8TheWorld - Conversations with homecooks from around the world

For the 20th episode, my guest is Jemischa Albo from the Instagram page @jamischaskitchen.Jemischa is a young woman on the cusp of a great adventure. After years of working for a major supermarket chain, Jemischa has set up her own food shopping service. What is even more remarkable is her journey to this moment. She writes about her experience through the foster care system and in the workplace in her blog  https://vocal.media/authors/adapting-adopted. 

For the 19th Episode, my guest is Melissa Griffith from the Instagram page @blessthismessblog and the blog blessthismessplease.com.Melissa is a Hoosier by birth and now lives in one of the prettiest places in the US, Utah near Bryce and Zion National Parks with her husband and five kids.Melissa embodies farm to table. Her homestead is a hobby farm with bunnies, chickens, sheep and even a cow. Her recipes are a celebration of baking and cooking whose purpose is to help others build a sense of mindfulness and intuition around food and eating.

For the 18th Episode, my guest is Chef Ploy from the Instagram page @ployskitchen.Ploy is from Bangkok Thailand and has lived in the Boston Area for over 10 years. Ploy has travelled the world experiencing food culture from the finest kitchens to street food. And as an educator at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, she is on a mission to share her passion for food with others. 

For the 17th episode, my guest is Hachi from the Instagram page @hachisramen. Hachi was born in Toronto, grew up in Tokyo then moved to Montreal where launched three Japanese restaurants, Iwashi Izakaya, Thazard, and his latest omakase restaurant Okeya. Hachi is adept at experimenting with ramen variations and we made a vegan ramen dish together using Beyond Meat.

For the 16th episode, my guest is Dulce, known as @forever_hambrienta on Instagram.Dulce is from Mexico City. Her Instagram page is full of traditional Mexican dishes, tasteful takes on American comfort food, lots of brownies and posts detailing her travels in Mexico and the US. Together we made Caldo Tlalpeño, a chicken soup with chickpeas and garnishes of avocado and fresh cheese.

For the 15th Podcast my guest is Nicole K, also known as @provisionstonourish. Nicole is an all-star at meal planning, fridge diving and stretching prepared ingredients across multiple meals in different recipes.  We made a braised beef dish and will discuss all the meals that we were able to stretch out of a one pot meat preparation. We spoke about reducing food waste, preserving food, cookbooks and foraging. 

For the 14th Podcast my guest is Sarah Gustafson, known on Instagram as @just_a_cook_in_canada.Sarah lives in the great white north of Calgary, Alberta, Canada and is a member of a number of cookbook clubs and collabs. We have several Instagram friends in common, most notably, Hale of @turkishtale the guest of episode 10.  We baked Yotam Ottolenghi's Cauliflower Cake, and talked about Chinese New Year's preparation and connecting with other cooks through collabs. 

For the thirteenth episode, my guest is @Zsuzsannadeer. Zsuzsanna grew up in Hungary and now lives one town away in Fairfield CT. Her Instagram page incorporates Hungarian dishes and food that emphasizes gluten free cooking and eating for wellness. 

For the 12th episode, my guest is MiMi Aye , also known as @meemalee. The daughter of Burmese born doctors, Mimi traveled regularly from her home in England to Myanmar. She shares her stories about Burmese food and family life in her book Mandalay. In addition to her books, Mimi also has a tremendously successful Instagram page and has a wickedly funny and astute podcast called themsgpod that she hosts with @mrshuongblack.We talk about introducing the taste and textures of Burmese food to a British audience, Burmese Coconut Chicken Noodles, ordering off the second menu, and podcasts.

For the 11th episode, my guest is Emma, also  known as the @platelessordinary. Originally from New York, Emma lives in the DC area.  She describes herself as an adventurous and ambitious home cook. Her Instagram page is exactly about this and I would also add that Emma is an adventurous and ambitious traveler. Our conversation was about Mongolia, Chinese food during Christmas and reminiscing of a time when communal dining was a thing.

For the tenth episode, my guest is Hale also known as @turkish.tale. Hale has lived in Turkey, grew up in Kuwait and now resides in the Netherlands. She is an enthusiastic cook featuring dishes that emphasize her Turkish and Palestinian roots. Our conversation was about making kadınbuduköfte, a Turkish meatball, Turkish breakfasts, her family recipes and baby food.

For the ninth episode, my guest is Chef Dantii also known as the @munchinmumma. Chef Dantii grew up in and around NYC (The Bronx!) before moving to Atlanta. Her Instagram page is dotted with vegan dishes that emphasize her Virgin Island's roots, health and flavor and she has developed a brand around wellness and good food. Our conversation was about making Eccentric Soul, her vegan creation, cooking for health and building a brand around wellness. 

For the eight episode, my guest is @chefgbelay. Originally from Senegal, Gbelay moved to Las Vegas at the age of 16. He now lives in Richmond Virginia. His Instagram page is dotted with spectacular cakes, west African dishes, and foods from cultures he has been exposed to along the way. Our conversation was about making Senegalese Fish Yassa, his approach to cakes, and things to eat in Las Vegas.

For the seventh episode, my guest is Angie of thekitchenettetales. Angie is from Singapore and is a Peranakan, a descendant of Chinese  settlers and local south east Asian people. Our conversation was about making laksa noodles, the Peranakan and Singapore food cultures and her approach to cooking. 

For the sixth episode, I am joined by Erica Tang, @TheChineseFoodie. Her Instagram feed began as an eclectic look at the range of cuisines London has to offer. During the lockdown, she pivoted her page to feature homecooked meals inspired by her upbringing in Hubei province in central China. This has proved to be a huge hit, and she reaches over 20,000 followers on Instagram.Our conversation was about making Hubei Hot Dry Noodles, her pivot to home cooking, her noodle making and dumplings traditions and her rise in Instagram reach. 

For the fifth episode, my guest is Frallergisch, a cook from Ticino in the Swiss Alps. A few years ago, she was diagnosed with severe food allergies, which is why she took on the moniker Frallergisch.She launched a website and Instagram page (@frallergisch) featuring foods that are delicious and safe for her to eat. She also built a community of restaurants in Ticino which can cater to people with food allergies.Our conversation was about her condition and how she uses her platform to help others, local foods from Ticino and several dishes that we both prepared.

Originally from Sweden and a lawyer by training, Alice moved to Edinburgh and created one of the most visually striking Instagram pages. Each dish is a work or art and looks as if it was prepared by a 3 star Michelin Chef. Our conversation focuses on creativity, plating, ingredients, and Swedish Christmas traditions.Alice has nearly 4,000 followers on Instagram (@aliceinedinburgh)

In addition to being an artist, Kendllena is a talented homecook and baker. Her Instagram page is @escoffier_. She is immensely curious about ingredients and dishes from different cuisines. Our conversation starts with a dish that we both prepared in advance of the podcast, korean rice rolls or tteokbokki. The conversation flows at a fast pace about the food that she has prepared and posted on instagram with a detail on the recipes and techniques. 

Our conversation follows James' path from Korea to the US, his awakening to the food scene in New York, and his entry into the industry as a Social Media Manager with Eater, where he interacted with many of his culinary idols such as Maangchi and Ina Garten.Along the way, James created eatingmyfeelings and Jamesyworld to share his love for food with others and has built a following of over 10,000 people. 

Originally from Lahore, Pakistan, Aliya creates traditional and modern interpretations of desi food and more. Now based in Whitehorse, Yukon Territories, Aliya talks about the types of dishes she loves to make, creativity in use of available ingredients and her path to growing her instagram audience to almost 17,000 followers.