About Dasha Malakhova, Chef at Culinary Studio «Kartata Potata»
I’ve been cooking since I was about 8, I remember I was already in the second grade and my parents began to go on tour with the theatre very often, and I stayed at home with friends of my mum, babysitters and relatives. But my main friends were neighbours in a communal flat, in the very old area of Kiev — Podol. I enjoyed meeting them in the shared kitchen. There I realized that domestic work and food could cheer me up. I’m 35 now, and I enjoy washing my floor, doing hand washing and spreading condensed milk and raspberry jam on waffle cakes. When I was in drama school in the UK, I couldn’t afford lunches in a canteen and I cooked pasta with herbs, thai rice and soup. During lunchtime I took out my lunch box and ate what I cooked — it was funny, but everyone thought I was posh, cool and had very picky eating habits. My path to the professional kitchen led through the kitchen sink.
