Let food be thy medicine, served as a work of art too—that’s the mantra of this Malaysian food artist, who posts pictures of quirky and healthy lunch boxes assembled for her daughters on her Instagram account
If like us, gratification can be had in admiring prettily assembled food to bookmark for cooking inspiration, you would have come across Samantha Lee, an iconic Malaysian Instagram food artist. For those who have not had the pleasure of ogling her quirky edible art, get acquainted. The mum-of-two started creating cartoon-inspired dishes in 2008 to get her daughters to eat healthy, and in 2011, she posted her plated works-of-art on Instagram, which garnered a viral storm on social media. Today, with her children a little older and acknowledged as an international food artist, Samantha continues to refine her culinary talent, having recently earned a Le Cordon Bleu certification.
We reached out to the artsy mother to find out how she keeps the creative juice flowing constantly. Besides attributing it to a disciplined daily routine, she lets her imagination run wild by recipe-testing various cookbooks, mostly bestowing them with a twist through ingredient switch-ups.
Below, she shares with Malaysia Tatler some of her recipes to success.
1. As a mum and food artist, sticking to a daily ritual is essential
5.40am Wake up, prepare my kids for school
7.30am Gym with my trainer
10am Coffee, Emails, journalling, sketching, ideas
12pm Lunch, groceries, prep for food art session, photography, dinner
10.30pm Bedtime