Book: Amber and Rye: A Baltic food journey

In the Baltics, two worlds meet: the Baltic Sea joins Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Amber & Rye explores this area, guiding you around the capitals, sharing stories and discovering a dynamic, new style of cooking.

Pre-Order It Here

Book: Polska – New Polish Cooking

I call myself a “Storyteller Cook”, because everything I do is to do with cooking and telling stories through the medium of food. I want to inspire the world to cook and eat more Polish food.

I have written a cookbook “Polska” – a love letter to the country where I was born – that has been published in the UK, America, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland.

A Storyteller Cook

Zuza Zak

“Capturing the spirit of the nation”

The Independent

“The antidote to Brexit”

The Food Programme, BBC Radio 4

Featured Blog Posts

Where to eat in the Baltic States - My Top 10

Where to eat in the Baltic States - My Top 10

This was meant to be “my top 5” list but there are so many great places to eat all over the Baltic States right now that it turned into “my top 10”. This list is sort of in order of favourites…

My Top 3 Polish Christmas Recipes

My Top 3 Polish Christmas Recipes

Christmas is my favourite holiday of the year, and it’s not because I was born just a few days before the big day (and my daughter also) on Winter Solstice. Actually, as far as birthdays go, it’s not ideal. It gets hurried…

Spiced Pumpkin Pierogi

Spiced Pumpkin Pierogi

The time has come to reflect and review… this year has been all about home for me… and so many things in my life to be grateful for – my daughter, my family, my home, my friendships…

Social

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA: Somewhere I could definitely s

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA: Somewhere I could definitely spend a few weeks, maybe months, perhaps even years, is Vilnius. Amber&Rye was born from the stories of #Vilnius that my grandma used to tell me. Babcia Hala was right, #wilno is a truly special place, you can feel it’s magic as soon as you arrive #balticjune
*
*
*
#vilniusofficial #visitlithuania #baltictrend #roadlesstraveled #travelinspiration #traveleurope #lithuania

MESSY MOTHERHOOD: My days are filled with laughs s

MESSY MOTHERHOOD: My days are filled with laughs snd screams and too many toys. I’m trying to do everything during nap time (which isn’t possible) while battling with all kinds of emotions. Motherhood is pretty intense, but it’s also amazing and every day I look at their little faces and know that I’m lucky to have this time here with them #motherhood
*
*
*
#motherhoodunplugged #mymessylife #mylittlemoments #lifeisbeautiful #littlestoriesofmylife

KULDIGA, LATVIA: One place I absolutely loved in L

KULDIGA, LATVIA: One place I absolutely loved in Latvia that I didn’t write much about in Amber&Rye was Kuldiga. In the summer, people come to Kuldiga to walk along and bathe under the widest waterfall in Europe, the Venta Rapids. In the Spring and Autumn, when fish are migrating, you can see “flying fish” jumping over the rapids and fishermen catching them mid air! The town of Kuldiga itself is charming with a rich history dating from the thirteenth century - we ate a lovely meal washed down with birch water at the Goldingen Room (thank you for recommendation @vinotava ) #balticjune
*
*
*
#visitlatvia #baltictrend #kuldiga #latvia🇱🇻 #balticstates #ventarapida #traveldeeper #travelpictures #travelinspiration #łotwa

LINDA’S TOMATO TART: Some of my favourite recipe

LINDA’S TOMATO TART: Some of my favourite recipes from Amber&Rye were given to me by women of the Baltics. This one is by Linda @vinotava and contains Latvian green cheese, which you can buy from @siera_razotne (just email them) and contains blue fenugreek. This has become a firm favourite in our house, although I must admit I don’t always make the puff pastry, you can get a really good one from @farmdrop now #amberandrye #balticjune
*
*
*
#tomatotart #balticfood #latvianfood #tomatoes🍅 #easyrecipe #eatseasonal #seasonalfood #smacznego #food52

INSTA LIVE WITH ALICE: I’m so excited to be talk

INSTA LIVE WITH ALICE: I’m so excited to be talking to @aliceinframes this morning that even the baby waking me up all night can’t dampen my spirits! I will have plenty of coffee and hope to see you soon (10.30 Gmt) to chat about my foodie travels in the Baltic States #amberandrye
*
*
*
#foodiechats #instalive #foodstory #booklaunch #goinglive #balticstates #traveldeeper #bursztyniżyto #foodwinewomen #foodlover

COMPETITION TIME: I’m so excited to share with y

COMPETITION TIME: I’m so excited to share with you this latest competition to celebrate the launch of Amber&Rye! I have partnered with the wonderful @karawaybakery to give away a copy of my #newbook book and selection of baked goodies, including the award-winning Lithuanian scalded #rye bread, poppy seed brioche loaf, village rye and some seeded rye thins. To enter, simply:
🌾Make sure you’re following myself and @karawaybakery
🌾Like this post
🌾Tag a person you would like to share this prize with
Please note, that we can only post to mainland UK. You can tag as many people as you like (each tag is an entry). The competition closes at 12pm on June 29th. Tip: For an extra chance to win, pop over to the Karaway feed, as there are two sets of goodies!
*
*
*
#cookbookgiveaway #amberandrye #bakedgoods #ryebread #giveawaytime #balticjune #cookbooks #foodiegiveaway #foodiesofinstagram #foodiegram

LiVE LAUNCH DOWN UNDER: To celebrate Amber&Rye pub

LiVE LAUNCH DOWN UNDER: To celebrate Amber&Rye publishing in Australia, I will be chatting Baltic food and travel to the brilliantly effervescent @aliceinframes- aka Alice Zaslavsky - this Wednesday 10.30 GMT, I hope you can join us on Insta live! #booklaunch
*
*
*
#amberandrye #onlineevent #instalive #foodandtravel #worldfood #balticstates

ROSÓŁ ON A SUNDAY: Reading a book about food hab

ROSÓŁ ON A SUNDAY: Reading a book about food habits in Poland, it appears that the most widespread Polish food tradition is chicken soup on a Sunday. My mum does this little trick with the dumplings where she beats the egg whites before adding them to the flour with yolks and water. This makes them lighter, she says, and therefore better suited to #rosół #soup
*
*
*
#nourishingtraditions #chickensoup #kuchniapolska #obyczaje #dumplingsoup #souper #lovesoup #beautifulcuisines