Baking and Food Photography with Shivesh Bhatia

It's weekend time and it was also my birthday yesterday, so cakes are certainly on my mind. And when I think of cakes, there is one person who has impressed and inspired me lot, especially because he is so good even at such a young age. So today's feature is on the boy who loves to bake - Shivesh.

Strawberries!

And the magical Puff Pastry Strawberry tart

If you look baking and food styling, he is one person who should certainly be on your list-to-follow. You can also follow his recepies at his blog -Bake With Shivesh.

Here is his interview; let's learn more about him through his own words :)

So, who is Shivesh?Shivesh is a 19 year old boy who lives in Delhi. He lives with a big family of 12 people, loves them the most, goes to college, has the best time with his friends everyday, works, blogs and also wastes a lot of time. 

I'm doing my graduation in political science from Hindu college, Delhi University. I've had the best one and a half years of my life in college and I'm super excited about the another one and a half years that I have. College is my happy place. I have a group of 10 friends and everyday is a happy day with them. Since I don't have too many classes in a day, I do have a lot of free time. I use that time to do what I enjoy the most- I bake, style my desserts, photograph them and blog about them on my website - Bake With Shivesh.

I am also working for brands like FoodHall, KitchenAid and DelMonte among others. I do recipes for them. There are days when I have too much work piled up but I enjoy the task of balancing work with college and studies. Luckily, I've been able to manage that pretty well! 

Christmas Cookies

Marlon poached Pear upside down cake

I was born and brought up in Delhi. I've always been super close to my family. I love love love my cousins and I remember playing weird games with them. We had this inflatable pool thing which was basically our home haha. I've spent my childhood in that. My mummy made us join a lot of hobby classes- music, dance, art, abacus, origami and what not! She always made sure we utilize our time properly and I'm so thankful to her for inculcating this in me. Besides that, making long trips to my nani house is a memory I cherish. She used to feed all of us so much! When I was 5,car moved to Dehradun for a year. It was just me, my parents and my twin sister there. It used to be so much fun. We used to spend the day playing badminton and painting. I remember collecting fireflies with my sister and two of my closest friends, who I'm still in touch with. We also used to travel a lot. I can go one forever on this haha :)

Any person who has been a major influence on your life?I think everyone who has been important for me has somewhere shaped me into what I'm today. I feel like I'm a sponge. I take up things from people every quickly. I learn to be humble from my papa, to be loving from my mummy, to be patient from my sister, to be giving from my grandparents, to be independent from my cousin sister. It is all about learning and growing. But if I have to name one person, it has to be my Nani. She was the most independent person ever. She used to make everything at home- from ice-creams to pizzas to even tomato ketchup. She was vegetarian but she used to make chicken for us when we visited. I think I've taken up baking from her. She used to make the most wonderful cakes ever! She suffered from a paralytic attack and passed away a few years back. She has definitely left a lasting impression on me and on everyone n the family, I'm sure! 

Orange Winter Cake

Festive cookies

What does photography mean to you?Photography to me is just translating how I see desserts into something I can share with my audience. I've never taken photography serious until very recently. I just photograph my desserts. Beyond that, you'll never see me with a camera. As far as food photography goes, I'm very instinctive. I don't plan anything. I just make sure I have enough natural light and I start clicking. After every few pictures, I make changes and try to make the frame better. I used to take pictures using my iPad. I got myself a camera last week and think it is already helping me improve.

Flourless chocolate cake

How about your love for baking? What's the story?Food runs in my family. We're a big fat Punjabi family that has always given too much importance to food. We love our breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts and even mid-night snacks. When my Nani had the paralytic attack, I was talking about, we used to miss her cakes SO much! One day, my cousins and I decided to bake. We got bettycrocker cake mix and frosting. Although the cake was no where close to my nani's, I absolutely enjoyed my time in the kitchen.

Apple Cake

I never stopped baking after that. It became a part of me. Food styling and photography became important once I started sharing pictures of my bakes on Instagram. I started giving importance to this aspect as well and feel I've come a long way in terms of styling and photography. Everyone around me was surprised. They didn't know this about me. Even I didn't. This was something i had discovered about my self randomly one day and then tried improving every single day. I'm glad that everyone has been really appreciative about what I'm doing and that is what keeps me going. 

A special tip?I think it is very important to enjoy what you're doing. As long as you're having fun, it will be an easy task to translate your vision into reality. Enjoy what you do and you'll be the best at it, is my motto!

Chocolate Truffles

And finally, what is your dream Shivesh?My dream is to just keep doing what I like. At any point of my life, I don't want to be doing something that I don't like. I want to live and work on my terms and just keep getting better at what I do.