I am “all in” when it comes to Instagram.

If you don’t follow me on Instagram at @collardgreenscaviar  well, you are missing some really tasty posts my foodie friends.

Instagram is all about photo sharing. And when the site was launched back in 2010, food pictures were among the first pictures posted within that first 24 hours of the site’s birth.

It’s no surprise that food photos remain a seminal part of Instagram.

There are a lot of food photos in the Instagramverse (this is completely a made up term). In the posts over the next few weeks, I will highlight a few of my favorite food Instragramers whose passion for food is evident in their posts and their personalities. These are the few who have captured my attention, interest and my heart. I will share excerpts from their interview in their voice, along with one of their recipes, so you can see why they are my “Instagram faves.” And if you are not following my “faves” after learning about them, I certainly hope you will.

Instragmer:  Delphine Kirkland

Focus:              Specialty Baking

City:                  Sweet Water, Alabama

Business:        The Cookie Crumbles –  launched over a year ago, specializes in cupcakes, cookies, cakes and specialty baked goods. Shipping of some products is available.  Website is currently under development.

Instagram:      @cookiecrumblescupcakes was created to increase the visibility of her baking business,  inspire people through baking, and touch the lives of people spiritually.

Other social:   Instagram account @crumbsfromthemasterstable features words of inspiration and encouragement.

Book:                  Crumbs From the Masters Table available at Amazon.com. A collection of Delphine’s treasured dessert recipes along with uplifting inspirations for the soul. The “pray and bake warrior” provides all the essential ingredients to excite the palate and ignite the soul with words of wisdom, inspiration and encouragement.

Recipe:           Mahogany Rose Cupcakes – featured below.

Secret sauce:  Delphine is a warrior baker and prayer warrior. Her creations are sheer #foodporm and I mean that in the highest Instagram sense. One of my favorite references to her by one of her followers is “pastry baking preacher friend.” Her baking is more like a ministry of what can be created from ingredients like hope, faith, encouragement and love.

What sets her apart is her heart of service, her devotion to God, and her “pray and bake” inspirational tagline. “God feeds me with ideas and special ingredients to help others,” said Delphine during our interview. “Because of what God has given to me, I can give to others,” she said adding that her @cookiescrumblescakes account has grown in ways she never imagined.

Her voice, her story

I am the daughter of Anderson and Daphne Paige. I have two older brothers, Andrew and Anderson Paige, Jr.  I lost my sister Delores from a sickness at an early age. I am the baby of the family. I was raised with strong religious beliefs. I had a praying mother, father, and grandmother and they instilled the word of God in me constantly. I have a talented family, my mother, brothers and I sing. I’ve been singing since the age of 3. I sing gospel music. While attending college, I majored in opera, but a sickness prevented me from pursuing it farther. Once I was healed, I had lost interest and no longer wanted to pursue singing.

My family has always loved the warmth and traditions of the holidays.   That’s when the baking bug bit me. My mother’s aunts and cousins were excellent bakers. During the holidays, my brothers and I  would  go to her aunts and cousins homes to pick up the cakes for the holidays. My mother would make pound cakes and cream pies, but the six layers caramel, chocolate, and coconut cakes would come from relatives and neighbors. That’s when I began trying out my baking skills.

I am happily married to my husband Ben, for soon to be 17 years in June. We are pastors and co-pastors at the Tabernacle of God Holiness Church in Uniontown, Alabama. We are a branch church from our original church in Sweet Water, Alabama. I have a women’s ministry, and I am in the process of launching one in another city.

Culinary Background

I am a self-taught culinary artist. In 2004, I read a newspaper article that announced that  Michaels Specialty and Craft store was offering a cake decorating class. I remember talking my husband into taking it with me. We completed cake decorating levels I and II. My only regret is that I didn’t take it seriously after taking the class.  I would bake a little but I wasn’t consistent. And besides, going into business and selling cakes was the furthest thing from my mind.  I started watching a few baking videos in 2010 on YouTube, and was inspired to make cupcakes after watching an episode on Food Network, Cupcake Wars. Suddenly my interest in baking and the possibility of starting a business was rekindled.

Hobbies

I am a florist. I like making floral arrangements from time to time and will probably do some arrangements to add to my Instagram photos in the near future.

Cookbook she cannot live without

I’m a southerner so the Southern Living Cookbook is the one I cannot live without.

Where her recipes have been published

Amazon, CreateSpace, and Instagram.

The focus of her Instagram posts 

I want to build and brand my business, and  spread the word of Christ. Not everyone goes to church and we all need to be motivated and inspired at some point. I chose Instagram to be that tool.

Her most popular post

My Smoky Maple Bacon cupcake had the most hits for me on Instagram than any of my cupcake posts. Locally selling, it is the most popular. I have never seen men devour cupcakes like they did this one. I call it a “man’s cupcake.” They especially love the bacon on the cupcake with it’s spicy flavor, that’s the secret. After this post, my culinary inspirations quickly became popular.

The best thing that has happened because of Instagram

Because of the inspirations that I’ve included on my account, Instagram has given me an audience that has come to rely on my inspirations. I frequently  get direct messages all  times during the day and night from many of my followers who ask for prayer requests, or they just need someone to talk to.  I hear from followers with terminal diseases, those fighting cancer, depression and dealing with relationships problems who ask me to pray for them. To know that through the guidance of God I can be a blessing to someone – whether they are near or far – gives me an awesome feeling.  To have followers from across the waters asking for permission to teach their bible study group the inspirations that I have posted is priceless.  I know they are bringing the word of God to places I cannot go. All of this  has been such a blessing and so gratifying to me.

What’s new, what’s next

With her Instagram followers clamoring for more inspiration and words of spiritual encouragement,  Delphine launched a second Instagram account @crumbsfromthemasterstable,  taken from the name of her first book, dedicated to words of  inspiration and encouragement.

While her first book Crumbs From The Master’s Table fulfilled a dream to author a book, she knows this is just the beginning. Delphine has aspirations to write a book of her most treasured inspirational sentiments and also a children’s cook book.