Communicator, cook and content creator, this is Chloé Sucrée.
author of the popular recipe blog beingbiotiful.com, is recognized as one of the most complete and interesting on the vegetarian cuisine in Spain. And if you are looking for healthy recipes, your Instagram account inspires more than 120K followers with dishes that are not only pretty, but also nutritious and come up with ideas to include more vegetables on the menu.
Biotiful Moments It is the fourth publication of the author, who already has three books to her credit (Simply Biotiful, Being Biotiful and Biotiful Kids). With more than 90 recipeswhich include everything from snacks and drinks to creams, pastas and salads, the goal is to turn any moment around the table into something extraordinary and unique.
We talked to Chloé Sucrée about the creation process and we inquired about her two passions; photography and cooking, in addition to learning about her favorite dish from childhood, we discover what her inspiration to create new dishes and what ingredient cannot be missing in your pantry.
What came before, photography or cooking?
The kitchen. I started experimenting with very simple recipes while going through a particular moment of health.
How did you learn each of these two arts?
In my house, my father works in a group of restaurants and has always liked to discover the latest trends, a culinary avant-garde. While my motherhave a natural gift and has taught my brother and me to cook. I think that the taste we have is thanks to what he has taught us. Also, due to my health issues, I started to investigate, experiment and create recipes.
Regarding the PhotographyI saw a need, since a recipe can be very good but if it doesn’t blindfold, maybe people won’t repeat it at home. He took a photography course with a specialist woman from the north of Spain (she couldn’t remember her name) and then another with Aran Goyoaga, who has a blog called Cannelle et Vanille and in my opinion, she is one of the best gastronomy stylists out there. Now the key is to practice and take lots of pictures.
Could you share three tips to take a nice picture of our plate?
The three keys for a photograph to be beautiful, it is first of all, the light: to be natural and side. Northern light is generally more subtle and pretty, and if you have a cloudy day, great! So you don’t run the risk of burning the photo. Then, it is very important that the props, the background and the crockery that you are going to use, do not take away the prominence of the dish. Avoid the mix of colors so as not to lose the focus of what you are photographing. Also, very important and basic, when you go to plate the final recipe, that it is already pretty without having to add extras or fakes. Let it be a natural, colorful and beautiful plate by itself. That translates much better.
What led you to open the blog and share your recipes and experience? Why do you think it is a success?
When I started to change my diet, I noticed that I felt much better; with more energy and better digestion. The whole process of discovery and change was very frustrating as the doctors didn’t know what was wrong with me. I went through bad times, I had no strength and my gut was fatal. Without being a nutritionist or wanting to give nutrition advice, I thought “maybe there are more people like me, who are having a hard time” and can’t find answers. And I understood that it was a matter of intestinal inflammation, whether I ate a hamburger or lettuce, I felt terrible.
I decided to start share my experiencein case someone could feel identified. It started with no particular purpose and created a organic community. And success, I don’t know. I feel that if there is a story behind it that is honest and transparent, and if it is the message what you transmit is genuine with the objective of helpIt shows and people appreciate it.
Where do your ideas to create, innovate and merge ingredients come from?
It goes through phases. At this moment, I think of combinations and in what ingredients go together. At first, it was trial and error, until I see what works and what doesn’t.
It happens to me that when I am creating content all the time, in front of the plate I think “am I creating a recipe or enjoying the plate?”. Now I try to separate my times: when I am eating, I want to enjoy it and connect with food. And when I’m working, I make sure to take a nice photo and share the content (be it on the blog, the app, social networks, etc).
Inspiration comes and goes but without a doubt, going to markets, reading many cooking magazines, traveling and going to restaurants, and sometimes even not cooking, is inspiring. In the summer I had a break from not cooking, and it was positive to reconnect with what my palate likes. Or just guide me by products that are in seasonsince in general if you cook them together, they usually work.
Already an expert on the subject and being your fourth authored book: Biotiful Moments, what’s so special about it?
