Interview with Food Blogger Gabriel Bucataru
Gabriel Bucataru, creator of Mamaliga, a Romanian food and culture blog.
Today’s featured interview is with Gabriel Bucataru, creator of Mamaliga, a Romanian food and culture blog.
Enjoy!
Who are you?
My name is Gabriel Bucataru. I grew up in the western region of Romania from a small city called Timisoara which was a mixture of Hungarian and Romanian communities. I immigrated to the USA in 2000.
What do you do?
Currently I work part-time as a computer programmer in the healthcare industry and I have a small business on the side building high end guitar amplifiers (www.gabtone.com).
Tell us about Mamaliga?
Mamaliga (meaning Polenta in Romanian) came first started as a name for a band I played guitar in 2000. Later, it morphed into my current food blogging domain name. I thought there was a strong correlation between the meaning of the name (a staple food in Romania) and my culinary adventures.
What inspires you to cook?
I grew up in a household that by modern standards would be considered ‘organic’ since we had our own vegetable garden, owned chickens, made our own wine, and cooking was an immense part of the day. My Mom and Grandma would literally spend their entire morning preparing a two or three course meal just for lunch! I was very much influenced by this lifestyle.
Moving to the United States where people tend to eat out a lot (if they want a decent meal) and where cooking at home is considered something rather special, my longings of early childhood took over, inspiring to get creative in the kitchen. Nevertheless it proved very rewarding!
What’s your favorite dish?
That’s rather hard for me to say. One thing I love about American food is the variety. I am still in a process of discovering new foods and cuisines (which will probably never end). I have many memorable dishes but it is almost impossible to pick one out that is a favorite.
What’s your favorite drink?
It depends on the dish but I like to pair wines with Mediterranean dishes like pastas, beer with meats or even pizza with the Romanian specialty known as ‘mititei’.
Any additional comments you want to share?
Can anyone tell me where to find Hungarian Csabai Salami ?!?
As well, anyone interested in authentic Eastern European cuisine should read Suzanne Urpecz’s blog, The Hungarian Girl!
Be sure to visit Gabriel Bucataru’s food blog!
Mamaliga
http://www.mamaliga.com
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Hi,
If you’re looking for Hungarian Csabai szalami, go to Rego Park in Queens; specifically 63rd Drive and Queens Boulevard, (which is also a subway stop on the R/G/V line). One of the Russian stores there has Csabai szalami that was made in the U.S. according to the original Hungarian recipe. I think due to FDA regulations, the salami can’t be imported, but they can make it here. It tastes close to what the original salami should taste like.
Suzanne!
Thanks much for the posting and invitation to interview!
Your blog is becoming a reference voice in Hungarian and Eastern European cuisine and I am glad I was mentioned on it as well!
Thanks for the passion with which you are posting about the heritage we both share!
Balazs: Unfortunately I am in Chicago. Do they have a website from where I can purchase online meybe?
Cheers!
Gabi @ Mamaliga.com
Wonderful! Good to see Gabi getting some well-deserved exposure. He is one of my favourite foodie bloggers. His genial personality and infectious passion for all things food has earned him a special place in my esteem. Nice to see that others share my opinion. Thank you for this posting.
Thanks Sam! I certainly agree with you. Gabi has a lot of passion and has a great personality.