Victoria Gladchenko and Anna Bakhonko

Victoria: I was born in May 1987 in my beloved Odessa.
Since childhood food has been meant a lot for me. My dad was an excellent cook, and my mother always liked to “invent” something delicious, and surprise us. I have never had any problems like «fried onions», «fish», «greens», and so on, which are usually children have. I ate everything that was cooked deliciously. The food was not just a meal in our family. It was with sense; it was varied and beautiful.

Anna: I was born in winter, January 1, 1988, here, in Odessa.
I spent my childhood in a beautiful house with a large shady garden. My grandmother always had the goal «To feed Anna the best and healthy everything,» and I carefully hid meatballs from my soup, hoping not been exposed. I loved my mom’s adventures in cooking much more: rose-shape cookies with rose jam topping; three-layer ice cream cake, decorated with mulberries, we have gathered together, coming back from the beach; crunchy mini-toasts with colored herring butter. My mother always had unusual game approach to cooking and eating.

Victoria: How did I come to my patisserie? It’s all about the desire to give people a holiday, which never leaves me since childhood. Holiday is a house full of guests and beautifully decorated table with dishes that have always been admired by your friends and relatives. Then I began to learn and develop my taste. I realized that in order to be beloved by Food, you do not need a special education. You need to love food, understand and feel it. We had an affair, although I realized it not so soon, but after I had got 2 higher educations in absolutely different areas, and had worked for several years in the completely uninteresting industry. While I was working, I started my own food blog, and adventures in cooking. Internet, books became my teachers.
At the same time I met Anna, who had a passion for design and decor, and who became my soulmate. Together we decided to run an event and catering business. My husband helped us a lot.

Anna: My journey to the «kitchen» started from school years. Once we had a drawing challenge at school, and my mom suggested to make a picture from dough. We roll the pastry sheet and made the whole story from colored figures, a lake and reeds, cloudy sky, ducks, and a rosebush. All that we had baked. Off course, our picture was the most interesting, and even though we told all my classmates that dough was salty, and not so delicious to eat, big part of the picture had disappeared very quickly.
That’s how I’ve got my passion for crafts and decor.

Some time later, I realized that the food should be not just beautiful, but also delicious.
When I’ve met Victoria in my life, I found a friend, a companion, and a culinary teacher we realized that we can have a great time not only walking, but also working together. We perfectly complement each other doing this. Victoria cooked gourmet and stunning appetizers, and I though on presentation, how to decorate and complete all details together.

Victoria: A few years later we decided to give up on everything that we was doing before, and try to open the patisserie, which we would like to visit ourselves, and as often as possible. We were afraid because we did not have any experience, just a strong desire and aspiration. We came there and cooked at night, and sold our sweets in the daytime.

Anna: We have been helping, teaching, and inspiring each other to more and more new adventures in cooking for 4 years now.

Victoria: Everything we do we do because we like it madly. When the final result finds an echo in hearts of our guests – it is a real success. That’s how we’re living.

Anna: Walks in rainy days, work on something new, inspiring shopping in the local market. Husband laughs on the way I choose and buy products according to their photogenic. Everything goes first to Instagram, and only after — on the table. And, of course, as a decorator, I love flea markets. To find something strange and old, and to use it in my work (in life) — it’s my passion!

Victoria: Work, friends, my husband Oleg, and French bulldog Auguste — this is my life and hobbies at the same time. It’s cool when you don’t need to wait for the end of the working day to do what you love. I love long walks, reading and blogging my personal Instagram profile.

As for my food preferences, I love Mediterranean cuisine. For my opinion, it includes the cuisines of many countries, all varied, all the best, fresh, and seasonal. I cook sweets at work, and prefer meat or fish with lots of greens at home. I like to combine a few textures and as much as possible flavors in one dish. And I really like a sweet note in savory dishes.

Anna: «Mediterranean cuisine» was my first cookbook, with its help I started to cook. And it might have formed the basis for my taste preferences. Although, it’s always difficult for me to pick up just one thing, and make a choice. I love light and healthy salads, and juicy burgers, and my grandmother’s bruschettas with anchovies.

Anna: What do I want to wish readers? Learn to enjoy simple things, and pay attention to details, cause everything is composed of them. And let yourself to be a kid again sometimes.

Victoria: It’s very simple — love what you’re doing, listen to the voice of your soul, and don’t waste time on vain things, whether uninteresting work, bright covers without sence, and, above all, public opinion.
Love! Life is so short!