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When we talk to Aurim about the conversation, he admits that he is often “free as the wind”; until restaurants receive visitors, he lives at a much freer pace than usual. In times of stress, the boss worked from 8 am to 11 pm at night, and now he has the opportunity to take a walk by the sea in the middle of the day, to pay more attention to his blog “Cocina Aurimėlis”.
It seems those freedoms would be envied, but A. Alionis admits that she misses working in a restaurant. “I miss the emotion that the restaurant customer brings the most. At the end of the day, they usually confirm which dish was successful and which may not be very good, so in the long run it will not stay on the menu ”, says the interlocutor.
The bureaucracy at school clipped his wings
The man, who has lived in the port city for almost six years, is from Alytus, as he says, “I am a Dzūkian Dzuk”, his wife Giedrė from Klaipeda, with whom they are currently expecting their first child. Although now the life of the couple revolves around food, it is interesting that the studies of A. Alionis had nothing to do with it: he studied biology and did a master’s degree deepening in microbiology.
Photo from personal album Aurimas Alionis
After studying in Vilnius, for a couple of years in his native Alytus, A. Alionis worked as a teacher, but the school disappointed him. The interlocutor, who was always “sick” in biology, wanted to teach children in an innovative way, bring a live snake and a parrot to lessons, did not require bringing textbooks to school, but, according to him, such methods and enthusiasm yes. Don’t stay with Alytus. “In a couple of years, the bureaucracy has clipped my wings. You know, there is such a beautiful vegetable artichoke, I was like a deer artichoke … ”- he says.
The creation of the blog was inspired by his wife.
In addition to his passion for biology, A. Alionis also had another passion and hobby: frying kibinas. Since he was 18 years old, he has been doing well, treating his mother’s companions in the hospital, his companions, friends … It was those kibins that determined that he was once invited to help on weekends by a restaurant in Alytus, later followed by work in children’s summer camps A. Alionis did not immerse herself in professional cooking.
He first worked in an Italian restaurant, where, as I recall, “I was thrown into the sea unable to swim,” then he moved to a restaurant that has been in operation for almost 5 years. Interestingly, he also attracted his wife, who had been a successful lawyer, to the restaurant’s kitchen. “Maybe I was a bit selfish, but we understand each other at a glance,” he smiles.
It was his wife who encouraged Aurima to start sharing her homemade food recipes on Facebook. This activity included the fact that the “Aurimėlis Kitchen” profile has existed for more than 6 years and has more than 20 thousand. fans, and in recent months A. Alionis has been able to pay more attention to it than at any other time.
Although many people write about food on social media, “Aurimėlis recipes” are distinguished by their earthiness, simplicity and play with more interesting accents, new interpretations of known recipes, and attractive food servings. Although Aurimas says that now that you look at the photos of the first few posts, you might want to delete them, not specifically because the blog is like a mirror of evolution. “I see how I have grown during those 6 years,” he says.
Photo from personal album / A. A plate made by Alionis
Home cooking recipes with an asterisk
Aurimas says that both in the restaurant and in the home kitchen, he is mainly fascinated by simplicity, especially since he is convinced that people also yearn for it a lot. Of course, he says, the dishes in the restaurant are technologically more difficult to prepare, because there is another level of equipment, more attention is paid to service. And for the home kitchen, which the blog focuses on, it is important to offer you recipes that are not first of all scary, but interesting.
And in a restaurant, I realize that people first want real, good, fresh and well-served food.
“If a person sees ingredients like a kilo of minced pork, an onion, it will usually sound earthy. Another thing is if you ask to buy some tongue clippings of yeast … ”ironically the interlocutor. He even jokes about calling his blog “one-star home recipes” and is convinced that the overall goodness of a dish often lies in its simplicity. “And in the restaurant, I notice that people first want real food, good, fresh and well served,” he says.
Photo from personal album / A. A plate made by Alionis
When asked which ingredients he likes best, A. Alionis names potatoes, meat, and fish. It does not like to make game meat, both because of the smell and the texture, unappealing and extremely luxurious meat, for example, aged beef. Here, for example, both veal and duck must be fully roasted for him, although, as he himself says, there is some swoon in this bloody meat. The interviewee says that he can understand it, knowing that it is suitable for the restaurant menu, but at home it is also suitable for “a simple Lithuanian cow. And their meat can be specially prepared. “
In the year of quarantine: more time and love for food.
There are food bloggers in Lithuania who run various advertising projects, but A. Alionis does not intend to market his blog. Sometimes after receiving a gift of one or another product, you mention it, but do not intend to charge money for it, write promotional texts. By the way, he says that offers are often received, especially since the fall, when “Aurimėlis’s kitchen” appeared on Instagram.
“A blog is free and fun for me, I’m not going to make a living from it. Cooking alone at home, sitting in front of the computer, deciphering advertising, is not for me. I felt limited and I don’t like frames in life, explains A. Alionis. – Also, I never want readers to insist on a particular manufacturer. I can mention what I used myself, but a person will do what is available to him. “
Aurimas has no special strategy to nurture a blog, grow a fan base, they say, they are growing naturally. It is true that in recent years, marked by pandemics, inquiries, requests for advice and messages of joy, it has received even more frequently than before. A. Alionis, who actively communicates with his followers, is glad that the very young and old alike write to him, and the latter’s activity on social media even surprises him. And he’s only had to deal with nasty comments a couple of times.
People ask me even about the simplest recipes like cutlets. After all, preparing them is the same as flashing, if there is a wish, everyone gets it.
“I notice there was more time and love for cooking during the quarantine year,” he says. – People ask me even the simplest recipes like cutlets. After all, preparing them is the same as flashing, if there is a wish, everyone will achieve it. And if not, then the person is simply lazy or does not want to produce. “
Photo from personal album Aurimas with his wife Giedre
Where does A. Alionis draw inspiration for the recipes on his blog? He says he often comes up with new combinations just during walks, he still likes to make with what he has in the fridge, and the food he receives as a blogger gift makes him creatively turn his head. “And now my Coryafian inspiration is a wife. Here, let’s say we agree in the morning that we will have pancakes for lunch, and then she will crave zeppelins … Okay, there will be zeppelins! The interlocutor smiles. “A lot of people joke that the mash will start soon, but I’m not ruling it out.”
Exploited fish and other adventures
Is a restaurant chef and food blogger still having mishaps in the kitchen? A. Alionis says that such failures are even necessary, because “if they don’t exist, you won’t experience joy later.” He talks about a series of curious situations both in the restaurant and in the kitchen at home. This time, at work, a minced fish in the oven exploded. Luckily the head and tail remained healthy, there were different fish, so A. Alionis created and served fish terrine.
The next time at home, he boiled the zeppelins, but forgot to reduce the heat, and zeppelins, as you know, do not like actively bubbling water. “I look at the pot and the zeppelins smile at me,” he laughs. Another beloved farmer, whose interlocutor has been dating for a couple of years, ate the butter from the kibinas that were available to him. “It was late at night, we no longer had to buy butter, and those kibinas were necessary in the morning …”, recalls A. Alionis.
Photo from personal album Aurimėlis
Mentioning kibins again, I wonder if the old master who made his way to professional cooking still bakes them. It turns out that yes, it is still one of their star dishes. “It seems that they will never be put aside. Whoever knows me knows the Aurimėlis kibins. I have worked on my recipe, which is already 13 years old, there are no secrets there and I really succeeded,” says A. Alionis, who shared this recipe with his followers of “Cocina Aurimėlis” before the new year.
A.Alionis also shares recipes from the blog “Cocina Aurimėlis” with 15 minutes Readers – look for them every Friday.
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