About East West Flavors & the Cook

Hi and welcome to East West Flavors!

My name is Dea and I come from the beautiful city of Copenhagen, capital of the kingdom of Denmark, a country of more than 400 islands. But rest assured, my cooking worldview is in no way limited to all things herring. Together with my Canadian husband I have traveled extensively and lived in many different countries.

Way back when, I started out with a Master’s Degree in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies but then life happened and it turned out there was more to life than books. My degree ended up being the beginning of an adventure which has taken me far beyond the Middle East; through Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and beyond. For almost 15 years we lived and I cooked in various countries in South East Asia adding a whole new set of tools to my cooking toolbox. Currently we have settled in Portugal where I am happily adding yet another tasty culinary layer.

Full disclaimer: Although I have not been formally trained in nutrition I have spent many years educating myself and digging deep into how what we eat affects how we feel.

Apart from the obvious early influence of my grandmother, mother, and father, who all loved to put a great tasting meal together for family and friends, I am completely self-taught. But I am one of those who live to eat so the journey has not exactly been a hardship…

If you have already had a look through the various recipes you may have noticed a strong emphasis on plant foods. This is not because I am vegan, or even vegetarian for that matter – I love my seafood and variety in general too much, but vegetables have always occupied a very dear place in my heart.

And then of course there is my husband, who for health reasons has chosen to follow a mainly plant based diet. When he chose to follow this path several years ago I, as the cook of the family, had to up the ante on strictly plant based dishes. Because of this and because of my genuine love of all things veggie the recipes you’ll see here put plants center stage.

My great curiosity of and fascination for foreign cultures, languages and traditions, coupled with a genuine love of foods and cooking is amply reflected in my style of cooking and choice of ingredients. My dishes generally reflect the marriage between Eastern & Western, Northern & Southern tastes and as such tap into the great world of Fusion Foods – all done with a conscious approach to healthy, back-to-basics living, something which serves as the backbone of my culinary approach.

All dishes are made from scratch using seasonal and locally sourced ingredients where possible and using as few ready-made or pre-packaged foods as possible. This back-to-basics way of working with fresh ingredients results in naturally fulfilling and highly nutritious dishes perfectly suited to a healthy and active lifestyle.