I was only 24 years old when a lady called Sabina Sehgal Saikia - the then 'Delhi Times' editor - asked me to host the 'Times Food Guide Awards,' so it was with The 'Times of India' that my career began in this field.
I think I wrote my first piece about food in 1978.
I really love eating, so I love reading about food, and I religiously read the dining section in newspapers.
Writing about food is my default.
After the passing of my personal hero, Anthony Bourdain, I've been reflecting a lot on his influence on food culture. He made street food from around the world, that most of us have never heard of, accessible.
It fills my heart with pride and joy that international food writers and press have taken an interest in Tijuana.
I've been fascinated by the world ever since I read 'Kitchen Confidential' by Anthony Bourdain. I've watched 'Top Chef' and watched interviews with chefs on 'Charlie Rose'... I thought they're really intriguing characters, and they really encapsulate that tension between vision and commerce, art and commerce.
In recent years, I've been writing because I'm fortunate enough to work in the world of food television, to travel and taste and learn about cooking from the best chefs in the business.
The truth is, as much as I loved writing restaurant reviews, it always felt very self-indulgent to me. It was so much fun, I loved doing it, but there's so much else to say about food.
Jessica Battilana has been my kindred cooking spirit for more than 10 years. Our careers as cooks and writers have taken us through the same Bay Area restaurants, bakeries, magazines, and newspapers.
I'm always in the kitchen, cooking and experimenting - I love it. And every now and then I think, 'I should write a cookbook' or, 'I should write for food magazines.' And then I get drawn back to writing fiction again.
I always say I'm more of a food writer than a TV presenter, because that's what I'm trained in, that's what I spend most of my year doing. TV is about performance and I've never had any training.
The Guardian's 'Word of Mouth' blog bridges the gap between blogging and serious food journalism.
