fave five #21: chiara artese
featuring peanut butter
i’m very happy to bring you today’s fave five, featuring my friend and talented baker, chiara artese. we met while working together at berlin’s best bakery (iykyk, i’m not biased), and i’m so thankful for her patience and guidance in showing me the ropes on the lamination station. we always had a great time working together and i’m so glad we’ve kept in touch since.
i find her dedication and passion for her craft so inspiring because even though she bakes full time, that’s not enough—you’ll often find her developing new recipes or doing plant-based butter and cream cheese tests on her evenings and weekends, too. it really borders on the superhuman. whenever i get a chance to taste what she’s made, i feel so lucky, and i’m happy to say there’s an opportunity for me (and you!) this saturday, november 29th from 15-21h, where chiara will be selling some of her plant-based goods at the moabiter winterfest and wintermarkt at kulturfabrik moabit. enjoy chiara’s picks, and see you next week with a new recipe!
chiara artese’s fave five
Peanut butter—Crunchy, smooth, salted, with some chilli crisp on noodles, on toast with jam, with crisp apple slices, by the spoonful—you name it, I’ll eat it. *hey siri, search for peanut butter AA meetings nearby*
Crafty artisan and food markets—My favourite way of discovering a city’s vibe is through seasonal produce, local delicacies, handmade little trinkets and artwork. I’m one of those people who find grocery shopping oddly comforting so local supermarkets will also do the trick, but open air markets are my go-to.
Developing new recipes—As a baker this is not only my creative outlet but also a way to always keep on learning. I recently embarked on a dairy free journey and started to develop not only dairy free recipes but plant-based ones. Some of my tests so far included croissants, cookies and my own birthday cake and I’m planning to develop this further into a small side gig; manifesting a cute plant based bakery market stall. Stay tuned here: @bottegacereale.
Making people happy through food—Despite not doing it very often, I love hosting friends and family for a meal. Seeing the people I love enjoying the food my partner Leo and I prepared for them and having a good time together really fills up my cup. The same goes for work; sometimes whilst rolling croissants I peak through the bakery’s windows and seeing people enjoying their pastries in Sofi’s courtyard is one of the most rewarding parts about the job.
Moabit—A very cliché Berliner opinion but if you live in Moabit, you believe the neighbourhood is the nicest part of the city—at least I truly do! My favourites are going for a morning walk around the Gotzkowskybrücke and soaking in some sunshine sipping on a cup of coffee made by Leo at home, or a beer and a picnic (special mention to Humbaba Falafel makali pita sandwich) on the banks of the Spree by the Lessingbrücke in the evening.
All darn good!