Hi, I’m Valentina, a passionate home cook and recipe developer. For me, food is a connection, creativity, and a celebration of simple, wholesome flavours.

I’ve spent the last three years refining my skills: perfecting seasoning, pastry work, plating, and adapting dishes for food sensitivities - vegan lasagna, gluten-free focaccia, or dairy-free ice cream.

Beyond the kitchen, I’m working on my herb garden, looking for fresh produce at farmers' markets, or finding balance through yoga.

Now, I’m ready to bring my dedication, patience and creativity to a professional kitchen, where I can learn, grow, and share the joy of good food.

Personal & professional qualities

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Skills

• Basic cooking methods: sautéing, roasting, baking, braising, simmering, deglazing, fermenting, curing, grilling, steaming, marinating.
• Knife skills: slicing, dicing, mincing, chopping. Skilled in preparation tasks such as peeling vegetables, boning fish, filleting, and deboning poultry.
• Baking: baking from scratch, like pies, cakes, cheesecakes, eclairs, muffins, cookies, macarons, and puff pastry work.
• Developing, testing and refining recipes
• International cuisine: explored culinary traditions and trends while travelling across 17 countries.

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Knowledge

• Researching the health benefits of various diets.
• Using resources (food blogs, recipe websites, cooking books) to gather knowledge about recipe development, ensuring dishes are affordable, nutritious and delicious, emphasising seasonal produce and quality ingredients. </aside>

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Techniques

• Understanding the science behind cooking methods to enhance consistency and flavour (seasoning, emulsification, creating smooth sauces ).
• preparing homemade stock, and classic sauces from scratch. </aside>

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Sustainability

• Sustainable cooking: minimizing waste and making eco-friendly, sustainable dishes.
• Herb gardening: growing microgreens at home.
• Resourceful cooking: creative and flexible, while maximising the use of ingredients, minimising waste, adapting recipes with available resources. </aside>

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Kitchen work

• Time management: prioritizing tasks efficiently.
• Problem-solving under stress: calm and resourceful in troubleshooting challenges like fixing broken emulsions, overcooked or undercooked food, dry or burnt food, and lack of ingredients. </aside>

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Adaptability

• Working independently for extended periods focusing on detailed tasks.
• Thriving in team settings, adapting quickly to new roles and environments.
• Adjusting recipes to accommodate dietary restrictions and preferences, ensuring inclusivity and satisfaction. </aside>

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Personal skills

• clean, organized
• attentive, reliable
• kind, respectful </aside>