In our society, we’re often made to believe that we can either follow our passion or focus on our profession. We can either attend board meetings or travel around the world. For the longest time, we thought that it’s true. But, guess what? It’s not! Turns out, we can explore our creative side while having a regular job, and social media influencer Manthan Gattani is out to prove us just that!
The popular food blogger is also a maths teacher by profession and yes, you must probably be thinking—mathematics and food blogging? Aren’t the two fields poles apart? Well, yes and no. While both the domains have their own differences and similarities, you can excel at both. Manthan is not just a terrific food blogger but also an amazing maths teacher and his journey has been impressive.
The content creator has been sharing recipes on his social media handles for years now. His Instagram bio says, “Binging on my profile can make you HUNGRY” and we completely agree. Before he turned food blogger, Manthan used to share his love for food with his audience as a food reviewer. He used to review dishes, and recommend restaurants and cafes that he thought were worth visiting to his followers.
It was during the pandemic that he began cooking frequently and discovered that he is actually great at it. Over the years, Manthan made it a point to share recipes that are easy to recreate and hassle-free. From Indian and western cuisines to healthier versions of your favourite meals, one can find almost every dish on his page. He even created his own chocolate brand called UnnBingee that helps you satiate your sugar cravings without overdosing on calories. The best part remains that he adds a personal twist to all his creations and makes the experience of recreating them even more exciting for his audience.
From teaching mathematics to sharing innovative recipes, Manthan has brilliantly maintained a perfect balance between his profession and passion. His story is truly inspiring for all those who think that they can only follow either of them. In a recent chat with POPxo, Manthan talked about his journey as a food blogger and the evolution of the industry. Here are the excerpts:
When Did You Realise Your Passion For Cooking?
There’s a dialogue in Mirzapur, “Shuru majboori mein kiye the, par ab maza aane laga hai.” That’s exactly what happened to me. Just when the lockdown started, my maid quit. Then I had to enter the kitchen and that’s when it all started. Prior to that, I was a food reviewer. So, the idea of what goes well with what in terms of food was always in my head.
Share with us your fondest memories of food. What is it about the home kitchen that you cherished the most as a kid?
At home, we had more Punjabi food. So, that is something I have always cherished. I attempted cooking at a very early age but didn’t practice it for long. When it came to the kitchen, I always thought I belonged there. That’s a good memory I have of my home kitchen.
What’s your comfort food?
If we talk about Gujarati cuisine, then my comfort food has always been dal dhokli. On the Punjabi side, it’s rajma chawal. Dal khichdi is my favourite. If we talk about non-Indian origin food, then I’d say spaghetti.
When did you think that you should turn your passion for food and cooking into something so big digitally?
I met a friend of mine, who’s a food blogger. After that I realised that I like the concept of people meeting, eating, and writing about food—good or bad, whatever is applicable. I also like meeting chefs as they share their knowledge and tell interesting stories. That’s how it started. In March 2020, before the lockdown, my page had 3K followers. Post that I started cooking and then my videos went viral.
Does your experience as a mathematician help you as a food blogger as well?
I’m a dancer, a maths teacher, and I cook. None of these is mutually exclusive and they all have one thing in common—steps. Be it dancing or cooking or maths, you need to follow some steps. If you follow them, you will not make any mistakes. All of them are quite related as all of them need patience and steps. If you master these skills, you can do all three.
Anything that you would like to say to young food bloggers who are trying to make it big?
My only advice to anyone who wants to make it big on a digital platform is to have patience. Nothing happens overnight. If you feel that you have made an Insta reel and it will go viral immediately then it won’t happen. I have 57K followers, but then I also have around 1200 posts. One cannot say that with a hundred posts they will reach one million followers. People need time to trust your page if you want everything to be organic.
I never expected to even reach 10K for that matter. I just did it because I liked doing it. People gradually align with your passion, they start connecting with you and they start following you.
What would you say is your USP? What’s the one thing that makes your audience keep coming back to your page?
There are two things on my page that I think bind people. First, my recipes are very quick. I try to compile my recipes within a minute. They are not so fancy that you cannot afford to make them. They’re basic meals that you go out and order and actually recreate at home.
Next, my page is all about Bollywood. Before the feature of reels came into the picture, my page had Bollywood music on posts. Indians connect to Bollywood music and find it entertaining. Even if not for the recipe, people enjoy the songs.
You have almost 60k followers, which is huge, does the pressure of keeping your friends and followers happy overwhelm you at times?
Initially, when I had 20K followers, I used to check if people were liking my posts. The thought crossed my mind once. But, I then realised that it’s not why I started in the first place. In my case, my posts are bookmarked and saved by my followers more than they’re liked. It’s because my audience is not used to liking my posts, but saving them and recreating the recipes later. It makes me happy when people are viewing my posts and saving them. At least someone is getting benefits from my recipes. So, I don’t feel any pressure because reaching 50K was not even a part of my dream. But, now that I have reached here, the only thing in my mind is that I have to maintain a certain quality. I only post what’s relevant to my page.
Most of the recipes on your page are quite interesting, but they’re also easy to recreate. Is that something you try to do consciously?
Absolutely! I want to simplify the process of cooking so that everyone can feel that they can cook. Nobody has time to go through lengthy videos as almost everyone knows the basics. I consciously try to create recipes that are easy to replicate.
Instagram and other digital platforms are evolving and coming up with new features as we speak. How do you think it affects you as a food blogger?
As a video creator, I would say that some new social media features are amazing. For example, Instagram reels are great. I don’t have to search for Bollywood songs elsewhere as I can get everything from the feature itself. The ‘guide’ feature on Instagram is really interesting as well. There are different folders under this section and people can easily find the recipes of everything they’re looking for in one go. Some of the new features are great and can be very helpful.
The food blogging industry has evolved significantly over the years, what’s your take on it?
I used to write about food and now I am cooking food. I have seen an evolution myself and of course, the industry has evolved as well. Earlier, there were videos on YouTube that were twenty minutes long. But now, with the help of new features, the videos are compressed and people can see the entire recipe in less than a minute. That’s why we say that when there’s a demand, people evolve. People are also paying attention to aesthetics, which makes the video pleasing to our eyes. They are also evolving recipes and coming up with different ways to create the same dish.
On the downside, it’s really disappointing when people use unhealthy recipes to get more views and likes. That’s a change that is definitely not required.
If you had to choose one, what would it be—mathematics or food blogging?
Right now it’s very clear—teaching mathematics is paying my bills, so I would go for that right now.
Lastly, how do your students feel about the fact that their maths teacher is also a famous food blogger?
They are very happy. We held an offline session after a long time and I gifted them boxes of homemade UnnBingee chocolates. They’re very cool with the fact that their teacher is cooking, dancing and strict when it comes to studies as well.
Featured Image Courtesy: Manthan Gattani
