Hey, I am Alisha Sarkar-the founder of Alisha’s dessert safari which is my food blog. I am the writer, food photographer, editor, videographer and hogger of all the desserts I bake. Just kidding! But my friends and family taste test all the blog food for me before which I don’t publish.
Get to know me!
I loved baking desserts at home before even joining my college. Albeit, it wasn’t the prettiest but everyone loved my desserts. I grew up watching my Didan (grandma) and Maa bake. Birthdays always meant our house getting filled with that beautiful aroma of freshly baked cakes. I slowly realized my love for baking as I spent hours gazing at all sorts of food shows and helping my mom out in the kitchen. My maa and I would always watch all sorts of cooking shows and we both loved it. I pursued hotel management to become a chef. I graduated from IHM Kolkata and completed my Management training program with the Apeejay Surrendra Group of hotels. I have worked as a kitchen executive for three and half years at Flurys- Unit of The Park Hotels Ltd. I also went on to hone my skills further at the Academy of Pastry and Culinary Arts and did my Diploma in Advanced Pastry Arts. Even when I was in college, I would still bake on weekends and this continued even when I joined my job. Now I can proudly say I am pastry chef by day and a blogger by night..heehee:)
I would get just a day off and I would still make something for my family. Every off day, I would bake something new to try out new things. I draw inspiration from anything and everything. Let me tell you one example, I started my old food blog with chai ki dukaan wali biscuits which was inspired from biscuits that we get in every tea stall in Kolkata. As I am writing this, I am thinking of making Biscoff inspired cookies replicating the taste and flavor of these iconic biscuits.
Apart from food, I love listening to music and reading books. I love reading detective stories and nowadays have picked up a habit of reading non-fiction. I love to travel and before the pandemic, I went for my first trek with my aunt to Sandakphu. It was a one of a kind of experience. I fell in love with nature and the simple lives of the people over there. I was glowing with happiness and that trek filled my heart and soul. I am saving up for a trip to Norway now to see the Northern Lights. I hope to share my experience soon.
How my food blog was born?
So one day, my aunt just casually said that you should write blogs and the idea just got stuck in my head. I had no idea what it was or how to go about it. I liked the idea because I had so many recipes here and there and a food blog would be the perfect place to keep it all so I can refer to it.
On December 2019, I posted my first blog post and Alisha’s dessert safari was born. I wanted my food blog to have my name so Alisha was there. But I was wondering what do I name my blog. I was thinking what goes well with desserts and that’s when I decided to do some word play and name it dessert safari instead of the desert safari.
My food blogging journey…
I was posting for fun initially but was not consistent. Then in 2020, pandemic happened and I was at home. I was baking something every other day for maa and started posting again. I was still not consistent but my friends and relatives liked my blog. So I slowly started being consistent and started learning about blogging. Slowly I fell in love with the process of food blogging altogether. The joy I get from baking something new every week is incomparable. This blog is essentially an extension of what I love doing.
Last year was a huge learning experience for me as a food blogger and a food photographer.
Although, I started way back in 2020, I had to delete my previous blog because I was not able to upload recipes properly over there. So I started out from scratch in October, 2021 again with a new website. It was not at all easy but definitely something I didn’t mind doing.
What is this food blog about?
Being a pastry chef myself, baking and cooking comes naturally to me now. But I see so many of you who think it is difficult. But really, it is not. Baking is such a beautiful experience, just some basic ingredients coming together to make such stunning desserts. I want you to see baking as a therapeutic and joyful process and not be scared of it. Here in my blog, I will help you to learn how to bake and make stunning desserts in your home.
If dessert is in your mind, this blog is going to be your one stop destination for all sorts of cravings. Whether you are craving some 1 min mug desserts to healthy desserts to indulgent gooey chocolate brownies, I got you covered with my recipes. I have recipes made from scratch over here so you can easily make it. The reason is that store bought ingredients will always have preservatives and additives. I agree it is quite time consuming so I have quick and easy recipes too. My blog is all about desserts.
You will also find all sorts of baking basic recipes over here. From caramel sauce to something as basic as icing sugar, you will get it here. This blog will also give you baking tips and tricks to help you become a better baker.
Hope to see you all stop by my blog every week. Pack your bags for this safari(see what I did there) Happy journey!
