Aarthi Vivekanandan is the food blogger behind Yummy Tummy, a cookbook author, and a YouTuber. A Top 10 finalist on MasterChef Tamil Season 1, she turned a love of cooking for friends and colleagues into a full-time career built on recipe development, photography, video, and storytelling. A mother of two, she is known for approachable home-style recipes and for experimenting with international cuisines.
From Friends’ Kitchens to a Full-Time Career
You started out cooking for friends and colleagues before it became a career. When did you know this wasn’t just a hobby anymore?
There wasn’t one dramatic moment. It happened gradually. I started cooking because I genuinely loved feeding people. Friends and colleagues kept asking me for recipes, and I was happy to share them. Slowly, I realised they weren’t just enjoying my food; they were coming back to learn how to make it.
That’s when I thought, “Maybe this can become something more.” Starting my blog gave me a way to combine two things I love: cooking and connecting with people. What began as fun became my profession, and after all these years, that love is still what keeps me going.
What MasterChef Taught Me
Making the Top 10 on MasterChef Tamil Season 1 was a huge turning point. What did it teach you that no cooking class could?
MasterChef taught me that cooking isn’t just about knowing a recipe. It’s about thinking on your feet, working under pressure, trusting your instincts, and recovering when things don’t go to plan.
It also pushed me far outside my comfort zone. There were moments I doubted myself, but I learnt to keep moving forward even when nervous. That confidence has stayed with me in everything I do today.
Choosing Passion Over a Stable Path
What did your family think when you chose food content over a stable path?
At first, there was a lot of uncertainty. A creative full-time career wasn’t the conventional route, especially when food blogging wasn’t considered a proper profession.
But my family, especially my husband, ultimately supported me. They could see how passionate I was and how seriously I took the work. It was never just cooking. It was writing, photography, learning technology, understanding social media, building a website, and constantly creating.
Looking back, I’m grateful that I trusted my instinct and that my family trusted me enough to let me follow it.
Health Without Guilt
You cook indulgent, comforting food for a living. How do you think about health and fitness day to day?
For me, health has never meant avoiding the food I love. Food is a huge part of my life, and I don’t believe in guilt around eating.
I believe in balance. If one meal is rich, the next can be simpler. I include vegetables, fruits, protein, homemade food, and plenty of variety, and I try to stay active rather than follow extreme diets.
Because I taste so much food as part of my work, I’ve learnt to listen to my body. I don’t have to eat everything in large quantities just because I made it. It’s about enjoying food mindfully.
The Balanced Plate at Home
What does a “balanced plate” look like in your own kitchen, not for content, but for your family?
Quite simple, actually: some rice or another carbohydrate, a good source of protein, vegetables, and something fresh on the side.
It could be rice with fish curry, a vegetable poriyal, and some curd. Sometimes it’s dosa with egg and vegetables, or chapati with a protein-rich curry and a vegetable.
I don’t try to make every meal perfect. I just make sure that across the day, we’re eating a good variety.
A Day in the Life of a Mom and Creator
As a mother of two with a demanding creative career, what does a typical day look like?
Honestly, there’s probably no typical day!
It starts with the family and getting everyone organised. Then comes the work: recipe development, cooking, photography, videos, writing, editing, social media, emails, and brand collaborations. Many things are always happening at once.
The biggest lesson is that I can’t wait for “perfect free time.” As a mother and a creator, I’ve had to be very organised and use whatever time I have well. Some days are extremely productive, and some are completely chaotic, but that’s real life. Balance doesn’t mean everything gets equal time every day.
Festive Feasting, Mindfully
Festive food is rich and indulgent. How do you balance celebration with staying mindful of health?
I don’t believe festivals should be about restriction. Food is a big part of our celebrations, and we should enjoy it.
My approach is moderation, not deprivation. I enjoy the sweets and festive dishes, but not every meal has to be heavy. An indulgent festive meal can be balanced with lighter home-cooked meals through the rest of the day.
Portion size makes a big difference, too. You don’t have to say no to your favourite sweet; sometimes a smaller portion is enough.
The Recipe That Went Viral
Which recipe on your channel surprised you by going viral, and why do you think it hit?
After so many years of creating content, I’ve learnt you can never fully predict what will go viral. Recipes I pour effort into sometimes don’t perform as well, while a simple, everyday recipe can suddenly reach millions.
I think it’s because people connect with recipes they can actually imagine making at home. One of my most recent viral hits is my Arabic Ashta Cream.
Rapid Fire with Aarthi Vivekanandan
- Sweet or spicy? Spicy!
- Home-cooked or restaurant? Home-cooked, absolutely.
- Tamil food or fusion? Fusion, and experimenting with international cuisines.
- Morning person or night owl? Night owl.
Advice for Women Afraid to Start
What’s your most honest, unfiltered advice for a woman who wants to turn her passion into a career but is scared to start?
Start before you feel ready.
We spend too much time waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect equipment, the perfect plan, or the confidence to begin. I certainly didn’t know where my journey would take me when I started.
You don’t need everything figured out. Start with what you have, learn as you go, and be willing to change along the way.
And don’t compare your chapter one with somebody else’s chapter twenty. Building something takes time. There will be failures, criticism, and days when you doubt yourself. But if you genuinely love what you’re doing, keep showing up.
Most of all, don’t be afraid to take your passion seriously. Sometimes the thing you think is “just a hobby” becomes the very thing that changes your life.