About

Hello and welcome to Salima’s Kitchen!

Because these cuisines are new to many home cooks, I like to share tips and tricks to help you feel comfortable making dishes for the very first time. 

As a food photographer and writer, I’m super passionate about capturing the elements of food that we all know and love.

Sometimes this means taking a torch to my pizza to capture that bubbly brown melted cheese, piping homemade frosting until the peaks are just right, or showering quesitos in powdered sugar until the entire kitchen appears covered in snow. 

As consumers, we are constantly being bombarded with food media, so my mission is to highlight food in a unique and authentic way.

Culture

My dad was born and raised in Marrakech, Morocco and my mom born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was in France where they were both studying where they met and fell in love.

They moved to the states and eventually ended up in Olympia, Washington, where I was born.

I was very lucky to spend many summers in Morocco with my grandma (pictured below) and aunts. Although I don't have as much family in Puerto Rico, we were able to visit occasionally, and those trips were always so incredibly special.

My father and I were always close, and he was a major driving force in helping me document family recipes. While he passed away in the Winter of 2020, I continue to remember him every day through many of the recipes I share here.

As an adult, I am working on building my own personal connection to both cultures. I practice Spanish daily, and communicate with my Moroccan family in my broken (but functioning) French.

Being able to share and preserve family recipes like my dad's Bisarra, my mom's flan or these empanadillas is a creative outlet that feeds me just as much a it does you.

My Food Blogging Background 

If you’ve been following the blog for a few years you know that Salima’s Kitchen originally started as a place to share my family recipes when I wasn’t busy teaching second grade. The original life plan was to go to college, graduate, and teach elementary school.

Looking back, it’s funny how much has changed.

Growing up in a multicultural family, food was always a central part of our home. When I started 7th grade, my mom sat me down and told me I was now responsible for cooking dinner once a week.

What was intended to be a chore quickly became one of my favorite activities. 

Culinary Experience

I spent a few years working as an opening chef for a small ghee production in Portland, Oregon and then started Salima's Kitchen as a private chef service. While in Portland, I made appearances sharing recipes from my food blog on ABC's KATU Afternoon Live. 

Working in different kitchens around Portland taught me about presentation, cooking in a professional setting, and designing custom recipes.

During this chapter I spent years testing, writing and shooting recipes, and sharing them through this blog. I got into photography to market my business as a private chef and fell in love with the process.

My love of food and photography continued to grow as the years went on. Eventually I decided to focus on growing Salima's Kitchen as a food blog and primarily online business.

Since then, I've been privileged to work with many amazing clients who grow their businesses and online presence using my photography and recipes. 

The last 5 years have been so rewarding and I am thankful to every single person that has believed in my food, made a recipe, or left a review.

Where to Start

Start by checking out the recipe index. There you'll find links to all of the different recipe categories and dietary preferences.

The recipes on this site are designed to inspire your culinary curiosity.

I encourage readers to use what you have on hand. Modify directions as you see fit and explore the ingredients in season locally where you live.

If you don't have time to make every ingredient from scratch (like these preserved lemons or sofrito), don't be afraid to save yourself some time. When possible, grab a jar at the store.

Cooking Moroccan and Puerto Rican recipes is a craft I have been developing my entire life, so no pressuring yourself to get it perfect the first time.

What Is A Food Photographer?

When I'm not working on recipes for Salima's Kitchen, I'm super lucky to get to work with brands who love food as much as I do.

As a food photographer, my job is to create and capture food for restaurants, cookbooks, websites and brands. 

You’ve likely been exposed to many different forms of food photography such as:

• Restaurant menus (both physical and digital) 
• Online food & grocery delivery apps
• Commercials for restaurants & food brands 

Food photography is an effective marketing tool as it helps to tell a story about a product, business or individual. The way a particular food or product is photographed determines how we feel about that item, creating a lasting impression. 

I think it’s easy to say that most of us feel more excited ordering off a menu where we can actually see the food. There’s something about food photography that triggers our emotions, making it a very effective tool. 

Credentials & Brand Partnerships

• 3+ years of work as a Private Chef providing custom dining experiences to clients in the Portland metro area
• Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Education, Pacific Lutheran University
• 5+ years of commercial photography experience
• Local and national brand campaigns with companies like Cosmic Bliss, Skittles, Albertsons, S. Pellegrino, Bush's Beans, and more
• Recipe Development & Partnerships with: Sur La Table, S. Pellegrino, New Seasons Market, Mutti, Annie’s, The FeedFeed, Jimmy Dean and more

Services

cheers,

Salima