Coconut rice with roasted shrimps

“At the age of 35, I turned my life upside down. I left the comfortable office walls and enrolled in a culinary academy. Starting a career at this age proved difficult. My life changed radically. For almost two years I have been working for 12 hours a day, without days off. I am studying without interruption. Even in dreams I see recipes.

Culinary helped me to find my place on earth. It allows me to establish connection with time. Sometimes I look for old recipes, sometimes I think of new ones, or I connect these two. It is a quite amusing and emotional field, it is both art and business. It seems as if the whole world is involved in the creation, then the dish goes to a person and gratitude returns to us. It is an amazing profession that makes me happy and despite the difficulties, wounds and burns, I will never regret that I am a cook”- Tina Vashakidze