Tajda talks tips! From Instagram strategies to mastering momos

by | Apr 25, 2020 | Magazine

Tajda Ferko from My Vegan Minimalist is an award winning a food photographer and recipe developer based in Manchester, UK and a lovely human being.

She has created recipes and food photography for dozens of UK and international brands including Panasonic, Livia’s, Tala, Good Hemp, Coconuts Organic, MadeGood Foods, Equinox Kombucha and many more. Ty is a smart cookie and a world traveller. She has a Master’s degree with honours in Sociology. During her studies she lived in 4 different countries: Slovenia, Czech Republic, The Netherlands and UK. She claims to be a professional chocolate taster (sign us up!) and cannot stomach mushrooms.

As a photographer you’ve been spotlighted by the #1 US plant based magazine Thrive and featured by Best of Vegan, FeedFeed, Daily Vegan and many others. You’re living the dream of many plant based food photographers and bloggers. Can you share some key moments that helped you get here?

Aww, that is incredibly sweet of you to say, thank you! I’m not someone that would really think or talk about these ‘highlights’ a lot. I think what helped me get here is just having a lot of drive and patience. My key moments were getting to work with some amazing brands and being able to get in touch with a lot of fellow creatives.

What do you love the most about your job and what sort of projects do you enjoy working on the most?

I love that it allows me to let my creativity go absolutely WILD. The projects that I enjoy working on the most are the ones where I just get into my creative flow, forget about the time, and completely immerse myself in my work.

Who is your dream client?

KitchenAid!

Can you explain what a “recipe developer” is and how you became one?

A recipe developer is someone that develops their own recipes from scratch. I guess you could say anyone with a recipe/food blog is a recipe developer in a way. The only difference is that professional recipe developers will create recipes for clients. This means a lot of testing, re-testing, making sure that whoever follows your instructions will be able to nail the recipe in the first go.

Are there any dream plant based chefs you’d love to have dinner with?

Ooh, not necessarily chefs, but definitely some vegan creators overseas like Eva from The Curious Chickpea and Sara from @thevegansara. The dishes that they come up with are just incredible.

Your favourite plant based restaurant?

There’s a small local place here in Manchester called Vertigo and they do amazing vegan meals that you can’t get anywhere else in the city. Some of it is comfort food, but it’s mostly hearty and healthy plant based dishes.

Is there a recipe you’d really like to try/master?

I’m still working on my vegan dumpling making skills! It’s harder than it looks!

You write that food photographers should look outside of the food photography world for inspiration as well. However, is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to that inspired you?

Definitely want to give a huge shoutout to Alice Pages from @alicepages. She’s an incredible food photographer that travels the world capturing some of the most stunning food images out there. I love her work because it immediately stands out from a typical vegan blogger profile.

You’re a writer as well – what makes SEO writing different from regular copywriting?

I’d say SEO content writing is about generating traffic to your website, whereas copywriting is about converting that traffic into sales. SEO is also changing at a faster pace due to the several Google updates per year.

What strategy has worked best for you to grow your Instagram account organically?

I think as a food blogger the best thing you can do is create amazing content that will be re-shared by massive accounts like Best of Vegan, FeedFeed, etc. This immediately creates a huge surge in followers. Later on when your account is bigger, partner with brands that will work with you on really good giveaways that will attract a lot of people.

What have you learned the hard way?

Don’t EVER compare yourself to others – focus on your own unique journey and be incredibly patient.

What’s next for My Vegan Minimalist?

I’m hoping to bring out a real recipe book sometime in the near future!

Tajda’s favourites!

Plant based breakfast?

Scrambled tofu with lots of fresh chives and a pinch of black salt on a bed of fresh sourdough toast! Yum.

Plant based comfort food?

Pizza!

Plant based treat?

I have a really simple, 3-ingredient choc bliss ball recipe on my blog that just has to be my all-time fave. Click here for the recipe!

Plant based book?

The Bosh cookbooks never disappoint.

Plant based blogger?

Tamsin from Cupful of Kale.

The next plant based recipe I’d like to try is…

Steamed vegan momos.

Plant based eatery anywhere in the world I’d love to eat.

I’m just going to New York next month and I’ve been busy researching all the plant based food there – I’d say Avant Garden, a gorgeous vegan restaurant in East Village.

Plant based chef I’d love to meet and share a meal with?

It would have to be Gaz Oakley. He seems like such a fun guy!

Thank you Ty xo

https://myveganminimalist.com