About A Gourmet Food Blog

Hi, I’m Marinka and I am so glad you found me smiling while I cook for A Gourmet Food Blog. My mantra is “those who cook happy and eat together, will stay together”. I am a strong believer in experimenting with food in the kitchen. I am a strong believer in creating, cooking and eating food, rather than seeing it as a chore. I know that this is not meant for everybody, but we all gotta eat, so even if you’re not good at it, try some variety – who knows, you may start liking it.

Allow your creativity to flow and you may just find a hidden talent, and making a delicious meal will not be an accident, but a deliberate choice. Food is a pleasurable necessity and when you give yourself the chance to try to cook, you’ll live better.

Get to know me quickly

My story

Studying nutrition and dietetics is where my interest in food began, well actually earlier; helping my mom in the kitchen. During my university time, I played with ideas of starting my own restaurant, opening a specialty food store, starting a catering business. I chose to study Nutrition and Dietetics instead; I wanted to help people to lead a healthier life, without giving up their love for food.

When I graduated, I proudly started to work as a Registered Dietitian in a small city hospital. A year later, I found a job with a manufacturer of specialized hospital nutrition as a nutritional trainer. My work brought me to many corners of the world, and I met some incredible people, including my husband. During those trips I was introduced to many cuisines. Tasting ‘foreign food’ was usually one of the highlights of the day. It made me even more curious about food, and I learned to never say ‘no’ to food I never had before. Gosh, did I eat some weird stuff, guess what, I would do it again, if or when I have the chance.

All the influences of the different cultures that I encountered on these international trips changed me and made me into the person I am today. I met my husband William, on a trip to the Caribbean and we started talking over dinner. We are still talking and have been together ever since. Together we cooked up the idea to start our own business and we did just that. In 2005 we started an online gourmet food store. A couple of years later, in 2008, we moved the business from The Netherlands (yes, I am Dutch) to the US. Twelve years later, we sold our business.

Why this Blog?

Did I tell you already that I love food?  This blog started as an add-on to that gourmet food website I talked about, sharing recipes with the products we sold, but after I sold the business, I couldn’t let go of the blog. I just really enjoy cooking and talking about food, so sharing my kitchen adventures here is my way of hopefully inspiring you to try something new too.

I hope that inspiration results in you creating wonderful meals, that you can share with friends and family. I don’t think we all have to make our own pasta, however, it may be just fun to try. We don’t have to bake our daily bread, but many people do and I am going to try myself as well. Nor do we have to grow our own fruit and vegetables, but I certainly am in the mood for trying to grow some herbs. You’re not going to be a lesser cook if you buy all your ingredients; there are enough alternatives you can by in your local grocery store and farmers markets that won’t compromise your cooking endeavors.

What is A Gourmet Food Blog about?

It is about creative healthy and gourmet recipes for two, or small-batch recipes. Whether you are a young couple starting out, a team of two retirees or any age group in between. Not every recipe you’ll find on the internet can simply be divided to get a recipe for 2 and work the same way.

The recipe section is really the heart of this blog. All the recipes I share are my own creations, unless I say otherwise. Most are designed for two people or are “small batch” recipes — for example, baking recipes that use the smallest readily available pan sizes, such as 6-inch round cake pans or 8×8-inch square baking pans. All recipes are based on everyday ingredients. As I write about my recipes, my goal is to get you excited about them too. I assume you have at least beginner-level cooking skills, so I won’t always explain basic techniques—like how to mix dry ingredients or sauté onions—as I expect you’re already familiar with those.

Kitchen-Talk will cover ingredients, How To’s, and more to come.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or inquiries or just want to say hi. You can find me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. You can also reach me directly at [email protected]. If you’d like to keep in touch, you can also subscribe to the newsletter to receive the latest or seasonal recipes.

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P.S. Please don’t be surprised when you stumble upon one of my Denglish sentence constructions.