Hi! I’m Mashav
I’m a trained chef, a food writer, a culinary traveler, a food explorer and a mom. My mission in life is to inspire and motivate people by helping them experience life through food.
If you’re like me then food is a major part of your life too.
Food sustains you, It can make you feel good or bad; It involves all of your senses; It’s a cultural thing but is also universal; It’s social but can also be very private; It creates memories; It affects your mood; Influences your health. It’s part of your personality. Food is something you buy, cook, enjoy, learn, experience and remember.
Ever since I can remember, I was intrigued with food. My most vivid childhood memories are of cooking and eating together with my family. I traveled the world with my family since a very young age, exploring the cuisines of the world. Only after finishing my B.Sc in Cognitive Sciences and Biology is when the penny dropped, and I left my hometown of Tel Aviv, Israel to learn Professional French Cuisine in Paris (and wrote all about it in my first website: Eating Cooking Fooding). Since then I moved to San Francisco with Omer, my partner, and I built a local chef-services business, Le Couloir, focusing on dinner parties, culinary team events and guided food tours.
I started this website after the year 2020 struck and put my business on complete hold. I’m hoping that in this way I will be able to continue and deliver value and touch the lives of food-loving people like you.
My expertise is in the field of world gastronomy, intuitive and ingenious cooking. I mostly cook food inspired by Israeli, French, Californian cuisines, and our travels around the world.
This website is designed to be a space of inspiration, information and recommendations on how to:
- Make cooking fun, new and exciting (yet as simple and easy as possible)
- Enjoy the process of grocery shopping and make the most of it
- Decide where to go out to eat, and what to order, so that you can get the best bang for your buck
- Discover new cultures through food while traveling
- Create unique DIY food experiences for your family, friends or co-workers
- Save yourselves some time and money by learning some shortcuts, tips & tricks, and kitchen hacks.
My Philosophy
Always be tasting: while cooking, when eating out, when traveling
I strive to be thoughtful, educated and appreciative of what is already available and come up with the best results to accommodate our modern fast pacing urban life.
These are the ten principles I advocate for:
- Always be tasting: while cooking, when eating out, when traveling
- Learn to cook simple and nutritious meals for yourself and your family
- Eat well: eating should make you feel good and not the other way around
- Be inventive: a recipe is just a guideline – make it your own. Use what you already have in hand, make substitutions, be creative – it pays off!
- Enjoy food, it’s one of nature’s biggest gifts to us, and we should cherish every bite
- Support local businesses and buy in-season produce whenever possible
- Food is a great platform to bring people together: family dinners, conversations around the table or even work events
- Reduce waste – there are so many ways to reduce waste and as small as they may seem, they do count
- Understand your food, where it comes from and what it does to your body. You would be able to cook better and make better choices about your diet and your health.
- Don’t be too serious, it’s just food after all!
Click on the picture to read more about these principals:
