ABOUT
Meike Peters is a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author, food and travel writer. She started her food blog, Eat In My Kitchen, in 2013, wrote her first cookbook of the same name (published by Prestel) in 2016 and won James Beard General Cookbook of the Year in 2017. In October 2019, she returned with her second book, 365 – A Year of Everyday Cooking & Baking, to treat yourself to a year of home cooking, with a recipe for every day of the year. Both books were included in the New York Times Best Cookbooks lists.
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My food is in my hands. Whatever I buy, whatever I cook and eat—it’s all up to me. My mother and grandmothers introduced me to the marvelous everyday pleasures of the kitchen. I was a young child, but watching them create fantastic treats with such ease and satisfaction impressed me and sparked my lifelong love of food. Through them I understood that it is a sensory process that leads to an unforgettable meal. The idea for a recipe is only the start. Before the cutting, searing, and stirring even begins, smelling and choosing fresh fruits and vegetables at the market, or picking a nice piece of meat at the butcher or a warm loaf of bread at the bakery is what turns a simple dish into something greater. When I sit down at the table, on my own or with family and friends, I enjoy every single bite to the fullest. It is pure bliss created by my own two hands. If there isn’t much time, I keep it simple, with only a few ingredients tossed together, but I won’t skip it. To cook, to bake, to eat, and to treat is my daily feast.
My culinary education is rooted in hearty German comfort food, with strong influences from French and Italian cuisine. It all started with my mother who is my biggest inspiration in the kitchen. She’s a fabulous cook, a wonderful host, and she introduced my young taste buds to the pleasures of fine olive oil and the generous use of Mediterranean herbs and garlic, along with France’s elaborate classical dishes and Italy’s simple but scrumptious pastas. Although I grew up in western Germany, in North Rhine-Westphalia, most of the traditional German recipes I cook originated in the South of the country. I learned to love them through my Swabian stepfather who brought wonderful treats like Spätzle and Maultaschen to our table. Our lavish family gatherings aroused an unstoppable appetite for traditional homemade cakes, and led to my huge passion for baking, which I continue to indulge in, especially on cozy weekends.
My kitchen journey took another turn as I discovered the Islands of Malta many years ago. Spending the summers in Malta and Gozo, on the warm edge of Europe, sixty misty miles from Sicily, changes the mind, humor, and cooking of a German girl. Many new recipes and habits were brought into my kitchen by the Maltese who truly celebrate Mediterranean food but especially the act of sharing it. Similar to Sicily, the cuisine of Malta has strong Arabic influences and features warming spices like cumin, coriander, and fennel, as well as the concentrated zest and juice of lemons, tangerines, and oranges, which add depth, flowery fruitiness, and tangy edge.
This is my culinary map and I’m thankful for every single influence and experience. I combine and make use of everything I’ve learned—cooking, baking, and eating based on what I’ve seen, smelled, and tasted in the world. New ideas, trusted family classics, and culinary traditions melt into each other and turn into delicious treats to be savored at the long wooden table in my home on one of Berlin’s wide boulevards.
The seed for my deep fascination with food was sown early—maybe it’s been there from the start. An old photograph from when I was a baby—I couldn’t even walk yet—shows me toothlessly licking the last pieces off a chicken bone with such persistence that it seems obvious where my passion would take me. Years later, in November 2013, I decided to write about my kitchen adventures, and share my experiences here on my blog, on eat in my kitchen. Not knowing what it would lead to, I simply enjoyed exchanging tips and recipes with readers all over the world. We are all connected through the universal language of food, and inspire each other with our different cultures and creations.
I love to end my day in the kitchen; it relaxes me. Listening to music, enjoying a glass of wine with some nibbles—a bit of cheese, some olives or grapes—turns the cooking experience into a greater pleasure. The meals that follow are some of my most treasured memories, and are a big part of who I am. The food we choose to create and eat, the way we set up the room where it all happens, and the importance we give it in our lives says a lot about who we are. This is what I was curious about when I started the interview series Meet In Your Kitchen on the blog. Each guest shares a personal recipe and their views and stories about food; it offers a very honest insight into someone’s life through their kitchen.
