It would be no surprise if you’ve encountered Mr. Foodie Nepal with his mouth-watering food clips on your Instagram feed every now and then.

From working on a daily 10 to 5 job at a travel agency for eight years to being the first and the most hyped food blogger and influencer in the country, the journey of Mr. Foodie Nepal, who doesn’t like to give out his real name, started with his immense love for food at a young age. 

Growing up in a Newari household with endless bhoj and family gatherings, the now 26-year-old was brought up to enjoy food to the fullest. “My mother was always a big food lover. I used to watch her cook and enjoy her meal since I was a kid,” he says. “Having explored Newari food all my life, I got to know all kinds of flavors in my own home. That’s where my love for food started as well.”

For a large chunk of his adult life, Mr. Foodie used to be a full-time travel agent. He started working independently when he was 18 and got to travel to different countries on his own. Back then, the restaurant culture hadn’t caught on and the social media platforms were expanding only gradually. On his trips to different countries as a travel agent, he was introduced to unique cuisines, which further intensified his love for foods of all kinds.

Making the most out of what he had in his hands, from 2016, Mr. Foodie started posting pictures and light videos of food. He absolutely loved the experience of discovering newer, less popular places to eat and helped people get enough information to try them. With this new approach in Instagram, he started gaining more and more followers, and eventually, his account became a medium for people to know more about Nepal’s rich food culture.

“It was overwhelming to see this account I’d initially started as a hobby get such recognition, and that motivated me to turn it into a passion of sharing what I explored and discovered on my food haunts,” he says.

When the reach of his exclusive platform started growing, Mr. Foodie realized this was the path he wanted to take all along. At the start, he was still working full-time in a travel agency, but he found himself losing that spark he once had. He knew he was progressing in this industry and, with more experience, there was a comfortable life waiting for him. But one thing he didn’t feel was happiness: he couldn’t give his hundred percent to a job he wasn’t enjoying.

Still bouncing around jobs, he had left his old office in search of a better offer in the travel industry again. In the two-month break, he got time to explore more places and their foods alongside learning about the markets and how he could grow his influence. Months turned into a year until he finally decided to leave the travel industry in 2017.

“It was a turning point in my life, but when I wanted to take my passion to the next level, people around me started doubting. Switching careers is never simple, especially when you’re taking a path no one in the country has taken before,” he acknowledges. “But my family always supported me and they were confident that no matter what I did, I would do well as I was hardworking from a young age.”

Mr. Foodie soon realized people were searching for a platform where they can find out about different places they could go to enjoy a good meal. It was one content missing for the increasingly social media-influenced generation.

“Along with giving me a purpose to work harder, food helped connect the dots in my life.” Mr. Foodie finds pure joy when he is learning about new food, a pursuit that also entails meeting new people and learning about their cultures. Food, moreover, helped him fall in love with the conversations and connections they build among people from completely different worlds.

Today, Mr. Foodie is continuing to create more content on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok. He believes his risk has already paid off. “I always wanted to do something different and be remembered by that. My passion for food turned out to be my true calling.”