About

Well hello, I am so happy you stumbled upon my blog. I am Julia, a London based food blogger and photographer, and Vikalinka is my space to share bits of my life with the world. Incidentally, much of my life is taken up by cooking, due to very hungry children and  husband, so you will become witnesses to my culinary endeavours if you choose to stay around.

What do you besides blogging for Vikalinka? 

When I am not cooking I am usually found either in a classroom teaching English or at home with my husband and my two sweet, funny and incredibly creative children. If I am nowhere to be found, I am probably travelling all over Europe or visiting families in Canada and Russia so once in a while Vikalinka turns into a travel blog.

Why “Vikalinka”? 

I agonised over the blog name for ages, to name a blog is as difficult as to name your firstborn. What I really wanted is for my blog name to reflect my Russian roots but also to be simple and memorable. My daughter’s name is Victoria, or Vika for short in Russian. My husband often calls her Vikalinka, it’s a made-up word but we love it so it became the name of my blog.

Where are you from?

I don’t even know anymore! I’m from Russia originally but moved to the States for college and married a Canadian guy who convinced me to move to Canada, where we spent a large chunk of our marriage, and then to England where we are now living with our two children.

Why did you start blogging?

I started Vikalinka because I simply wanted to record my recipes but very quickly realized that when I am blogging I am in my most creative state. I love pushing that side of myself and constantly finding that creativity has no limits.

Cooking inspires me to share my food with people. I love having friends at my house and nothing brings me more joy than seeing people enjoying my meals and each other’s company. The best conversations happen around a dinner table. It also inspires me to share what I know with others. It makes me so sad when I hear people say they see cooking as a chore I immediately want to show them it could be fun not to mention the practical aspect of it.

 How would you describe your cooking style?

I am definitely drawn to European style of eating which is unapologetically REAL and understated. No “triple” or “jumbo” anything here. My food is real, I am not usually the one to invent a low-fat, no-carb substitute for pizza crust( not that I am not impressed with the ones that do), I just eat less of the real thing. I am also not someone who knows or cares too much about what is hot and trending in food blogosphere. I cook what inspires me and what is loved by my family and hopefully it will also inspire you and will become your family’s favourite. I’ve often been called “a snob” by my friends in Canada and the States because I preferred duck pate to a  Pizza Hut pizza or grilled eggplant to McDonald’s burger and fries. Truth is I didn’t grow up eating at those places, so I would never have a midnight craving for a quarter pounder. However, I do often crave a hearty slice of crusty bread topped with salami or gouda. That’s my comfort food. Moving to England and having all this food, thanks to EU free trade, available and affordable is like living in a foodie heaven.

Will you ever do video recipes?

Blogging to me, is a very unique combination of three things I am passionate about at the moment- creating food, writing and photography. I am not too keen on stepping in front of a camera so no plans to branch out into videos in the near future.

Is London your final destination? Any plans to move back to Canada?

Living in London always inspires me to continue exploring. I hope I will never get tired of wandering its streets and castles, having a pint in my neighbourhood pub and listening to my kids sounding increasingly British with every day we live here. At this moment we have no plans to move but if things change I can see us being very happy in Italy.

Please visit often, get inspired and comment, comment, comment!

To learn more about me read my interview with Food Bloggers of Canada and Behind the scenes with Vikalinka.

Photo Credit: NoemiPhotography