I was born and grew up in the city of Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan. I spent my childhood in a sunny, high mountain city, surrounded by apple gardens of Zailiyskiy Alatau. Smell of apple blossom, taste of melt water from mountain springs and roaring wind in mountain gorges made me strive for beauty my whole life. Combination of traditions and cuisines of the multinational region have been attracting me since I was a child. The brightest memories from my childhood are smell of my mother’s baking and cooking national pilaf and unique manti together with my father.
