New Delhi: Shivesh Bhatia began posting his baking journey online 10 years ago. Writing a book was always on the agenda, but only after he turned 30.
“It seemed like something mature people do,” the 28-year-old said at the launch of his fifth cookbook, Chocolate. Bhatia, one of the pioneers of food blogging in India, published his first book in 2018 at 22. He has been unstoppable ever since.
Fans, family and friends recently gathered at JW Marriott Delhi’s Adrift Kaya for the launch of Chocolate, a HarperCollins India publication. The event began with a conversation between Bhatia and chef Anahita Dhondy.
“I’m in my ninth month [of pregnancy] doing this because I love him and I’m so proud of what he’s done,” said Dhondy. She promised to ask just a few questions and a quick rapid fire so that everyone could get to the main attraction quicker—a table full of chocolate desserts from the book.
Dhondy wanted to understand why someone like Shivesh Bhatia, who has carved his niche online with over three million followers on Instagram, would want to write books.
“When I started baking I would look at a lot of chefs from the West—Martha Stewart, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver—all of them wrote books. So I was always fascinated by the idea of having a book with my name on it,” said Bhatia.
Having something tangible to show for all his work was important to him.
“It really helped me make such a solid connection with my audience. Having that touch-and-feel factor makes all the difference.”
Bhatia acknowledges that, with more and more recipes available for free online, people are reluctant to pay for cookbooks.
“For me, it’s a passion project. I make my books for the audience who I know will truly appreciate a hard copy.”
Bake with Shivesh
Shivesh Bhatia’s choice of food was deliberate.
“Chocolate is a crowd-pleaser,” he said to a resounding yes from the audience. It played an important role in his baking journey as well.
“Chocolate cupcakes were the first thing I baked. It’s been with me since day one.”
The ingredient has a reputation for being finicky, but Bhatia said developing the recipes wasn’t what gave him grief—“It was being organised”.
When he signed on for his first book, Bake With Shivesh, he took it upon himself to not only write and test the recipes himself but also style and shoot the entire book.
“Halfway through I realised this is not something I can do alone,” he said. That’s when he hired his first team member. The newest book features 100 recipes, which meant he had to create and keep track of about 100-word documents with three images each.
“It’s a lot of proofreading,” he laughed. But eight years down the line, he has a whole team to help him out.
And Chocolate won’t be his last offering either, not when there is a sea of recipes he wants to dive into.
“I’m running out of time to make them all,” he said. That’s why he turned to content creation over opening his own bakery—“Every day is new, there’s no fixed menu”.
Shivesh Bhatia’s audience is a constant source of inspiration. His wildly successful third book, Eggless Baking With Shivesh, was the result of requests from fans and followers.
Right now, he’s working on a series of recipes that don’t require an oven. “I’ve made 35 or so videos in the series. It’s driving me to figure out how to make desserts in cookers and kadhais,” he said.
The trial and error is a long and tedious process, but it’s crucial to Bhatia. He’s constantly thinking about improving his recipes.
“It’s extremely rewarding to know you’ve created something that works for other people. They don’t have to waste their time or ingredients like I have.”
Also read: A Hyderabad company putting Indian cacao beans on world map. With scientists-farmers combo
Finding an audience
After Anahita Dhondy wrapped up the conversation, attendees swiftly attacked the desserts – triple chocolate cake (Bhatia’s favourite from the book), cookie dough and chocolate brownie, chocolate cheesecake, mocha mousse cake, espresso cupcakes, and chocolate pistachio chequered cake.
But for many in the audience, Bhatia was the main attraction. Among the long queue of people waiting to get their books signed was 18-year-old baker Vaibhav Seth. And when Bhatia proceeded to sign Seth’s copy without so much as asking his name, his friends were left visibly surprised.
“I know him, he’s come for every one of my book launches. And he flies all the way from Amritsar,” he told them.
For Seth, travelling for these events is a privilege: “I’ve been following him since 2017, buying his books and attending the launches is my way of showing support.”
Shivesh Bhatia has definitely found the right audience.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)