Some people take photos of their food the way other people snap their babies.

They then post them on Facebook, certain that everyone else wants to see the cupcakes or lobster they made or the supreme tuna sandwich they brought in for lunch.

Finally there’s a place to post them where you can be assured they’ll be met with genuine interest: the Facebook page, Cooking with Kiki.

Foodie Nakia Smith started it as a way to network with other people who had a passion for down-home cooking.

“It started off with me inviting a few friends who I knew were interested in cooking and liked my recipes and were looking to do more,” she said. “They started to invite others, and friends of friends invited their friends. The majority of the group are Bermudians, but there are also members from St Croix, the Philippines, and South Africa and other places.”

The group has 171 members.

“There are two types of members,” said Ms Smith, “those who like to look at pictures of food and those who like to post them.”

Tired of other Facebook sites with lots of regulations Ms Smith decided to enforce only one rule: If you join you must participate. Lurkers don’t get thrown out but the group practically runs itself on the frequent postings.

On Wednesday evening, for example, one member posted a photo of yummy looking drumsticks and wrote: “This chicken falls off the motherf****** bone. [The original recipe] used wings but I did drumsticks.”

Another member posted some colourful cupcakes. There’s an article reposted about Caribbean cooking.

Ms Smith has a certificate in culinary arts from the Bermuda College, but her career path took a turn and she went into business instead. She works full-time at the Bermuda Regulatory Authority.

While she was in college she spent her summers working at the Fairmont Southampton as a chef. She’s since participated in professional chef competitions and won the City Food Festival fish chowder competition twice.

“I don’t miss cooking because I never really left it,” she said. “I still cook in my spare time and I do small catering jobs.”

She said the secret to keeping interest in a Facebook page high is lots of photographs.

“The more visual, the better,” she said.

To encourage participation, she also sets up challenges. Every week she names an ingredient and on Sundays, members post recipes using that ingredient. Oxtails were a recent focus of the week.

“It is usually something really simple,” she said, “but it was the first time cooking oxtails for several of our members. I usually give information about the ingredient, and put up a picture of it in its raw form and alternatives. Last week we didn’t do an ingredient. Instead I asked people to make a dish starting with the first letter of their first name.”

One member named Evelyn made empanadas. Ms Smith made nouvelle noodles which are similar to Vietnamese pho noodles.

“The recipe for nouvelle noodles includes raw vegetables, cooked chicken and some ramen or rice noodles,” she said. “Hot broth cooks the vegetable.”

Another week, members tested a recipe called ‘crazy cake’ to see how it came out. The ‘crazy’ stems from missing ingredients traditionally found in cake: there’s no eggs, butter or milk.

“I have thought about starting my own restaurant,” said Ms Smith, “but the costs are just too high. It’s better just to cook on the side. Cooking is my passion. I love feeding my friends. I love when people tell me how good the food tastes.”

Check out Cooking with Kiki here: www.facebook.com/groups/cookingwithkiki.