Hello! I started this blog in November 2013 with the goal—or mission—of sharing one (original) recipe every day for one year. I had no idea how much that would change me, my life, and my relationship with food. What had previously been a lifelong passion suddenly, and serendipitously, became my career.

My culinary education, if you can call it that, has its roots in hearty German home cooking, heavily influenced by French and Italian cuisine. My mother has always been my greatest inspiration and teacher in the kitchen. She taught me everything about ingredients and techniques—and she taught me to use my senses with focus, attention, and precision. Above all, however, the most important lesson I learned from her as a cook was to always trust myself. That you should listen to others for inspiration, be curious, and explore different cuisines, but as soon as you hold the spatula in your own hand, you have to trust yourself. This lesson applies not only in the kitchen, but in life in general.

Although I grew up in western Germany, in North Rhine-Westphalia, most of the traditional German recipes I cook come from the south of my home country. Through my stepfather, who was from Stuttgart, I came to love Swabian classics like Spätzle and Maultaschen.

Since then, curiosity, love, and unexpected twists in life have shaped my culinary journey and ensured that it continues to evolve. I spent many years in Malta, a tiny island nation with a cuisine similar to Sicilian cuisine that blends Mediterranean and Arabic roots. The country has deeply influenced my life and my palate, which explains my love for citrus zest, fennel seeds, and the simplicity of vegetables and olive oil. I still only use sea salt from Gozo (Malta’s sister island), harvested by the Cini family at the Xwejni Salt Pans (you can order the salt here). This salt has taught me how easy it is to bring out the full flavor of good ingredients with little more than the salt itself—all you need is a splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of crispy salt flakes. This lesson was as important to learn as my mother’s lesson about trust.

So what has all this led to, aside from a table that’s always full at my home in Berlin? It has led to almost 750 recipes on this blog, my travel series Meet in Your Kitchen, my podcast Meet in My Kitchen—which is recorded in my kitchen—and three cookbooks. I also take all the photos myself—for the blog, the travel and podcast features, and my cookbooks.

If you had asked me in November 2013 whether I had a vision for this blog, I would have naively answered that I simply wanted to share my passion for food and, ideally, inspire my readers to head into their own kitchens and start cooking and experimenting. I never would have dreamed that all of this would actually happen—neither books nor podcast nor travel. The fact that things turned out the way they did makes me very grateful. That is my biggest motivation: developing a truly exciting recipe is great; being able to share it with others is a gift.

Meike xxx

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