
About
Mariam Kinkladze

Born and raised in Georgia
I was born and raised in the Republic of Georgia, in a small town named Akhmeta located in the region of Kakheti. Akhmeta was formed in 1945 when two neighboring villages, separated by vast fields of grass, decided to merge. Residential and commercial development expanded over the grasslands to unify the town; however, portions of the fields were preserved and still remain in their natural habitat to this very day. Many of my childhood memories involve nature—running through fields in a game of tag, climbing my favorite apple-picking tree, and visiting a nearby vineyard with my family.
I have fond memories of helping my mom come up with recipes for dinner, and of choosing the fruit and nut combinations for our monthly jam and dried fruit snacks!

My love for cooking began as a young girl
I especially loved when my mom turned on the radio while we were cooking. If a song that she liked came on, I would encourage her to turn up the volume and start singing or dancing in the kitchen. I knew that if my father came home from work at that moment, she would serenade him or force him to dance with her. Those were the moments I loved, and I soon realized that cooking, and especially baking, had the same positive effect on me as it did on my mother.

I was only three when I declared myself a chef
My grandmother says I was only three when I declared myself a chef and refused to play with toy food. Apparently, I cried until my mother let me become her “assistant chef” and help prepare the real dinner. My family jokes that they originally created various tasks simply to appease me; however, throughout the years, they came up with scaffolded, age-appropriate tasks that also fit my definition of “assistant chef!” I only remember a handful of my earliest tasks—stirring with mommy at age three, stirring alone at four, washing the lettuce, kneading the dough, and so on—but by the age of eight, I had begun experimenting with my own recipes and documenting the results.
I quite admire the extent to which my family truly respected and honed my declared passion at such a young age. I hope I can support my son in this same way—although his current dream is to become a rocket scientist!