I am who I am. A wife, a mom, a full-time teacher, a lover of nature, and an avid sci-fi buff. If I were to choose that one passion which defines the core of my very being, it would be without a tinge of doubt, Gastronomy.
Gastronomy is essentially the art or science of choosing, cooking, plating, and eating good food.
I come from a mixed parentage, and this allowed me to gain tremendous knowledge in Baba-Nyonya, Indian, and Punjabi cuisine. My mum (who is of Baby-Nyonya heritage) is a chef herself and this fundamentally triggered the passion in me towards cooking.
People would often throw questions at me with regard to time management and how one could possibly spend so much of time in the kitchen. Well, if you have passion for something, time will cease to be a primary factor. You will definitely be able to make it work. I get this incredible rush when I cook and present my food in art forms. I find that food plating gives me sheer satisfaction, especially when I receive plenty of supportive comments and likes from friends on Facebook whenever I post my work, or “art pieces”, if you will.
I express myself through the pictures I take of my culinary creations and wholeheartedly share my gastronomical universe with everyone in hopes to seduce taste buds into salivating and thus propelling people into their very own path towards olfactory and gustatory adventure.
Through my work, I wish to show everyone that it is possible to create and experience fine dining in the comfort of one’s own home with minimal expenditure. The secret to producing good images of food plating is to always use fresh ingredients, good colour balance or contrast of the ingredients used, and always strive for natural lighting.
I dedicate my first post to Dr. Adrian Wong who generously offered an invitation to me to be part of The Rojak Pot. I thank you Adrian, for the opportunity you have extended to me.
Iva Sivaraja, GastronomyMom.
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