Hi! I'm Elena! Welcome to my travel blog Creativelena.com.
For me, it is all about “life-seeing instead of sightseeing”: Join me as I create, eat & live my way around the world. Curious?
*Check out my book, “The Creative Traveler’s Handbook”, for learning more about what we mean by creative travel. Travelling means the world to me, makes me fit for everday life and sometimes, I trust, also calmer on the inside. Read this blog with a smile, share what you love and remember to check back regularly: After all, when was the last time you did something for the first time?
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Tell me this: Have you ever been looking a local over the shoulder and right into their cooking pots while travelling? Helped out stirring even? And finally (dared to) eat what was being served?!
As for my part, I really love creative culinary travelling. Be it a creative cooking workshop in the gourmet capital city of Austria, Graz, or a visit to a local market in the Chilean port city Valparaíso – through creative cooking adventures, I am always reminded of “the great things in life”, like happy people, shiny eyes, cosy heat and lovely get-togethers. After all, where would human society be without food and cooking ceremonies? Unimaginable how entire cultures could have survived without culinary entertainment. At least this is how I see it, being the happy gourmet traveller I am. Hence, it comes as no surprise that one of the first activities I got “my” lovely English travel writers, Terry & Sarah Lee of LiveShareTravel as well as Katrina Stovold of TourAbsurd into, is creative cooking while travelling here in Austria. With somebody who knows everything there is to cooking, of course: our Viennese chef Thomas Hüttl. He has received countless national as well as international guests at his “Kochatelier” in Vienna. On this particular day right before Christmas, we are his to spoil.
Well of course. Lovely Sarah, all excited there! And here they are, those shiny eyes and eager thoughts over discussing the menu! My mouth is watering as we gather at the world-famous Vienna Naschmarkt (world-famous in Austria, that is 😉 ). Here, we meet with our chef Thomas, who stimulates us into creating our very own menu for the day. He speaks English fluently – good for our international guests! – and is able to create a real “cooking buzz”: So what do you normally like to cook? What do you want to try today? Let’s do it then. First, we go get the right ingredients!
Sarah Lee of LiveShareTravel is impressed with the Vienna Naschmarkt – and shooting away happily, for instance at Thomas Hüttl!
Off we go shopping ingredients for our creative menu: I will never quite forget the smell of all those cheeses in “Käseland” right there. Impressive!
Katrina & Thomas discuss the shopping …
… while Sarah is ready for some action at the “Kochatelier” of Thomas Hüttl: “So where do I start? Let’s go!”
Thomas Hüttl displaying patience and virtue: Cooking is his element, he loves to share with us his knowledge about cutting techniques and preparation methods. I gather we all learn something that day.
In medias res: Sugar turns caramel for our very special Apple strudel …
… while clever hands are busy filling and closing up this SIMPLY DELIGHTFUL APPLE STRUDEL. Isn’t it a beauty … Yum !!!
Our apple Strudel needs a little longer in the way of preparation – we still add hand-picked roasted chestnuts to the filling! – hence the mixed-up order of preparation here. In any case, the only one with an overview amongst us Social-Media, filming & photography addicts is the chef himself, clearly amused at our business with modern instant communication tools. However, there is always somebody ready to step into action. And so, Sarah is taught how to cut onions professionally (yes, there is a way – without letting them burn your eyes!). Katrina sprinkles pumpkin seed oil over the salad for the first time in her life – second nature for us Austrians, we love it! Máximo, our Spanish video expert, discusses the right prep for the bouillabaisse with Thomas and is reminded of our “Balticdiscovery” trip to the Baltic Sea Coast in Germany where we too learned how to make Spätzle (Spätzle really are everywhere 😉 ). I love our day together – and especially the part where we get to sit down and enjoy our homemade delights. Long live good taste & Thomas’ “Kochatelier” here in Vienna!
Our tasty, and healthy, bouillabaisse fish soup with spices and vegetables – yum! I am already almost full after having this meal – and the Spätzle are yet to follow. :O
Thank you Máximo for preparing these “cheese mountains” full of delicious Gruyère that ends up as melted delight on our Spätzle.
Off we go: After preparing the dough, the Spätzle are formed by pressing them through holes in a pan above boiling salt water.
Spätzle go best with some fresh leaf salad, topped with Austrian pumpkin seed oil.
Our second course for the day is ready to be served: Cheese Spätzle with pumpkin seed oil salad. Yum, again!
Last but not least: The king of Austrian dessert, a typical delightful and incredibly aromatic apple strudel … oh dear. I am HUNGRY AGAIN!
There goes a bunch of happy chefs – from left to right: Máximo, Sarah, Katrina, Terry & myself … Thank you so much for all your creative efforts everyone. Love creative travelling with you guys – right here in Vienna. 🙂
Thank you so much, Terry & Sarah Lee, Katrina Stovold & Máximo Perez for the happy travel moments on our creative cooking trip here in Austria! Check out Máximo’s travel videos, Katrina’s travel insights as well as Terry & Sarah Lee’s “pearls of Austrian cooking wisdom” here:
WE LOVE YOU! 😉 See you next time in good old Austria.!
For now, enjoy Máximo’s great cooking video about our happy day:
Ready for learning even more about creative travel?
Thank you very much Elena for sharing my video and sharing happy times cooking at Tomas´ Kitchen in Vienna with our English international Guests. 🙂
It was a lot of fun, wasn’t it! Thank YOU for the great video! We all look rather good at displaying our cooking skills. 😉
Best wishes, Elena!