Hello and welcome! I’m Salima and I’m a food photographer and private chef in Portland, Oregon. Keep reading to learn more about Salima’s Kitchen.
Growing up in a multi-cultural family I was exposed to a lot of unique flavors and fusions of cooking styles. At 12 years old, I was expected to cook dinner once a week; a chore that quickly became my favorite thing to do.
When I started middle school I started noticing hives on my skin, at what felt like random. A visit to my general care practitioner led to a visit to a dermatologist which led to a visit with an allergy specialist which led to a series of appointments with a naturopath. Gotta love our health care system.
Fast forward several blood tests, 3 episodes of anaphylaxis, and a decade and a half and here I am, without a single concrete answer about what causes these hives. Learn more about those good times here. What I do have is a long list of is the food allergies that I’ve spent years eliminating.
About Cooking with Allergies
To say learning to cook and eat with food allergies is a struggle would be a massive understatement.
I started this blog (originally just an Instagram account) back in the winter of 2015 as a way to document my adventures in the kitchen with food photography. I had no idea how drastically different of a direction my food allergies would be shifting me in less than a year. Four years later, I’ve learned to appreciate my allergies and the many lessons they have taught me.
Today this blog is not only my passion, it’s a huge part of my business as a food photographer and private chef. My recipes continue to be inspired by my food allergies and Moroccan & Puerto Rican family. It’s important to me that kids and adults living with food allergies have resources where they can find delicious and safe recipes.
That’s why every recipe in this blog is free from one or more of the top 8 most common food allergens.
Featured On…
Salima’s Kitchen has been featured through the following brands:
Awards
In the Spring of 2019 I received this award for the Top 5 Moroccan Food Blogs. This award means so much to me because of my Moroccan heritage.
I made a conscious effort in March of 2019 to highlight Moroccan recipes and stories from my family. This was challenging because these recipes are so near and dear to my heart and therefore releasing them to the masses felt like a scary step.
Months later, some of the recipes from that month long highlight are still bringing in a great deal of traffic. More importantly, I’ve been able to connect with other Moroccan bloggers and foodies as a result.
It’s experimental projects like this that allow me to be creative and share stories about my heritage that makes what I do not a job, but a passion. Stay tuned for more featured projects surrounding my heritage!
A Word From My Clients
“The food she prepared was delicious and she shared all of her recipes with us. She was very prepared & serious about her cooking. We’d definitely hire again because we couldn’t get enough!”
~Stacey, Portland OR
“I own a winery and we do gorgeous events and dinners all around the world, most recently 20 years in the highly competitive chef talent pool of San Francisco and Napa. Being new to Portland, i came upon Salima on Yelp and she greatly surpassed my already high expectations. From my first interaction with her she was very professional and sent me a mouth watering menu that gorgeously matched the wines we were highlighting. The day of the event she went above and beyond to ensure the ambiance was perfect…. And then… The food. Wow… We literally had guests waiting by the oven as she took out round after round of gorgeous bites. Thank you Salima! Can’t wait to partner with you again soon.”
~Heather R, Portland, OR
“Salima is the best! The food was delicious. Great quality! It’s so easy to work w/ her! She definitely went above and beyond my expectation. She’ll definitely do exactly what and how you like things done. I’ll definitely be working with her again!”
~Rhoda, Tigard OR
Head over to Salima’s Kitchen on Instagram & Facebook to learn more about me and don’t forget to follow because that allows me to keep creating and updated recipes.
