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

Related posts:

1. Interview with Food Blogger – Julia Kolker
2. Interview with Author & Tour Company Owner Carolyn Bánfalvi
3. Prague Food Festival 2009