Where the story begins

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 Italian and French 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.

Curiosity and unexpected twists in life have always shaped my culinary journey and ensured that it continues to evolve. Ever since I spent the summers of my childhood in Tuscany, I’ve felt a strong fascination for the Mediterranean. Many years in Malta—a tiny island nation whose cuisine, much like Sicilian cuisine, blends Mediterranean and Arabic roots—have deeply shaped my palate. This explains my love for citrus zest, fennel seeds, and the simplicity of vegetables and olive oil. To this day, I use only sea salt from Gozo—Malta’s sister island—harvested by the Cini family in the Xwejni Salt Pans. This salt has shown me how easy it is to bring out the full flavor of good ingredients with little more than the salt itself. This lesson was just as important to learn as the lesson my mother taught me about trust.

And then, quite unexpectedly, an Italian island came into my life and stole my heart. When my feet touched the ground on Ischia for the first time—a volcanic island in the Gulf of Naples—I felt enchanted. Ischia fills my heart with joy, my mind with curiosity, and makes my soul feel home. It’s a magical place, which is why I’ve decided to write my next (and fourth) book about the island, its people, and their stories and recipes (Spring 2027).

So, what has this journey led to, aside from a table that is always full of food? It has led to almost 750 recipes on this blog, my travel series Meet in Your Kitchen, my podcast Meet in My Kitchen—recorded in my kitchen in Berlin—and four cookbooks. It has also turned me into a photographer as I take all the photos myself—for the blog, the travel and podcast features, and for 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 want 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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