ABOUT ME

My journey with food began with a clear realization that the only way of living that has sense and meaning to me is to do something that I totally love with all my heart. The answer was very simple to me – cooking. Since that day I had a very firm decision to drop the job that I didn’t like and start cooking for living.  I didn’t know how to yet, but I wanted to reach an audience much bigger than just friends and family. Long story short, that took me to having a business that is now six years old and is known as Two Tablespoons. It took different shapes throughout the years and now exists in the form of two vegetarian/vegan cafes located in New York City. It was build with hard work and dedication of my business partner and mine. We had one mission in mind  - serving wholesome, healthy, clean vegetarian and vegan food to public. It is an exciting ongoing journey with its ups and downs, challenges and rewards.
 
As the business started growing, I started to be less engaged with the cooking part, and getting more engaged with running the business. This is when I decided, that I need to find a new way of realizing my creative power through food. Immediately life gave a chance. I started to get invitations to cook at various retreats.
 
Cooking for retreats brings me a lot of joy, because aside from cooking I also get to experience people. To see how much joy and pleasure the food brings them, how they share their smiles and conversations over food. That is the part that is as important for me as the cooking process. 
 
I didn’t get any formal education or training in culinary arts or nutrition. That never stopped me. Having spent many years in colleges and universities, I became a believer that often the real authentic knowledge doesn’t come from a certificate. What is more important is the love that one has in the heart, connection to intuition and winner wisdom, believing in one’s powers and of course constant practice and experiments. 
 
I also believe that eating healthy should not become a dogma or a believe system. It is a path of self-inquiry that is individual to each one of us. What may suit for one man’s diet may bring harm to the other. I always keep my mind flexible in the definition of healthy.
 
I have travelled around the world and collected a lot of ideas and inspiration from colorful ethnic cuisines, which I bring to my cooking. I am very keen on making food that is not only beneficial for the body, but exciting for the senses as well. Food is a multidimensional expression for me, and a multidimensional experience for those who enjoy it. Food is about togetherness, joy, celebration, vitality and life

SERVICES

I offer chef services for retreats of different modalities: yoga, sacred medicine, music, therapy, art etc. 
​
Food that I offer is wholesome and plant based. Most of the time I use a combination of vegetables,
legumes, grains, proteins and healthy fats. I can cook totally vegan or use dairy and eggs.
I am also opened to incorporate fish and poultry if necessary.
 
I can adjust the menu to the needs of the retreat and create a custom menu,
considering dietary restrictions and number of participants.
 
I have travelled around the world and collected a lot of ideas and inspiration from colorful ethnic cuisines,
which I bring to my cooking. I am very keen on making food that is not only beneficial for the body,
but exciting for the senses as well. Food is a multidimensional expression for me,
and a multidimensional experience for those who enjoy it.
​Food is about togetherness, joy, celebration, vitality and life!​

I also offer altar creation as a way of honoring the Mother Earth and her gifts to us. I can create an altar on my own, so it can be used as a place to hold a sharing circle or meditation practice. I can also facilitate altar creation for the participants of the retreat. It is a beautiful meditative creative practice, which is especially loved by women. It is an opportunity for self-expression, connection to the elements and prayer.
Altars are made using natural grains, beans and other materials.

SAMPLE MENU

Breakfast

​Mango Chia Seed Pudding
Cabbage, Fennel, Apple, Kale and Tahini Salad
Coconut Oatmeal with Fruit, Berries and Nuts
Mediterranean Shakhuka Omelet
Bell Pepper and Kale Tofu Scramble
Breakfast Potato
Fruit Salad
Bread, Jams, Nut Butters

Lunch

​Arugula, Cucumber, Radish and Tahini Salad
Warm Cauliflower, Lentil and Grape Salad
Herbed Quinoa Pilaf
Roasted Smoked Tofu
Zucchini, Corn and Thyme Sauté
Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Tortilla

GALLERY

"The hut was seen as a big head, the door was called a mouth, and the grinding stone its teeth. The people lived inside, eating food grown and brought by men, cooked in water brought by women, over firewood brought my men, ground on stone by the women, to feed everybody. The compounds were called nests, the bringers and preparers of food the Parent Birds, and the little kids nestlings. Eating together at the end of the day was the main goal of one's existence: that all one's people should have returned healthily from danger and difficulty, to be all together in their nest where there was enough food to eat, enough wood to cook it with, and happy to eat without warfare between us as relatives and friends. This was what we all wanted: food and togetherness."
Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, Martin Pechtel

CONTACT ME TO GET A QUOTE, MAKE A BOOKING
​OR ASK A QUESTION

nourishmentbykatya@gmail.com

To learn about my restaurant Two Tablespoons, please visit
www.twotbsp.com