Food Stylist + Recipe Developer, Shanika, is part kitchen ninja and connoisseur of interior decorating (hence her passion for beautifully staged food photos). She is a self-taught cook/baker who decided to create her blog, Orchids + Sweet Tea, to be the source for comfort food and sweets with a healthy twist. She desires to help others turn the little they have into something magical—great food! On her blog, you will find dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan versions of your old + new favorites! While she doesn’t come from a line of cooks, one of the main ways that her family often came together while growing up was through food, music, and laughter, which inspired her to create a space that both uplifts and feeds those who choose to visit her little corner of the web. Later in life after having her own family, she began experimenting even more with foods (as opposed to keeping things entirely traditional with Jamaican or Southern dishes) and stumbled upon a real passion for creating foods, and thus Orchids + Sweet Tea was born. Before she knew it, a small audience of friends and family began to form, and taking in-process photos while creating a work of art with food became a consistent thing for her.