A shaman was asked, what is poison? He replied “Anything beyond what we need is poison. It can be power, laziness, food, ego, ambition, vanity, fear, anger, or whatever.”

I had an experience with a shaman in the Amazonas, and he gave me this blend of plants to drink, then did a ritual. When he did that I was skeptical on what my thoughts would be through the process, that it will determine how I exit the ritual and how I’ll view life from then on. It’s been a journey, but I do feel connected to nature still, whether it is because of the Shaman or childhood scouting, or simply because we are starting to realize the importance of nature as a collective, I feel lucky I got to chill with the peaceful man in this vast space of oxygen supply and thousands of bird sounds.

Personally, I have to say that spaghetti made of the heart of a palm tree with squeezed camu camu as a dressing, finished with Masato in the middle of the Jungle is so delicious and educational. It made me understand the reason Czechs say salt is worth more than gold, why Morrocans love their spices, and why I’m thankful to have experienced the breaking of the Ramadan fast with dates, Harira soup, and chicken lemon tagine I learned – because the Italians made me gain a lot of weight a few years later, and I had to find a way back to my spiritual self, this time drinking spiced tea as a JUBU in Nepaul. My favorite will always be my grandmothers’ cooking, but overall, learning cuisines from different cultures has been quite an adventure, and I decided to rediscover my love of cooking.

I am moving towards a pescatarian diet with minimal use of dairy, but when I visit home in Czechia, I don’t hold back. Czech cuisine is one of my favorites. That is because much of the home cooking I eat there is from farms where I have seen the animals living an abundant life with their families.

The boat market in Thailand was an incredible experience, but one of my best and most unexpected lunch with beer experiences was while I was alone in Paris. I loved the delicious spiced teas in Nepal, and Indian and Kenyan are some of my favorite dishes, but I still invite Peruvian friends over for Pisco!! I would definitely keep planting the trees, for none of this would be possible without them!

I’ll start posting some recipes soon!

An important piece about sustainable agriculture.
How to use food waste for good.