Always follow your passion

From culinary talent to passion rediscovery: my path to Italy

I was always fascinated by cooking. As a child, I was already in the kitchen, tasting, smelling, discovering. At a young age, everyone praised my sense of taste, and I dreamed of a future as a chef. But without the right guidance, I ended up at the wrong restaurants. Businesses where speed and cost were more important than creativity and quality. My passion slowly disappeared, suffocated by routine and disappointment.

Frustrated, I decided to go to hotel school. I thought: if I can’t do what I really want to do, I should just learn how to make myself indispensable in the hospitality industry. Studying brought me knowledge and opportunities – and also a new idea of success. I saw entrepreneurs making money and thought that was the way to go. Not the love of cooking, but the pursuit of profit suddenly seemed to be the goal. I got swept up in that mentality. I started my own business, threw myself into the fast life and worked day and night. My talent became a means to make money, nothing more.
I had everything… but felt nothing.

It was only when I decided to leave everything behind and settle in Italy that things changed. In Cilento, I found a completely different world. Here, life is not about running and performing, but about enjoyment. Eating here is not a rush job, but a ritual. The vegetables come from the garden, the cheese from the local farmer, the olive oil from the family down the road. I was surrounded by people who live and cook with attention. Who arrange their day around the meal, not their meal around the day.
Slowly, I began to find my old passion again. Not as a means to make money, but as a way to get satisfaction from life. I started cooking again, just because I wanted to. The smell of freshly baked bread, the taste of a perfectly roasted tomato, the rhythm of slicing and stirring – it brought me back to who I once was.

I learnt that I had denied myself. That I had traded my love of cooking for a social ideal that was never really mine. Here in Italy, I discovered that true success lies not in profit or status, but in doing what makes your heart beat faster.
My cooking now is simple, pure and honest. I cook for myself, for friends, and for anyone who comes to taste. No fuss, no quick dishes. Just good food, made with love.
The biggest lesson I learned? What you really want should never be denied. Passion may disappear under the surface for a while, but it always finds a way back. You just have to make room for it – a and sometimes that means leaving everything behind.