Meet Kristian, a food blogger with German and Venezuelan roots
Get to know Kristian in this Shmeal Q&A, then get his “Arepa Pepiada” Monday (1/22) in Logan Square! Follow Kristian’s blog on Insta @kmans_kitchen!
Q: How did you first learn to cook and what’s your cooking background?
Kristian: I grew up watching my parents make great meals, but i was a picky eater back in the day so there was a lot I pushed away. It wasn’t until my senior year in college that I really had a kitchen to work with and began by making the food I missed eating the most, the Venezuelan Arepa. So began my first attempts to cook food and it slowly expanded my horizons over the years. Now I find myself making all the dishes I disliked as a child.
Q: What’s your favorite dish to cook and why?
Kristian: My favorite dish is the Arepa, it connects me to my roots (Germany and Venezuela). Also I love the endless combinations that can go into it. The arepa is really a tasty vehicle for the stuffings that can go into it. It is great for any meal of the day from breakfast to dinner and even can be created as a sweet desert! This is usually the dish I serve when I host potlucks or dinners at my house. I love introducing people to a food they have never heard before and it is a fulfilling feeling when I watch their eyes light up at first bite.
Q: Who do you think about when you cook that dish, or when you cook in general?
Kristian: I think a lot about my family and the people I have shared meals with. Humans have always gathered around a meal and I find myself reminiscing on memorable meals where stories were shared around the dinner table. 99% of the time I will have music playing and have fun in the kitchen. I find it to be a very mindfully spent time. Whenever there are gaps in time like waiting for water to boil or the oven to preheat I stretch, practice handstands or juggle to pass the time.
Q: Anything else we should know about you and your cooking?
Kristian: I will let my dishes speak for themselves 🙂
By Shmeal
The Shmeal Team. 🐖💻