

My Cooking Style

"A recipe has no soul. You as a cook must bring soul to the recipe" - Thomas Keller

My cooking style is mainly influenced by Indian cuisine - Karnataka (from where I am) and Bengal (from where my better half is). Staying strong to my roots, I try to simplify and modernise traditional cooking, along with trying a new form of culinary art.

Having lived most of my life in the beautiful state of Karnataka, I cook lots of regional food from the state. My main style of cooking is influenced by Mysore and the north Karnataka region. Living in Calcutta for a few years introduced me to a new culinary world apart from the Karnataka cuisine. Not only did I learn heaps of new vegetarian dishes, I learnt the art and science of cooking meat and seafood.

Baking Love

"A party without cake is just a meeting" - Julia Child
Back in time when my Ajji (grandma) didn't have an oven at home, she would whip desserts and sweets up and send it to a bakery near our home for baking. I can proudly say that love for baking is in my genes. After moving to a country I call home now, this love just grew more and more. Be it cake, cookies, pies or tarts, I am always in for trying it out.

I recently began my sourdough journey for my daughter. She was diagnosed with gluten intolerance and we had to put her on a gluten-free diet. I didn’t want her to miss out on her favourite foods because of the dietary requirements. Not only do I bake sourdough bread, but I have also incorporated sourdough into Indians dishes like paratha too.

If you have any suggestions or want any recipes or want to know more about me, write to me.

Well, that's all about me. Come join me on my culinary journey as I cook, learn, master, enjoy, live, and love the art and science of cooking great food.