You might say my adventure with cooking began in 1944, when Hitler invaded Hungary and my grandparents Ferenc and Ilona fled before the Nazi occupation and landed, happily, in a remote town named Nova Friburgo in the forest in Brazil. Some of their relatives were not so lucky and were never heard from again.
And so, making their new start in the New World, Grandpa and Grandma took over the management of a lovely old hotel and turned the restaurant into the culinary center of their town. It was in the large industrial kitchen of the old Hotel Olifas that I learned to love cooking. I still picture that kitchen in my mind, and I not only see the large pots, pans and stoves, I still smell the spices and the aroma of delicious food cooking and I still feel the thrill of creating those delicious meals.
In the mix of Latin America and the New World and old Hungary, I learned to experiment with and treasure cuisines of all types, and from all origins. That sense of adventure, which surely must have stirred in the hearts of Ferenc and Ilona, stirs in my heart even now when I prepare favorite foods of all genres and create my own recipes out of the tastes and aromas in my mind.
Several years ago, the Brazil part of my journey came to an end, after the old hotel and restaurant were destroyed in a flood. Now I am the immigrant. In America I landed in a top notch restaurant in Santa Barbara, where I again was immersed in the world of excellent cooking, and soon I was practicing making old favorite dishes and creating new ones and sharing them with friends.
I love to cook, and I love to share my delicious creations with friends. Indeed, breaking bread together is one of the most time-honored traditions in cultures all around the world. I hope that you will experience my sense of adventure in serving my fine food to your friends and love ones. And I hope that you will experience the joy of the secret ingredient in all my dishes– the love with which I make them.
With love,
Ana
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