Tell us about yourself and your background
I write about food and travel because I enjoy it immensely and these are the two things I’m most interested in. I used to work in film production but now I write full time for my website as well as freelance assignments.
I’m a pint-sized girl who enjoys reading, movies and travel and is obsessed with food. I express my love for all things edible in my food blog – www.thetinytaster.com. A freelancer by trade, I’m able to spend most of my time sampling the city’s food offerings and reviewing them.
More often known as The Tiny Taster, I’ve decided to take the world by storm – one plate at a time! Apart from my own website, I also write for various publications and lifestyle websites about food and travel.
The dream is to expand the blog into a food and travel blog and I’ve already started with a few travel posts as well. I hope to travel enough and give you an insight into the places I visit and of course a detailed description of the food they have to offer.
My favourite quote that sums up my state of mind is, “Wanderlust: I’m in love with places I haven’t been to and people I haven’t met yet.”
Tell us about the company you have set up – when did you set it up, what products or services do you provide, what is your target market?
I set up the Tiny Taster in 2012 and have been on a fun rollercoaster ever since. The idea is to write about my food and travel experiences and hopefully give other travellers some insights or tips into the places I’ve been to or the things they can do when they travel. The target audience is wide and varies from 18 – 60 years old, but really it is for anyone who enjoys food and travelling.
Why did you set up the company? / What drove you to become an Entrepreneur?
I’ve never wanted to work for anyone except for myself. It wasn’t a well thought out decision; it just happened very organically but subconsciously I’ve wanted my own business for as long as I can remember.
What has been your biggest challenge in achieving your success?
Trying to stay current and constant. If I don’t write interesting things, often enough, I lose readership and an audience.
What has been your greatest achievement so far?
I can’t say… I am still working and striving to achieve things but I think the recognition and that people know who I am and what I do and appreciate it. They enjoy my work and I get a lot of love from my audience.
Who has been your biggest inspiration?
My family – my parents and my sister, as clichéd as it sounds because I’ve seen them work hard my whole life and that’s who I’d like to make proud.
How do you balance your work life and home life?
There is no balance my work is my life and I enjoy it completely. I have no complaints it co-exists and compliments it as well.
What advice do you have for women starting out on their own?
Please have a plan and a well thought out one. Think of every possible scenario and don’t expect it to be peachy, think of the worst and prepare for it.
Can you recommend any organisations or networking groups that have particularly helped you on your journey?
No not really, but I do look at other blogs and writers but I think that’s just to appreciate their work.
If you could ask for one thing to help propel your business what would it be?
Funding. If I had some serious funding and an influx of capital, I think I’d be able to really elevate my business.
What does the future hold for you?
Surprises I think. I’m always nervous and excited about it but hopefully bigger and better prospects. A lot of expansion of what I’m currently doing.
About Roxanne Bamboat
Dining her way across the globe, meeting new people, learning about new cultures, Roxanne Bamboat is a Mumbai based, pint sized food and travel features writer who is obsessed with reading, movies, travel and food. A freelancer in her profession, she’s able to spend most of her time sampling the city’s food offerings and reviewing them. More often known as The Tiny Taster, she’s decided to take the world by storm – one plate at a time!
Apart from her own website she writes for various publications and lifestyle websites as well about food and Travel. Her dream is to explore the world and write about her culinary and travel tales. She expresses her love for all things edible along with all her travel tales on her blog – www.thetinytaster.com. Not just another writer, she is also often featured as one of the top 15 bloggers to follow in the city besides being renowned for her Instagram and Snapchat presence.
She has a wide audience that reads her website as well as her updates on social media and as a result of that is invited to various destinations and hotels to review her experience. Among others she’s been a part of a campaign hosted by the Kerala Tourism Board along with 25 other international bloggers for a 15-day trip. She was handpicked along with 4 other food and travel bloggers from across the world for a 16-day culinary tour across the entire country of Portugal. Just recently, she was a part of a South African Radio Show talking about her experiences in Sri Lanka while an integral part of a Travel show on CNBC TV18 called Eyes For Travel.
She was recently invited by the South African Tourism Board on a 12-day visit to explore South Africa along with other top international travel bloggers on their annual campaign #MeetSouthAfrica.
Roxanne has won an award for the Best Culinary Travel Blog 2014 by popular vote as well as jury of her peers. She’s hosted many food-based events including the UpperCrust Food & Wine Show, which she’s done for two years in a row. She’s the co-curator of the Food Section at the Kalaghoda Arts Festival, which is a massive festival Mumbai, and has a great interaction with chefs and well known personalities from the food industry. The Food section of this nine-day extravaganza is created, curated and hosted by her. She also hosts other events and works closely with well known brands and hotels in the industry.
