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Passion for cooking leads Jupiter mom from India to new project during pandemic

Iti Soni 'spreading love through food'
Iti Soni spreading love through food
Posted at 9:57 AM, Feb 22, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-22 12:32:21-05

JUPITER, Fla. — For Iti Soni, it's all about spreading love through food.

"It wasn't planned," she said.

She always had a passion for cooking.

"I love three things -- taking pictures, using Facebook and making food," Soni said.

What she didn't know is that it would lead to a profession doing a pandemic. It's one of those silver-lining stories during a trying time.

"I posted it, and my friends started asking about it. 'Oh, your food looks so interesting. Can we try it?'" she said.

Word of mouth led to requests by the hundreds. Eventually, a few months ago, she bought a food truck in Jupiter Farms.

"I'm like making extended family here, since we are, like, miles away from India," she said. "So I feel that connection. I feel that love and I'm, like, making friends."

Customers line up on Friday evenings to pick up their pre-ordered meals.

Iti Soni
Iti Soni says she's feeling the love and making friends through her food.

"I don't even, like, eat on Fridays until I see, like, how people like it," she said.

In India, Soni said she worked in a bank and has an MBA in finance and a masters degree in computers. She is from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, and made her way to the U.S.

"Came here, became a housewife, a mom, and I used to think, like, 'Why did I do all these things when I am not able to do anything here?'" she said.

But that pause, she believes, led to a plan.

"I think it's all, like, God, because I always was a home mom," she said. "I have so many degrees. I always wanted to do something. I wanted to represent India, and I wanted to work."

Now, it's a contribution through creating, and she believes it's just the beginning.

Soni said the "whole thing is, like, spreading love through food."

Iti Soni holding Indian cuisine she's prepared
Iti Soni says "100%" of her food is made with love.

"I create the food with 100% of it -- love," she said. "I think people see it and feel it."