This book is the most special. I tried to recover the moment that we all lived with Covid, where people started to cook a lot. I am convinced that the kitchen was a link to be able to share and transmit. Like I always say, cooking is emotional: It varies if I’m with someone or alone, if I feel good or bad. I tried to summarize everything in a book, which in addition to recipes, conveys a message and a way of seeing and sharing life. For this reason, the chapters are not dishes or ingredients, but are moments.
It is also a differential the choice of play list for every moment. It is proven that music affects both the taste of food and appetite, what role does it play in your case?
There is always music playing in my house: when I get up, dancing with my children and when cooking. Depending on the type of dish, I fancy a certain type of music. And on networks I share a lot of music, that’s why I said “I have to play a type of music at all times” so the public can associate it.
At the beginning, you assure that cooking is one of the greatest acts of love there is, do you remember that special first course? And who prepared it for you?
When I was little, my mother He prepared a special dish for us: a mashed sweet potato with carrot and laurel, which is then baked au gratin. And now, no matter how much I prepare it, it doesn’t come out the same. With my brother, we freak out. It’s all the comfort and the security that broadcast parents on a plate.
Many colors are seen in your dishes, due to the variety of vegetables and fruits you use, what do you think are the main prejudices or barriers around vegetarian cuisine?
The perspective of vegetarian cuisine has changed a lot, compared to ten years ago. There are still many prejudices and for this reason, making the vegetarian cuisine something varied, colorful and visually appealing, breaks many barriers. From thinking that it is bland, boring or that it is not going to fill your stomach, it is very important that the dish shines first through the eyes and looks colorful.
In addition to your blog, the books, the store and the Biotiful app, you have given courses and workshops… an entrepreneur with all the letters, do you have more projects in hand?
Will app changes in January 2023, the intention is to give it a big change thinking about the needs of the user, it will be a revolution. I have a project to associate a service to the app to bring the user the final dish or the ingredients to make the recipes. And besides, I have in mind to put together a online academybecause people ask me for many courses and others.
Finally, the future, or rather the present of food, is it one without meat on the plate?
I am not dogmatic, nor do I want to impose, but it is clear that eat less meat. And if you want to eat meat, know where it comes from, the quality, etc. The dish of the future is one where vegetables must be in abundance, where you can play with the rest of the ingredients, but the vegetables are the protagonist.
Biotiful Moments: 90 healthy recipes to enjoy and share (Healthy Eating)
Quick questions ping pong with @biotifulmoments
- An ingredient that cannot be missing in the pantry biotiful: tahini
- A dish: it’s hard for me to choose just one, since I go by what I feel like, today it can be a potato omelette and tomorrow, a pumpkin cream. Therefore, it is difficult for me to choose one, but I am fan of my salads where I play a lot with textures and colors. Creating salads always appeals to me.
- A drink: the bullet proof coffee (a drink that combines coffee, with coconut oil and butter)
- A favorite dessert or sweet: my aunt’s chocolate mousse
- A season of products: I like late summer and early fall: figs, squash, cherry tomatoes, pomegranates.
- A product (or products) to recommend from stores and/or supermarkets: La Pasta de la Nona, a brand of fresh gluten-free pasta.
Biotiful Moments: 90 healthy recipes to enjoy and share (Healthy Eating)
- An Instagram account foodies that inspires you: Green Kitchen Stories, it’s a couple from Sweden, and in terms of cooking and photography it’s amazing @gkstories, @ottolengi, @cannellevanille
- A film, documentary or series foodies To recommend: The entire Chefs Table docu-series, and the series Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat.
- What can’t be missing from your Biotiful dish: I was going to tell you an ingredient like lemon or salt, but you can’t miss a contrast of textures and colors. Whenever I build a dish, I think of it in layers: if it has a cream, it has to have a crisp on top. Or the same with salads, that there are fresh, salty, acidic, sweet ingredients, always looking for the contrast of textures and colors.
Pictures | beingbiotiful
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