Story behind this food blog
It’s hard to pin point the exact moment when my passion for cooking started. I guess it all began when I met my boyfriend.
It was lunch time one day and we were both hungry so I decided I would cook some rice. Back then I had absolutely no idea how to cook so I went on the internet and searched for “How to cook rice” and I followed one of the recipes I found. Despite the fact that (as I mentioned earlier) I had no idea how to cook, I was also not so good at following said recipe because I added way too much water and our lunch turned into a rice soup. I did not eat that “thing”. It looked gross. My boyfriend on the other hand tried it and said it was really good. I had no idea if he was just saying it to make me feel better or if he really liked it but one thing was clear: I was disappointed by my first meal.
But I knew I didn’t want to give up. I wanted to try again with a new recipe to see if this time I’m going to make it or not. So I decided to make Pavlova. What a bad decision. I wasn’t able to cook rice and I went straight to trying Pavlova? What was wrong with me? Did I mention that at the time I didn’t have a mixer so I did the egg whites mixing with a whisk? I kept whisking it for two hours straight and of course the eggs didn’t turn into meringue but I cooked it anyway. I added some fruit and some whipped cream and I let my boyfriend have a taste from yet another failed recipe.
After this one I decided to give up. Cooking just wasn’t for me and I had accepted it. Unfortunately, as it usually goes, we realized that we need to eat something in order to survive so I decided to start cooking. Again. This time I did it better. I searched the internet for recipes and I followed them step by step. And day by day I learned and improved my cooking. Then one day I thought “What if I start sharing all these recipes with people on the internet?” and that is how my Food Lab was born.
Well not really. You see, at first my Instagram page had another name and my goal was to promote a healthy lifestyle but later on I understood that you need to find a balance in your life, which for me meant an apple in one hand and a cake in the other.
I struggled for a while thinking about a good name for my page. I wanted to use something other than my full name so one rainy day (for story reasons it was a rainy day, ok?) I did some brainstorming with me, myself and I (that’s a business meeting by international standards) and that is how the idea came to me. My kitchen is my lab. This is where I put together the many substances to make a successful experiment that I later share with other people as passionate about science (I mean cooking, passionate about cooking) as I am.
What keeps me going? The satisfaction that I get when I see people appreciate my work, when they try my recipes in their own kitchens. That is the best thing I can get from doing this thing I like. It pushes me forward to try more recipes, to learn more, to inspire other people and ultimately to help me evolve in this domain.
I couldn’t do this alone. I have to thank my boyfriend for going through all my moods and supporting me unconditionally and who has to wait until I’m done taking pictures and more often than not has to eat cold food, the one who lets me buy all the plates I want and never says “no” when I want something, always there to help me in any struggle. I also have to thank my parents for providing so many of the raw materials that I use to make my recipes. And lastly but not least to all my friends who appreciate my food and my work and who share my happiness every time I have a success (whether it’s big or small), encouraging me all the way through it no matter what. I love them all from the bottom of my heart and I am grateful that they are by my side so I am going to try and reward them with as much of my delicious food as I can.