What could be more fun than free food with friends?

For Thrisha Senthilnathan ’25, her food blog, CraftedbyThrisha, is the perfect combination of both.

“It’s just been really fun, showing different people the different types of cuisine and smaller restaurants that a lot of people don’t know about,” Senthilnathan said. “It’s been a great side hustle, and it’s really good to hang out with friends and also do things with friends that they also like, because we also all love food.”

In 2020, Senthilnathan began cooking every day. Out of pandemic-induced boredom, she began posting her recipes and cooking videos online and the food blog was born. As stores started opening up again, she transitioned to posting reviews of local restaurants. 

The blog took off from there.

“A lot of people started to view my account and then a lot of restaurants started to invite me to come try out their food and then post about them,” Senthilnathan said. “I’ve been invited to a lot of different food events in LA and different product-trying events and brand events and stuff like that.”

Once she arrived on campus, Senthilnathan invited her friends to work with her and the CraftedbyThrisha team expanded to around 10 Stanford students, all of whom collaborate with Thrisha to create content. “My favorite part is just seeing my friends’ genuine reactions to different foods and having them try different things,” Senthilnathan said. “I’m also watching them grow really confident on camera and being very passionate about it as well.”

Senthilnathan’s friends are featured on the blog, working on and off camera. One of the popular segments on the blog is “Mic Reviews,” where her friends are wired with microphones and give honest reviews of the food in the restaurant.

“It’s cool to give my own input on how the food tastes and it kind of influences other people’s actions on what to order,” said Matthew McClean ’25, who is often on camera for the blog. “We mic up and she records us saying what we like about the food and what we don’t like about it. We just try to give our honest opinion about how the food tastes and our overall experience of the restaurant.”

Working with brands like Chamberlain Coffee and Walmart, the blog currently has over nine thousand followers. According to Senthilnathan, around 60% of her followers are college students, which is why her content is centered around restaurants in the Stanford area. 

“All the food looks absolutely delicious,” said Louis Robson ’26, who followed CraftedbyThrisha after arriving at Stanford. “I love all the recommendations.” 

Senthilnathan has worked with over 100 restaurants and businesses for her blog. Usually, Senthilnathan gets multiple invitations a week from restaurants or brands that want her to review their food. “I do get paid from the different restaurants and brands so it’s kind of like a part-time job,” Senthilnathan said. 

“It’s a pretty rewarding process to be like, ‘Oh my gosh! I got to be a part of that!’” said Regina Sevilla ’25, who works with Senthilnathan on the blog. “Seeing her process of an idea she has and then actually letting it come into fruition and being like ‘I helped with that! There I am on that post!’ I really like it.”

While Senthilnathan has been creating content for her blog for over a year, there are still challenges that arise.

“The biggest challenge is having the confidence to grow a page from zero to something and to keep posting it without the worries of other people’s opinions,” Senthilnathan said. “Also, just like trying to make a name as a college food blogger — there’s not that many and a lot of restaurants don’t take younger people seriously.”

Despite the challenges, Senthilnathan says she plans on continuing to blog wherever her future plans take her, exploring the local cuisine of wherever she travels and working with bigger brands.

“I’ve got a lot of support from friends and family, so it’s been really fun and a really good journey so far,” Senthilnathan said. “It’s just been a little journey of starting from a regular cooking recipe blog to featuring different restaurants and products.”