I feel thankful for all the great feedback I receive and I love to hear your questions and suggestions if you tried out some of my recipes. If you have any questions about eat in my kitchen please send me an email. If you don’t want to miss any of my posts feel free to subscribe here. If you want to share one of my pictures or recipes, whether online or in print, please get in touch for permission first. Thank you.
Meike
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MY COOKBOOKS
(in English and German)
365 – A Year of Everyday Cooking & Baking
One of The New York Times
‘The 13 Best Cookbooks of Fall 2019’
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eat in my kitchen
to cook, to bake, to eat and to treat
2017 JAMES BEARD GENERAL COOKBOOK OF THE YEAR
One of The New York Times
‘The Best Cookbooks of 2016’
Hello Meike!
I just happened upon your name and some recipes featured in an American Lifestyle magazine I receive periodically. I saw where some of your family is Maltese! And you live in Malta as well! My parents were born and raised in Malta! I am 100% Maltese. I am so interested in what part of Malta you live. I’ve been all over there and love it. I also love their foody traditions! Pastizzi, rabbit stew, fish soup, homemade crackers and more. I will be purchasing your books! Thank you!
Halo Meike,
wir haben dein Kochbuch seit letzten Herbst und lieben es!
Meine Frau sucht die Rezepte raus und ich koche. Essen? Natürlich gemeinsam!
Was uns besonders gut gefällt, ist, dass wir – aus unserer Sicht – keine ausgefallenen Zutaten kaufen gehen müssen, das sind Sachen, die wir eigentlich immer Zuhause haben.
Die Rezepte sind leicht machbar und damit auch abends unter der Woche nach 10-12 Stunden Arbeit möglich und dann auch noch superlecker!
Nur das Sandwich mit weißen Bohnen un der Bratwurst war sehr schwer zu essen – wir sahen beide recht lustig aus … – aber echt saulecker.
Heute gibts Bratkartoffeln mit Fenchel.
Vielen Dank für dieses herrliche und außergewöhnliche Kochbuch – es ist unser Lieblingskochbuch geworden.
Sonnige Grüße
marcus & Bea
Lieber Marcus, liebe Bea,
vielen Dank für das Kompliment! Es freut mich sehr, dass euch das Buch gefällt und zum gemeinsamen Kochen anregt – eure Arbeitsteilung gefällt mir 🙂
Liebe Grüße und weiterhin frohes Kochen!
Meike
Hi I’m from Australia with Maltese parents love everything about your food passion and photos are beautiful your book launch in Malta looked beautiful I wishedI was there best wishes and congratulations on your award hopefully there will be more and please let me know if you are ever in Australia
Hi Lisa! Thank you so much. I’d love to come to Australia! Do you have any plans going to Malta? xx
Hi Meike,
I’m from Mexico and I’m a big fan of your blog and your recipes!! I want to know how I can get your book here in Mexico?
Hope you aré well….
Greta
Hi Greta, you can either order through Amazon.com or order the book in any book shop in the world, looking for ISBN-10: 3791382004 or ISBN-13: 978-3791382005, Eat In My Kitchen by Meike Peters published by Prestel Publishing. Let me know if it doesn’t work out and I’ll talk to my publisher. All the best, Meike
Your Christmas Cookies look delicious! The Vanilla Kipferl will be first on my list.
Thank you! Merry Christmas and Happy Baking!!
Happy to have discovered your beautiful blog. I’ve pinned several of your recipes…they all look so wonderful.
Thank you, Karen! Merry Christmas!!
Hi Meike, it was such a pleasure finding your blog through a link to Emiko’s interview. I’m not quite sure how I missed your work, but I’m now hooked, and look forward to your upcoming cookbook. Meanwhile, I’ll be sharing E.’s schiacciata recipe, too, and I’ll make sure to link back to your Q&A. xx
Where have you been all my life? I am excited to explore your recipes and prepare delicious new meals! Can’t wait to thrill my family and friends! Thank you.
Thank you so much Claire! Enjoy the recipes 🙂
have just found your rhubarb chutney recipe & feel I will very much enjoy your foodie thoughts.
Thank you Wendy 🙂
Hallo Meike,
bin gerade via Design Sponge auf deiner Seite gelandet und auch ich habe schon jetzt viele Dinge im Kopf, die ich dringend bald ausprobieren muss.
