Experts share tips on how to shoot food art and ace social media

A still from Andrea Love’s waffle video; (right) Strawberry chia pudding by Kukreja

Watching a dish come to fruition is pleasantly satisfying. The visual journey of a dish from planning to plating irradiates the kind of impish glee we felt on shadowing a gram seed's germination in primary school. It's unreal. Fibre artist and animator Andrea Love's stop motion food videos, where she uses wool as proxy ingredients and crockery, have mesmerised the Internet, with her most recent video for a waffle recipe registering more than 3,70,000 likes. We invited a few city-based experts to help you get started.

Consistency is hard to beat

. Keep it real: Let things be simple. This will make you appear approachable to your followers.

. Stay connected: Stay abreast of trends and current needs. Even if you think that some things have been done and re-done, it's worth giving them a shot. Whether it's the tomato feta pasta or custard toast, it will go viral and users would want to try more versions of the dish. So, switch things up and share your own take.

. Usefulness is key: When sharing information about food ingredients and recipes, ask yourself if the content is useful or not.

. Know your followers: The digital medium has its own demands. Track the kind of food gyaan your followers like. This will enable you to connect with them and align your expertise with their wants.
. Keep at it: Always remember, it's hard to beat consistency.

Karishma Sakhrani, chef and culinary consultant

Karishma Sakhrani

French lentil and celery salad

Serves: 2
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

French lentil and celery salad

Ingredients
. 50 gm whole black masoor dal
. 50 gm pearl barley
. 25 gm pomegranate arils
. 5 gm chopped celery leaves
. 5 gm chopped celery root
. 5 gm chopped green onion whites
. 5 gm chopped green onion leaves
. 10 gm raisins
. 15 gm almonds
. 2 large handfuls arugula
For the dressing:
. 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
. 2 tbsp honey
. 2 tbsp lemon juice
. 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
. Salt, to taste

Method
Boil the masoor dal and the pearl barley separately like you would cook pasta in a large pot of water with salt and oil. Drain, and set aside to cool. To prepare the dressing, combine the wholegrain mustard, honey, lemon juice, olive oil and salt, and whisk well. Place the pomegranate arils, celery leaves and roots, green onion whites and leaves, raisins, almonds, and arugula in a large mixing bowl. Add the boiled masoor dal and pearl barley, and the dressing. Toss to combine, and serve. Try not to overcook the lentils and barley. When cooked al-dente, it renders a nice bite to the salad.

Spiced cookies by Kukreja

Be the unicorn in your area of passion

. You're the one: Be unique with your style; take inspiration from different styles of content and keep practising till you find a flow.

. Light matters: Food looks best in good lighting; I recommend natural sunlight if you're starting out.

. Edit right: Making the colours pop can go a long way.

Saloni Kukreja

. Figure out your goal: Do you want to impart knowledge about an ingredient or teach a recipe? Do you want to create food art? Do you want to showcase ingredients and food in a different light? Asking these questions to yourself will help you find a style.

. Find your aesthetic: Do you want to add a funny element to your videos or make a calming video by playing around with angles? Think and plan your content accordingly.

Saloni Kukreja, digital food content creator and recipe developer