From Kitchen Novice to Vegan Influencer : The incredible journey of Amee Vora

Born in a joint family in Kolkata, cooking was never a required skill for Amee. Moreover, she had no interest in learning either. Amee’s mom would often worry about her daughter; after all, cooking is a life skill everyone should learn. However, it never happened that Amee had a chance to learn how to cook, not until she got married. When Amee got married, she discovered her husband was a big foodie. This established a desire to learn in Amee’s heart, but it wasn’t enough to dissolve the resistance. When Amee and her husband moved to the US, things changed.

Amee and her husband are from the Jain community, which is widely known for its food practices, which are based on the principles of non-violence and compassion. Jains are strictly vegetarians, who avoid meat, seafood, eggs, and many plant-based foods like root vegetables as they believe uprooting them kills the plant. This vegetarian couple started having a hard time managing their meals. Amee got to the US around 15 years back, when veganism was not a hashtag. This pushed Amee to leave her comfort zone and venture into the world of spices and sauces. The transition was difficult. Amee was as unaware as one can get. She barely knew how to boil water the right way, although there was no right way to boil water, but Amee didn't know that back then. But she knew one thing: she was going to crack this.

Thanks to technology, Amee’s mother became her online kitchen instructor. She guided Amee through this journey one dish at a time. Amee’s husband had an inherent rule that said, they should not be making the same dishes repeatedly like at least for 30 days. This meant that Amee had to learn at least 60 different dishes in a month.

Amee began her research and started cooking regularly. She had no issue getting genuine performance reviews as her husband turned out to be an outstanding food critique by heart. With his interest and involvement, he supported and motivated Amee through the entire journey. Seeing her husband appreciate her efforts inspired Amee to keep going.

When Amee became a proficient chef of her kitchen and making delicious food had become an easy task for her, she noticed other aspects of cooking. Amee realised that mindful cooking and eating is the key to a healthier life. So, she started creating healthier versions of all the recipes that she usually cooked.

“I started with incorporating more protein in our meals and replaced traditional ingredients with their healthier versions. I researched and found the best replacements so that we can maintain our health without sacrificing the taste.”

As friends and family tried out her recipes on special occasions and hangout sessions, Amee started receiving raving compliments from them. Most people were surprised to see healthy food taste so delicious. More and more people got curious and started asking for the recipe. Amee found the typing boring and laborious. On top of that, a lot of the time, they would find it difficult to understand the instructions.

As Amee expressed her frustration with this process, her friend suggested she start a page where she could simply post her recipes. That way, everyone will be able to access it without Amee having to go through much trouble. This became the inception of yummeewithamee, Amee’s Instagram account and her debut as a food content creator.

When Veganism was on the rise, it immediately caught Amee’s attention. She was already creating vegetarian recipes, so naturally, this intrigued her. Back then, she found it difficult to find vegan alternatives. The trend was still starting out, and vegan items were tough to find.

The two people who influenced Amee to start this journey are her mother and husband. Amee reveals that her husband is her biggest food critic and her first food tester. It's his constant support, motivation, and appreciation that keep her going.

“If I can learn to cook, so can anyone else,” says Amee.

She believes that anyone can learn cooking if they keep an open mind and have some courage to experiment. Amee advises to never be fearful about trying to mix different ingredients together and come up with something which nobody has ever tried or thought about. Instead of adjusting yourself to the traditional recipe following ways, try to awaken your culinary instinct by fearlessly experimenting in the kitchen.

Amee is passionate about promoting healthy, vegan food. She states how most people, despite knowing the negative end of non-vegetarian food, still don’t pick vegetarianism or veganism as they believe them to lack taste. Amee wants to make it known to the world that healthy vegan food is just as tasty if not tastier. She wants to let people know that transitioning to veganism is really not that hard.

Apart from this, Amee is planning on doing a photography workshop as she believes it could assist her in creating better food content for her followers to enjoy.

Amee’s journey is one of hard work and perseverance. It really emphasizes how it's never too late to start. She has been making small but tangible ripples in the world with her vegan recipes. Several people have been inspired by Amee to adopt veganism. She has a long way to go, and we can’t wait to see her change more lives, one recipe at a time.

Updated on 10 Dec 2025