Hi to all, and a great big welcome to my blog!

I am Shaun Bhatia, 16 years old, a foodie, and a massive fan of cooking; I just love it! Personally, I find that cooking is a very calming activity, and it helps me to destress.

I started writing this blog to provide evidence for the skills section of my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award, however it turned into a passion, and I love writing recipes to share with you all! Although my love affair with cooking started way back, when I was only young. I think it was the movie ‘Ratatouille’ which really sparked my interest. It was something about the wonders that could be achieved with some simple ingredients, basic equipment and a little imagination.

My Mum has been my largest inspiration as she only learned to cook after marriage, and always blows us away with such delectable cuisine, and somehow it always seems to appeal to everyone (even my sister who’s a fussy eater)! If you ask my mum if she’s a good cook, she will immediately say ‘no!’, and begin to laugh. She has a natural talent for cooking but evidently, does not realise it. My Nanima, her mum, is by no doubts a massive foodie; she has the most wonderful personality and her diabetes does not stop her from eating that last piece of ‘barfi’, or bar of chocolate!! The rich food always served in the Indian doesn’t help either. As well as all things sweet, she also loves to indulge herself in a large helping of cholle bhature (fried bread and chickpea curry) from the sunday market.

My family love my cakes and have always been pestering me to sell my cakes to other people. So, it was only around two months ago that I started out on this small business venture. By no means has my business turned into the largest cake seller in the UK, not even Derby! None the less, I receive great pleasure when receiving smiles from happy customers. So I’d like to say thanks to all who have put their confidence in me and helped me along the way. Especially my parents who have had to put up with a small tantrum of mine each time a charred cake emerged from the oven. I know that I am not perfect, and probably never will be, but I enjoy developing my skills and learning new methods to put to the test.

An example of this would be the first time I decided to help my mum make the dinner. I wanted to help her make the roti – a traditional Indian flatbread), as they were (and still are) my most favourite thing to eat. First I tried to make the paedi (rounds of dough), but the atta (dough) kept sticking to my hands. I then decided that I would like to roll them out instead, but they too began to stick to the chakla. So I burnt my hands whilst trying to turn them over in the tava instead. lol! I haven’t stopped making roti though…

I hope you enjoy the recipes that I share with you all. I love to cook, and hope you will enjoy it too. Discover the joys of Cooking and join me on my journey as I learn and embrace the art of cooking. Please let me know if you have any recipe requests! Remember stay tuned…

Hobtoplate…fresh ideas, for everyday…  🙂