When food becomes an art of expression

Doctor Jenisha Jain

“A true artist is not one who is inspired but one who inspires others.” ~ Salvador Dali

And you don’t always need a brush or a canvas to create an art. 

Here is a multi-talented doctor with the soul of an artist. She uses food to create artistic bowls that will make you hungry and some of which will leave you questioning yourself.

From ‘ways to stay safe during pandemic’ to ‘saving water & plants’ to ‘eating healthy’, every bowl that she creates has a subtle message attached …

Counting my blessings: “Dear blogging world, you are very lovely, and I am glad living in you” .

Thanks for the endless opportunities you (the world of food blogging) have given me every now and then. From a naive mommy food blogger I kept moving on to judging food events to professionally styling food & products for various brands and companies.

Reminiscing upon my online journey as food blogger makes me feel humble every time. And all I do is to close my eyes and count my blessings!

We all love to win, it makes us feel good.

Well, I can only remember winning a couple of small events during school days and receiving colourful plastic pencil boxes or laminated certificates from the principal…Those were small wins, but were wins nonetheless.

Though a little disappointment for not getting a ‘real trophy‘ still remain 🙂

“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” ~ Andy Rooney.

It has been over a decade of my ‘food centric’ life and I am absolutely enjoying every moment of it. My food journey has been truly incredible. Though many forced long breaks from social media quite upset me at times.

I am grateful that my profession as a food stylist keeps me in constant touch with ‘food’ and gives me the privilege to work with many eminent personalities from media.

“Food is not about impressing people. It’s about making them feel comfortable.” Ina Garten

I don’t remember my lunch time in preschool or nursery days but I do have a vivid memory of it during my elementary school.

Mom was a working woman and as usual morning time used to be very hectic at home. She would cook breakfast & lunch for me and my brother and pack our dabbas before leaving for office at 8am.

Priceless childhood memories, some great friends, good food and endless time spent on Fatehsagar… these are the memories which make life sweeter.

Come winter and makki and bajre ki roti become staple food for us. Mom will make a huge batch of fresh vegetable pickle using mustard oil. We used to run out of house the day she would heat oil to makes this pickle. The strong pungent smell of mustard oil was hard on our nose.

The lessons you learn the hard way are always the ones that stick…

All along, and ever since I was first exposed to commercial food styling shoots, it really hit me to think that how smooth my transition would have been had there been someone to guide me through the nitty gritty of food styling.

Back then, I was fairly new to the commercial world of food styling and had no mentor whom I could observe or assist. I had to jump off the cliff and learn how to make wings on the way down 🙂

“A great marriage is not when the ‘perfect couple’ comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences.” ~Dave Meurer

Whenever I reflect on our marriage, it brings a smile on my face. I never thought I would have a love marriage, but that was what was in store for me. Yes, ours was a love marriage against all odds and distances.

22^nd January 1996, it’s been 21 years of togetherness. Well, Marriage is just a reason, lifelong friendship is the most precious gift that we received on this day.

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ~ Confucius

I was like a headless chicken the whole of last month, when no amount of work was ever enough. And the pressure to keep up with the deadlines and managing home at the same time was making me lose sleep.

I finally decided to slow down a bit and also to spend less time on my social media accounts. Not a wise decision for a food blogger, you say..but then there is a feel-good factor which is a reason good enough to continue the same for some more time.

So, life is moving at its own pace for me and I find lot of time to do many other things which were put on hold.

“What keeps me motivated is not the food itself but all the bonds and memories the food represents.” ~ M.Chiarello

Running around with cousins from one terrace to another, attending family weddings and eating simple home cooked food on wood fire…childhood was so much fun at granny’s home.

Summer vacations were always welcomed, when extended families and cousins would all come over to our large joint family house for holidays in Bhilwara, Rajasthan.