Here at Delish we applaud all food-obsessives, so we obviously jumped at the chance to talk to Sarah Phillips. She not only runs her own food website, CraftyBaking.com, but also manages the coveted @food and @baking Instagram accounts. We spoke to her about her mad-crazy decorating, baking and photography skills.
How did you first get into cooking and baking?
My mother was a fabulous cook and baker, so I was interested in it from day one. I always took classes, and tried out new recipes, but I didn't think of it as a profession until I got laid off from my sales job in the 1980s. I decided I wanted to do something creative with food, so I started baking and selling my cookies in New York. I started getting a bunch of baking questions and realized there wasn't really anywhere to look to find the answers. So I started baking911.com — now CraftyBaking.com — to start answering some of these questions.
How did you nab the coveted @food and @baking Instagram handles?
My daughter got involved with it, and I thought it was a great medium because it was all photos. Because I was an early adopter in about 2011, I grabbed the names @food and @baking. I started taking photographs, and the accounts just started taking off. @food is more for my own personal food styling of any type of food, and @baking is more reflective of the CraftyBaking brand.
Where do you find inspiration?
I work closely with my partner, Kelly Hong, to run the site. We both are really inspired by nature. My mother also collected art when I was growing up, and I used to be a jeweler and a ceramicist. Plus, I love to travel so I really find inspiration just living a creative lifestyle. We also try to do things that haven't been done before. For example, we recently did a charlotte with strawberry roses and decorated ladyfingers. I hadn't really seen decorated ladyfingers before, so we wanted to try it.
How do you get your food photos to look so amazing?
Always photograph food in natural light. That's one of our mantras. There also isn't anything fake going on with the food — we don't paint it or stage it in anyway. For Instagram, I also photograph everything in natural light, except sometimes I do use my iPhone's filters because the phone's camera needs a boost.
What are a few of your favorite dishes you've made?
I think the Millefiori Slice and Bake Cookies that we did recently are neat. Those were inspired by the Italian glassware, and I developed a dough that would take dye really well so they turned out lovely. I also love the mini cakes and gluten-free projects that we do.
What are some tips or tricks you've learned after years of doing this?
First of all, you have to start with the appropriate recipe. You can't just take any recipe and start decorating. For example, if you have the right recipe, you don't need a ton of food coloring to make it colorful. We use very little, if any in our projects. You can use natural colors from fruits and vegetables if you have a recipe that will take on dye when it bakes. When you're decorating, less is more.
What are some of the most challenging items that you guys have done?
The gluten-free items and our slice and bake cookies can get really complex to figure out. Mostly because I'm trying to figure out how to make the recipes as simple as possible for home bakers.
What has been some of your favorite comments or reactions to your work?
I just love when people really love our work. I love hearing that it tastes great and it looks just as great. When I hear that someone made a recipe of mine and they thought it was easy and it worked out, that feels great for us.
BONUS: For more Crafty Baking recipes, just for Delish.com members, join the site for $10 off the YEARLY subscription fee with the coupon code SPRING (all caps)
Plus, check out Sarah's favorite Spring-inspired treats here.
