By @saudifooodie
Meet Saad Al Dulaijan, famous chef, local talent and more than a 100k followers.
How do you want to introduce yourself to our readers?
I’m a person who loves cooking and learning its arts and secrets. I started off by going to the best culinary school in the world: my grandmother’s kitchen. I then self-developed my talent thru trial and error, gathering up recipes and ideas from the web and books into one big information bank that I draw from in my innovating and cooking.
What is your favorite food to eat?
Spanish paella.
What is your favorite cuisine to cook?
My favorite kitchens are Mexican and Asian (Chinese and Indian), but I’ve recently specialized in Gulf traditional cooking.
Why did you choose to become a chef?
It wasn’t a decision as much as that destiny seemed to propel me in that direction. At first it was difficult to convince society that I’m a man who loves cooking, but my persistence and passion overcame all obstacles. What also kept me going were my friends who believed in my talent and motivated me.
What do you do when you try out a new recipe and it fails?
When I try a new recipe, I never do it textbook style, so even if it fails I’m always adding and trying out my style and cooking touches each time, innovating until it’s a success.
How do you make your Instagram photos so mouthwateringly delicious?
I knew absolutely nothing about photography before Instagram. I basically picked it up through YouTube and the web, learning photography basics and realizing that I have some talent in photo styling. I kept at it, practicing tirelessly and the results speak for themselves!
How did you learn about food styling?
Prior to cooking, I used to dabble with furniture and color schemes as part of interior decoration work. I tapped on those experiences in photo coordination and developed my own understanding of food styling.
How long does it take you to do a post?
Just thinking about a recipe takes two days. Preparing and cooking takes from two to four hours. Photography takes about an hour. Finally, writing the post and photo-editing takes another half hour.
Which part of blogging excites you most: the cooking, the post writing or the photography?
I can tell you that writing the post is the worst part for me because I’m very detailed in recipe ingredients and cooking steps. Still, that’s why people love my posts. The details help them in getting it right the first time they try. I’m a chef at heart, so the best part for me is definitely the cooking.
Name three things you have to use in most recipes?
Turmeric, coriander and paprika.
Name three ingredients you consciously avoid or eliminate even when the recipe calls for it.
Mixed spices, chicken stock cubes and Chinese salt.
If you could delete one food from the world, what would it be?
Any invading dishes to our Gulf cuisine which end up defining it. A good example is Bukhari Rice which became a Saudi culinary tradition while it is Afghani in origin.
If you could have any three people in the world over for dinner, who would they be?
Chef Asma Al Bahar, Chef Manal Al Alem and Sulaiman Al Gassar.
Do you think Instagram food blogging will still be around in 2020?
Of course not. Nowadays nothing remains the same. We live in a fast-paced world where applications disappear as fast they appear, similar to the fame that comes to its user. He who doesn’t use it right will see fame evaporate fast from his hand.
Instagram: accountname8
