.Welcome to A Gourmet Food Blog.

Hello, my name is Marinka and I am so glad you’re here.

About Me

Studying nutrition and dietetics is where  my interest in food began, well actually earlier; helping my mom in the kitchen. Being the only girl in the family, I have 3 brothers, it was a natural progression that I was the one helping my mom in the kitchen and I enjoyed doing it.

After performing various tests in high school, my interest in food scored very high that I could not ignore it. Of the options available to me, I chose to study Nutrition and Dietetics, being involved with food while trying to help people to lead a healthier life. One day my youngest brother had some minor stomach problems and our doctor gave him pre-printed dietary/nutritional guidelines ………….. and that was it !!! How can this possibly be right … who is this average/general person, for whom these guidelines were written? Nobody ! I was ready to change the world of dietetics, of how nutritional advice was given ………………

When I graduated, the job market was flooded with nutritionists and hospitals and other health care institutions were not hiring. Poof …………… changing the world huh. After a year as a clinical assistant nutritionist, I found a job with a manufacturer of specialized hospital nutrition as a nutritional trainer. Teaching sales executives, about nutrition, why ‘our’ products were the best and how to educate doctors about nutrition. A few year later, I moved to the company’s export division and had a chance to travel the world, training/educating our sales executives abroad, giving lectures and visiting hospitals and other healthcare institutions all over the world. Was I changing the world …. I don’t think so, but I influenced some changes, teaching doctors the value of nutrition as part of patient recovery.

What did also happen during that time? I was changing, all the influences of the different cultures I encountered on my international business trips were changing me, and they made me into the person I am today.

During my career, I often played with the idea of starting my own restaurant, opening a specialty food store, starting a catering business, but never really had the guts to do it. In 2005 I did make the jump – I moved to the other side; I moved from dietetics to gourmet food – I started my own online cheese store. A couple of years later, in 2008, I moved my business (www.gourmet-food.com) from The Netherlands (yes I am Dutch) to the US and here I am, living, loving, and working in Woodstock, GA with my husband and I am here to stay.

Why this Blog?

Over the last 10 years of running a gourmet food business, many of our customers and friends asked me about the products we sell, how to use them, how to incorporate the products into their meals.  We started with recipes on our website, but a food blog, A Gourmet Food Blog that is, is a far better way to share, and here we are. The recipes you will find in this blog are my own creation, my own adaptation or examples from others. All photos were taken by me unless otherwise noted.

I feel so lucky to be in the gourmet food business that I want you to feel inspired, by the sheer choice and possibilities. I don’t lean towards any particular food choice or food movement; I believe that quantity (more is not always better), quality (as high as you can afford), flavors (the more the better), aromas (may be deceiving), textures (variety is key), preparation (have fun) and presentation (experiment) and the company with which it is enjoyed will make it special.

I love to cook; simple, healthy, not so healthy, complicated, quick or long tedious recipes. I love to talk about food. I love to eat and taste things I’ve never tried before or never heard of. Am I still thinking as a nutritionist? Not really, or maybe I do. Remember I wanted to change the word, way back when … that was about improving diets, educating people that food offers endless possibilities, that diets are not necessarily about good and bad, and more about choices and quantities.

Now I am trying to offer gourmet food items to everyone, hoping to be able to empower you to try new things and not get stuck in repeating the same meals over and over again. Enjoy food, rather than see food as the enemy that makes you gain weight or feel bad, change your choice of food or the method of preparation. Personally, I have never been a calorie counter, never been obsessed with weight. I do believe that there are ingredients that can be substituted by a ‘healthier’ variety, e.g. a creamy sauce doesn’t need to be cream only; olive oil is often seen as healthier than butter, but is still 100% fat; carbs are not necessarily bad, we do need carbs in some way. To me, counting calories or labeling for as good or bad without context is a waste of time.

A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch.

James Beard

I hope you will enjoy your visit and share the love of food and the joy around the table.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or inquiries or just want to say hi.

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