Featured Food Blog: Merci Mama

Name: Jules
Blog: Merci Mama
Twitter: @merci_mama
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Describe your culinary style.
My culinary style is a culmination of several things. Firstly my background being half Japanese and half European has exposed me to so many different types of foods growing up. Also my travels around the world strongly influence my cooking as I collect ideas when eating in various countries. But what underpins all of my cooking is using seasonal ingredients and not cooking overly fussy food to ensure that the ingredients truly shine.

For someone new to your blog, which recipe do you recommend they try first?
Again soooo hard to narrow it down but firstly I would have to say my Arabian Pancakes with Figs and Orange Flower Syrup. I love figs and this dish which you can serve either for breakfast or dessert includes my beloved figs and middle eastern flavours which I adore – it’s super super delicious.

I would also suggest my Shakshuka/Eggs in Purgatory because I eat this dish a lot, again it’s a great breakfast dish but to be honest I eat it for dinner all the time because its sooo easy and quick to cook and the flavours are out of control and can be so easily adapted depending on what you have in your kitchen.

What is the main source of inspiration for your recipes?
Similar to my previous question, definitely my travels have a big influence. Last year I took a year off work to travel and virtually all my destinations were dictated by my stomach and when eating in all the countries I visited I was constantly taking notes of interesting flavour combinations, talking to locals about what they eat and opening my eyes and stomach to new and interesting flavours and ingredients. I also inhale cookbooks and food magazines; they’re my bedtime reading, they are what I read to relax and they are huge inspiration to what I cook.

If you could have one food while stranded on a desert island, what would it be? 
Aaaahhh!!! This is a super difficult question for me to answer as I am a creature of variety. It would either have to be figs at their very ripest when they’re almost bursting wrapped in prosciutto or Jamon Iberico (does that count as one?) or eggs because you can do so much with them and I eat a lot of them which you can see from my blog there are quite a few egg recipes!

What is your ultimate guilty food pleasure? 
I would probably have to say donuts. To me they’re the naughtiest food in the world but I love them so. Every time I have one, I can truly say I experience guilt and pleasure at the very same time!

Define Yummly.
When I think of yummly it is that moment when you first bite into something so truly delicious that it makes you have a physical reaction. As a website, Yummly is a one-stop-shop-food-heaven-hub. Need I say more? :)

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