Navigating these last few months has undoubtedly been difficult. A lot of us find ourselves unable to pursue activities we are passionate about due to the social distancing rules. However, Jenna Nagji has successfully found a way to pursue her passions. She is the founder of Biolicious baking. Fidel interviewed her to get insight into her organisation.
Fidel Blog: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Jenna Nagji: Hi, I’m Jenna, I’m 17 years old and I am the founder of Biolicious Baking. If I’m not baking then you’ll probably find me drawing or dancing.
FB: Tell us about Biolicious Baking and what inspired it.
JN: Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved to cook. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen and my passion for baking sort of developed from there. Since the lockdown began I have been doing a lot of baking and I thought “Why not put this to good use because right now I’m just making my whole family fat.” I figured the best thing to do would be combining my two passions, baking and biology, so I founded Biolicious Baking.
FB: What is the goal of Biolicious Baking?
JN: Biolicious Baking is an organisation aimed at spreading information about various biological concepts through a fun and interactive way. A lot of my friends shy away from taking AP Biology because the course load is too much or because it’s boring so Biolicious Baking aims to make that easier and well, less dull. It helps make studying less daunting and more approachable. My aim is to break down these concepts and present them in bite size treats.
FB: That is very true. Besides, who doesn’t like a snack when they’re studying. So what are your hopes for the future of Biolicious Baking? JN: Well my hopes for Biolicious Baking right now are mainly focused on expanding it. I plan on creating a website and a youtube channel for it and I would also love to do collaborations with biology or baking accounts on various social media platforms.
FB: How has this pandemic affected your work?
JN: Well Biolicious baking was born out of this pandemic so that’s a positive. But I had planned to collaborate with local bakeries and haven’t been able to do so as a result of the lockdown.
FB: Do you have any baking or biology tips you’d like to share with our readers?
JN: When you bake muffins or cupcakes, fill your empty cups with water if you run out of batter and all the cups are greased. The result is a batch of muffins perfectly moist in the inside and slightly crisp on the outside. As for the biology tips, the biggest one would be to avoid cramming information. Try to understand the concepts you learn rather than going for memorization. I personally love drawing so when I’m done studying, I get a really large piece of paper (A3 or A2) and just write down summaries of the things I’d been studying and draw pictures beside them. The colors, the images and reciting what I read just help me remember things better.
Biolicious Baking is currently on Instagram. She also posts the recipes so you can try baking them too. My personal favorite is the recipe for brownies. Check it out @bioliciousbaking and share your favorites.