Danke für die Inspiration!
fraupanne.
Hallo!
Das freut mich sehr, viel Spass beim Kochen – und Backen!!
Alles Gute,
Meike
Hi Meike, I have such a laundry list of your recipes to make. My mother is from Berlin (lives in Heidelberg now) and did not teach me how to make so many of the favorite “can’t live without” german recipes that I can make now thanks to your website.
I can appreciate your affinity for all things Maltese also. I used to live in Sicily, and from my kitchen windows I could see both Mt. Etna and the port of Catania. I had a perfect view of the ferry going to and from Malta. That would be a horrible tease for you!
Hi Tania,
that’s great, we have similar preferences in the kitchen! I love traditional German recipes, I learned many from my mother, grandmothers and aunts. I’m glad you can find inspiration on the blog! That’s true, it would be quite a tease, although I enjoyed Sicily a lot when we went there a couple years ago, the food (and wine) is amazing! I fell in love with all those tiny villages and towns. Every year we say that we should spend a few days in Sicily while we’re in the South but somehow we don’t really manage. There are always so many events with friends and family, snorkeling, so many places I want to revisit every year, we’re always running out of time, even when we stayed there for 2 months 🙂
All the best from Berlin,
Meike xx
I just discovered you through Food 52. I´ve made your recipes for 2 dinners in a row and they were both winners. Spaghetti with sage, orange and mascarpone was the first and then labskaus. My husband and I were quite sceptical about some of the unusual flavors but were blown away by both recipes. We had a very pciky dinner guest for the labskaus and he had two bowls!
Thank you Lynn! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipes so much (and your guests)! I love both of them a lot but the labskaus is very special to me as it’s a dish of my childhood. It’s a bit of a strange combination of flavours, I agree. It’s one of those recipes you have to try as it’s hard to imagine! I hope you find a few more recipes on the blog to enjoy! All the best from Berlin, Meike xx
I traveled to Germany for the first time from the US this summer for Bayern vs Dortmund match and instantly fell in love with the food in Munich.
I simply cannot wait to make the Deyerling’s potato salad. The “German” potato salad in the US is nothing like the creamy potatoes I had in Munich. Are they prepared differently outside of Bavaria?
Very strange to see Spargel in the Viktualienmarkt. I had never seen asparagus so large and had it as my last meal in Frankfurt with Hollandaise ….brilliant!
Hopefully it will not be a once in a lifetime trip but with your blog I can make the amazing dishes I had during my visit.
Hi Sean,
What a trip for football, that’s passionate! I understand that you fell in love with the hearty food in the south, I feel the same. My step father is from the Stuttgart region in Baden Württemberg next to Bavaria and my mother cooks many of his favourite dishes, therefore the food from this area always had a big influence on my own cooking.
There are various recipes for potato salad in Germany, in the northern part it’s made with mayonnaise but the one in the south is lighter made with an onion/vinegar/ broth dressing or with an onion/vinegar/water dressing like I do:
https://www.meikepeters.com/the-secret-to-the-perfect-schnitzel-and-a-light-swabian-potato-salad/
You can also grind the cooked potatoes and mix them with the dressing, I do sometimes.
I know that the white asparagus we have here in Germany is not very common in the US. I love this recipe here, I wrap them in crepes and bake them with a sauce hollandaise, it tastes so good:
https://www.meikepeters.com/white-asparagus-wrapped-in-crepes-with-sauce-hollandaise/
I’m glad you enjoy my blog and it reminds you of a good time!
All the best from Berlin,
Meike
It’s lovely! It s also interesting to read the interviews with people who love to cook.
Thank you Caroline, I’m glad you enjoy the interviews! I love visiting people in their kitchen as this place says so much about a person. It’s a great experience for me too! There will be many more to come! All the best, Meike xx
Thanks for your food inspiration! It`s always a pleasure looking through your recipes. Please go ahead 😉
Sévérine
Thank you Sévérine, I’m happy you enjoy the blog and my recipes! There are many more to come!
Meike xx
Thank you for sharing your recipes with us. I was in Germany this fall and miss so much of the food I had there.
Hi Janet! I look forward to sharing many more of my recipes with you, both old and new! Where were you in Germany? Did you have a favourite food when you were here?
Meike xx