Magic fingers: baker and author Shivesh Bhatia

Baker, blogger and author of Bake with Shivesh, 22-year-old Shivesh Bhatia, on burning his first batch of cupcakes, writing a book, Instagram and baking with Nigella Lawson.

By Kangan Gupta · Nov 2018 · 5 min read

Magic fingers: baker and author Shivesh Bhatia

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Baker turned author Shivesh Bhatia is challenging the baking stereotype with ginger, matcha and passion fruit.

All of 22 years old, Shivesh Bhatia is a social media star. Why? Because his recipes are anything but conventional, and his food styling is anything but ordinary. Along with his chef’s hat, he also wears an author’s cap. In his book Bake with Shivesh (published by Harper Collins India), he demystifies the art of baking, food styling and taking fabulous food pictures. His dream? To bake with Nigella Lawson. Nigella, are you listening?

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What are your earliest memories in the kitchen?

My earliest memory in the kitchen is sitting on the counter and watching my mum bake. My nani used to bake a lot too. Every time I visited my nani, she would bake the perfect chocolate cake for us, the best I’ve ever had. In 2012, she suffered a paralytic attack and couldn’t bake after that. I was with my cousins and we were talking about how much we missed her chocolate cake. We decided to give baking a shot. That was the first time I actually baked something. We made chocolate cupcakes and burnt the entire batch! But I enjoyed baking so much that I began experimenting and practising on my own. There has been no looking back since.

Were you ever apprehensive about taking up baking as a career? How did your family and friends react?

Not at all! My family and friends are my support system, my cheer leaders. It was not difficult to convince them at all. On the contrary, they have always told me I can do it when I am nailed down by self doubt. When I graduated from Hindu College last year, I knew I wanted to blog full time. I was also able to support my decision financially because the revenue from blogging was already great.

What interests you the when it comes to baking?

That how simple and basic ingredients such as flour, butter, sugar and eggs can be mixed together to create something so magical.

Are you an experimental baker?

Whatever I have learnt so far is by experimenting and practising on my own, so I would say yes.

How has your culinary and blogging journey been so far?

It’s been very fulfilling. When I started sharing dessert pictures on Instagram, I had never imagined it will turn into something so big. In the last few years, I have gotten the opportunity to experiment and push myself, work with brands that I had always admired, created content that I am proud of and most importantly, built a beautiful community around my work–a community of people who share my love for baking. Launch of my book is another milestone.

What prompted you to write a book?

Ever since I started blogging, I wanted to see my recipes in a book. When my editor got in touch with me to see if I would be interested in writing a book, I had no reason to say no. It was like a dream come true.

How is your book different from your blog?

The book is actually an extension of my blog. Just like the blog, the book has dessert recipes explained in simple manner. It also has baking tips and tricks, about equipment and ingredients (how to pick and source the best) and a detailed section on food styling (composition, props, backgrounds, fabrics). It is followed by a section on food photography and its technical aspects such as light, equipment, how to take action shots and phone photography.

What has been the easiest as well as the hardest thing about writing a book?

The easiest part is to enjoy the process. It is the most special project that I have ever worked on. It was a great learning experience and I got to push myself creatively and try new things in the kitchen and while styling and photographing. The hardest part was meeting the deadline (laughs). Besides working on the recipes, I have also shot and styled every single photo in the book. While I loved doing that, it was very time consuming. But if I had a chance, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Name one person you would love to bake for. What would you bake for them?

Instead of baking for, one person I would like to bake with is Nigella Lawson. I would love to bake the popular Chocolate Guinness Cake with her.

I would love to bake the Chocolate Guinness Cake with Nigella Lawson.

Instagram played a huge role in your success. What is your take on social media and its role in the culinary industry?

Indeed! My journey started on Instagram and it continues to be a major part of what I do. I think social media has opened up several new avenues and aids in expanding and growing businesses. A lot of home bakers and home chefs run their business on social media. Several chefs and owners also use social media to promote their restaurants.

Do you think a baker or chef, or a food stylist can survive without a social media presence in today’s time?

Yes, I do. But I think being on social media helps, especially for freelancers. You make your work reach a larger audience through social media, hence helping you get more work and projects. It is like an online resume and I would definitely suggest having one.

In what ratio would you lay emphasis on the taste of food and the visual aesthetics of it?

I think it depends on your line of work. If you are a home baker or a chef, taste of the food is supreme. How it looks is also very important because a customer would not pick it off the shelf if it does not look appealing. However, if it doesn’t taste great, they will not come back for it. So in this case taste comes first and visual aesthetics follow. For someone like me who is into creating content, how the food looks is more important. As a content creator, I am not selling my desserts, I am only selling the visuals. So in my line of work, I personally believe the visual appeal is more important.

Twenties are the years of confusion and doubt, but you have managed to ace it. What advice would you give to people in their twenties?

I think it is very important to be fearless. It is easy to give up what you are passionate about because it is not mainstream or because people around you think it is stupid. You wouldn’t know what your true calling is until you work towards it and give it a chance. If you truly enjoy doing something, make sure you chase it and give it all you have.