This Is My Story

Hey there! I’m Arti Rout 🙋🏻‍♀️ a mom, wife and chef who absolutely loves cooking. I created this website as a special space to share my passion for food and the experiences I’ve gathered over the years, starting with the lessons I learned from my mother.

I spent my childhood in Ghatotand (India) a small coal township built around the Tata Steel Plant. It was a tiny but amazing community designed for the plant workers. When people assume it is just a village, I smile and say ‘Yes! you could say that.’ 😄

Back in the 90s, Ghatotand had everything we needed: schools, two Tata hospitals, sports clubs and restaurants serving delicious Indo-Chinese noodles (though pizza was nowhere to be found! 😄). Festivals were incredibly colorful and full of life because in ‘Ghatotand’ it felt like everyone knew everyone.

My parents were my first culinary school—my mother taught me to make roti and my father taught me the stuffing for aloo paratha. They soon realized I had a genuine passion for cooking. Back then I was also a huge fan of Sanjeev Kapoor’s Khana Khazana. I never missed a single episode especially during summer vacations, Those were beautiful days.

After finishing 10th grade in Ghatotand, I moved to Ranchi (India) for my higher studies. Later I moved to Mumbai (India) for my Master’s. It wasn’t in culinary arts but in Marketing because when you come from a small place financial stability often has to win over passion.

While I worked my 9–5 job, my roommates were the happiest people around. They had a passionate chef cooking for them with love and without charging a single rupee. 😄

Eventually I met my husband and after the wedding, I moved to Bangalore. One day he looked at me and asked ‘Why are you stuck in a marketing job? You should be a chef!’ He wasn’t joking, he truly believed I should reshape my career. That put a huge smile on my face because deep down cooking was the only thing that gave me real joy.

We got married in July 2014 and by August 1st I was already sitting in my first class for a Diploma in Culinary Arts. Since that day I haven’t stopped cooking or learning, constantly working to polish my skills.

In 2018, we moved to Montreal( Canada)where we’ve lived ever since. By January 2020, we started the beautiful journey of parenthood but just two months later COVID hit. Like everyone else I was terrified to leave the house and the isolation soon led to depression. My doctor advised me to go out and meet people but in the middle of a global pandemic that felt impossible.

That’s when my husband suggested starting a YouTube cooking channel just to keep me busy and shift my focus back to what made me happy. That channel eventually led to this food blog and that brings us to where I am today, writing this page for you.

My goal is to give you the feeling of enjoying a warm, home-cooked meal made by my mother with a little touch of what I’ve learned from different kitchens around the world. I bring the best of both worlds simple recipes that bring happiness and fill your life with goodness.

I hope you find inspiration and joy in these dishes, made with love and care.

Love,
Arti