Business inquiries:
You can find business related FAQs in my collabs page.
Recipe-related inquiries:
Q: Can you convert your recipes from weight measurements to cups? (And vice versa.)
A: In some instances, there will be recipes in weight measurements that have no exact cup equivalents. This is especially true for bread recipes. I will try my best to provide measurements by cups and by weight wherever possible, but I do suggest investing in a weighing scale if you have plans to bake a lot.
Q: Can I substitute x for y?
A: Generally, if you’re not used to being in the kitchen, I will suggest following the recipe as is on your first try. This is so you will get a feel for it and be able to figure out what adjustments you need to make next time. However if you’ve researched from other sources and found that the substitutions you have in mind work, feel free to do as you please.
Why did the recipe fail/what did I do wrong?
Although I am not a chef, I try my best to help people out in my limited capacity as a hobbyist. And what I have observed from assisting people so far is that usually failures occur due to mistaken interpretations of one or two steps in the recipe instructions. Although some recipes are more forgiving than others, since baking is a science involving chemical reactions, the way instructions are worded is usually deliberate.
For instance, for flour, if the word ‘sifted’ is placed in front of flour, as in ‘1 cup sifted flour’, this means you SIFT FIRST and then measure. If it says ‘1 cup flour, sifted’, it means you MEASURE FIRST before sifting. (Usually, flour that is sifted before being measured will weigh less, so there are indeed differences here.) You must read through the recipe at least twice to make sure you spot these details. Another instruction often written on recipes is mixing ‘until just combined’, which literally means you stop mixing the moment the last bit of your dry ingredient is combined into the wet. But if the instruction tells you to mix until ‘well combined’ or ‘homogenous’ then that’s the time you have go make sure the mixture has been vigorously mixed and all the ingredients are completely incorporated.
In terms of cooking, there is more room to add your personal touch. In baking, there is less wiggle room when it come to properly making the base structure of the recipe before thinking about customizing.
Other usual inquiries:
Q: What kind of camera do you use?
A: I am not sharing this to boast, but only because I get a lot of questions about this. I started out at the very beginning with a Canon EOS 40D. This was the camera I used for school and after over 5 years I switched to a 7D to get video shooting capabilities. This camera was used so much it looks really beaten up, but I still manage to use it until now as a secondary camera to my lovely Canon EOS 80D. (I’m clearly a Canon girl.) As for the lenses, I use a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro, a Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens, sometimes a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens, and a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM Standard Zoom Lens, depending on the need.
Out of curiosity, I tried out a different camera system and got myself a Fujifilm X-E2 Mirrorless Digital Camera. I am not a fan of the kit lens so I invested in a Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 lens, which is a beautiful piece of glass that has never left the camera body since the day I got it. I use this mirrorless camera for event shoots and restaurant shoots, to minimize bulk while still getting absolutely gorgeous pictures.
Of course, we must not set aside the phone camera, because phones these days have some very good cameras. My current phone is an iPhone 11, and I occasionally use it to snap pics for Instagram. If you take the time to properly set up the shot and find the nice light, it will look good no matter what camera you use.
Q: What editing app do you use for your food photos on the blog?
A: I use Adobe Lightroom first, then switch to Adobe Photoshop for anything specific I need to polish up.
Q: What editing app do you use for Instagram?
A: Typically, I use VSCO and/or ColorStory to color correct my photos for social media. When taking my own travel portraits, I like to use/edit with SODA.
Q: What editing app do you use for your videos?
A: I use Final Cut Pro. I am not an expert at it so I can only do basic editing.
Q: What kind of lighting do you use for your photos and videos?
A: I always use natural light, which is why I almost never shoot at night. (Yes, it’s a challenge when you’re at work all day, so I only shoot on Sundays or in the early morning before work.) I set up a table beside a window and just manipulate the light as I see fit. If it’s a restaurant setting, I just make do with the available light.
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