After 11 years of blogging, a love born by stirring a ciambellone on a kitchen stool with mum, 5 cookbooks, a podcast, countless projects never launched or lost along the way, and numerous dreams kept among the pages of a notebook, I keep asking myself what is food for me. I haven’t grown tired of writing recipes. For a while, I wondered if it was enough, if I wasn’t dumbing down a topic bigger than me. Then I realised that food is enough for itself and, at the same time, it crosses borders. Food has been an instrument of personal growth and self-affirmation, a lens through which I could discover the external world and explore my inner universe, sometimes all the more complex and multifaceted. Food is tradition: I better understood who I am through traditional recipes, those from Tuscany and those from Basilicata, where the southern branch of my family is from. Food is discovery. The work of food is a craftsman’s job, in which you progress with small steps, with perseverance, with a clear attention to beauty and detail. Craft is humble, more tangible than art, but it retains a human warmth, dedication and commitment. What is food for you? Does it have a special meaning, or a value? Or is it more related to planning, or enjoying? Is it a way to release your stress, or to affirm yourself? Or both, as in my case? On the blog: - Ciambellone: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/cakes-pies/a-tuscan-bundt-cake - Crostata: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/cakes-pies/whole-wheat-crostata-with-lemon-marmalade - Pappa al pomodoro: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/soup/best-pappa-al-pomodoro - Grandma’s lasagne: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/fresh-pasta/grandmas-lasagne - Meatball pasta bake: https://en.julskitchen.com/first-course/pasta-first-course/meatball-pasta-bake - Calzoncelli: https://en.julskitchen.com/dessert/cookies/calzoncelli-chocolate-almond-christmas-cookies Find me online at www.julskitchen.com or on Instagram https://instagram.com/julskitchen/ Join our Facebook Group Cooking with Juls’ Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/775325049335625/ Podcast realized by https://instagram.com/tommyonweb