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Interview with Food Blogger Julia Kolker

The Hungarian Girl | February 9, 2010 | 1 Comment

Russian borsch soup made with beetroot as the main ingredient.

Looking for a taste of Russian cuisine? Want to learn how to prepare borsch, blinchiki, or even tvorog (Russian farmer’s cheese)? Well, Julia Kolker shows her readers how on her personal food blog. It features a variety of Russian recipes as well as everyday cooking and baking.

Here’s a short interview with Julia Kolker about her blog, Yulinka Cooks.

Who are you?

I’m Julia, also known as “Yulinka” on my food blog, Yulinka Cooks (http://yulinkacooks.blogspot.com). Yulinka is a nickname version of my Russian name, Yuliya. I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and immigrated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (U.S.) as a child.

Julia Kolker

What do you do?

When I’m not blogging, I do marketing writing/editing/PR.

Tell us about your blog – Yulinka Cooks?

I began reading food blogs in 2005, and got inspired to start my own. A Russian-themed blog seemed like a good choice because few blogs covered this kind of cooking at the time. I wanted to cook the foods I grew up eating and to explore the cuisines of the former Soviet republics. Anya von Bremzen’s cookbook Please to the Table, which covers foods from Estonia to Azerbaijan, gave me a lot of ideas. I follow my blog theme about 80% of the time, but I also cover everything from cooking techniques to travel.

What inspires you to cook and bake?

Cooking is my creative outlet, and I really like coming up with new dishes. When I get home from work, I want to play around in the kitchen. It’s relaxing. (I’m not a baker, however, and I stick to very simple fruit desserts like this apple charlotte.

What is your favorite food?

I can’t pick just one, of course, but I like soups, all kinds of dumplings and vegetables in all guises.

What is your favorite drink?

Hot tea! Black or green, always loose-leaf.