The Man Of Many Hats: Food Blogging And Content Curation With Sumedh Kanade

That’s right! Nothing can sum up this gourmet man better than this. A Food blogger, Content creator, Engineer, influencer, and a change maker in his own right, he’s indeed a multi-talented person. 

Originally from Nagpur, his food journey began at the age of 10. He recalls cooking Khandvi at that tender age and being fascinated by cooking shows on television. His Grandmother was both his salient supporter and critic. She used to help him cook and graciously give him feedback afterward.

Like other pseudo-Indian parents, his parents wanted him to pursue engineering too. He also was extremely passionate about it and went on to do an undergraduate degree in the same. However, his true calling lay elsewhere.

While on an internship in Bangalore during his college days, he started exploring the city’s culture and food. He’d also take trips and weekend getaways to nearby places with his friends. That’s when he also started writing on google as a local guide. He’d write about places to visit, food options to explore, and much more. Sumedh gave himself a year to explore this field and see if things worked out. Following a brief stint with writing on WordPress, it was in 2018 that he started uploading on Instagram actively and took up food blogging full time soon after. He reached 2500 followers in 3 months, and after a year of busily churning out content, hit the 10K mark. He started receiving invitations from organisations like the Food Bloggers Association of India and became a popular name in the community subsequently. 

He then went on to host Nagpur’s first-ever Ice cream festival. According to him, such festivals until then were unheard of in a tier-2 city like Nagpur. The festival went on to become a massive success, leaving him overwhelmed with joy.

An enthusiast for Cooking shows and travel channels like TLC and NDTV Goodtimes, he loves his Dal Makhani above everything else. In conversation, he shares his struggle with street food blogging in Nagpur due to the vendors’ apprehension. “Restaurants and cafes are better equipped with Food blogging knowledge than street-side joints,” he shares.

His first official invite was from this cafe in Nagpur called “Chaat Shaala”, one of India’s first chaat themed cafes. And thus began a long term partnership and bond that’s only grown stronger.

He’d send cold emails to the team of Curly tales, expressing his intention to work with them. Eventually, he received a call from them and started working for them soon after. In his own words, that was one joyous experience that he’d always cherish

Our Musafir though, is no ordinary food blogger. He’s also a menu curator for restaurants and runs campaigns for them. He’s been a part of restaurant launch events and an active member of the food community. He hosted an Instagram campaign on his page called 18 days, 18 People, 18 Stories with Gourmet Musafir to talk about positivity and anxiety. The series featured individuals across industries who shared their stories and experiences. It featured names like Zingy Zest and Kriti Vij. He also went on to host a food IPL on his Instagram feed and stories, after being disappointed by the potential cancellation of IPL. His followers participated in the same via Polls and featured teams like Kolkata k Puchke, Mumbai chi Pav bhaji, etc. It ran for 15 days and received a lot of engagement.

Talking about Instagram, he feels lucky not to have faced a lot of trolling. He also came up with a filter and subsequently went on to launch many more. When Instagram invited him for their ‘Born on Instagram’ programme, he felt that he’d arrived.

His inspiration includes Chefs like Vikas Khanna and Ranveer Brar. He admits that Kamiya Jani, Founder of Curly Tales, has been a mentor and colossal inspiration in his journey.

When asked about his plans, he shares that he’s planning to pursue an MBA in Marketing. He believes that his experience with influencer marketing, communication, and campaign management would surely be a bonus. Sumedh also plans to open a full-service agency catering to the needs of restaurants and food-related companies. His blogging journey though, will undoubtedly continue, and we’re so glad about that!