Hi and welcome to Ava’s Cooking
I'm Ava, a 27 year old chef from Marseille, France, and I'm so glad you found your way here.
The Kitchen That Shaped Me
I grew up in a small apartment in the heart of Marseille, where the smell of the Mediterranean drifted through open windows and mixed with whatever my mother was cooking. Our kitchen was tiny, barely room for two people, but it was the center of our world. Every evening, my family would squeeze around our modest table, and for those moments, nothing else mattered.
I was twelve when I first cooked alone. My parents had gone out for the evening, leaving me with a few euros and instructions to "find something to eat." Instead of ordering pizza like they probably expected, I decided to make an omelette. Just eggs, butter, salt, and herbs from the windowsill.
I remember standing at the stove, nervous, watching the eggs shimmer in the pan. When I folded it over and slid it onto a plate, something shifted inside me. That simple omelette, imperfect, slightly browned on one side, somehow carried the warmth of every meal my mother had made, every dinner we'd shared as a family. In that moment, I understood: food isn't just sustenance. It's memory. It's connection. It's love made tangible.
That realization never left me.
Finding My Path
After finishing secondary school, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. While my friends were choosing university programs in business or medicine, I enrolled at the École de Cuisine de Provence in Aix-en-Provence. My father worried it wasn't a "serious" career. My mother just smiled and said, "Follow what makes your heart sing."
Culinary school was rigorous and humbling. I learned classical French techniques from instructors who'd worked in Michelin-starred restaurants. I practiced knife skills until my hands ached. I made béchamel sauce so many times I could do it in my sleep. But the most valuable lesson I learned wasn't about technique, it was about intention.
One of my instructors, Chef Bernard, used to say: "Anyone can follow a recipe. A real cook understands why each step matters, what each ingredient brings, how everything connects." That philosophy transformed how I approached cooking. I stopped just executing steps and started truly understanding food.
During my training, I spent time working in various kitchens around Provence, a small bistro in Avignon, a family-run restaurant in Cassis, a modern fusion place in Marseille. Each experience taught me something different about how food connects to culture, to place, to the people who make it and eat it.
The Moment Everything Changed
After graduating in 2019, I worked as a sous chef at a contemporary Mediterranean restaurant in Marseille. The food was beautiful, inventive, technically impressive. But something felt missing. We were creating art on plates, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we'd lost something essential, the soul, the comfort, the emotional connection that had drawn me to cooking in the first place.
The turning point came during the pandemic lockdowns in 2020. Like everyone else, I was stuck at home, cut off from the restaurant world. But instead of feeling lost, I rediscovered why I'd fallen in love with cooking. I started making simple, comforting meals in my own small kitchen, the kind of food that made me feel grounded during uncertain times.
I began sharing these recipes with friends through messages and video calls. The response surprised me. People weren't asking for elaborate restaurant techniques or Instagram-worthy presentations. They wanted honest, approachable food that made them feel good. They wanted connection in a time of isolation.
That's when I realized what I was meant to do.
Creating Ava's Cooking
I launched Ava's Cooking as a way to share the kind of cooking I truly believed in, food that nourishes both body and soul, recipes that don't require a culinary degree or a pantry full of exotic ingredients, meals that bring comfort and joy without unnecessary complexity.
I named it simply "Ava's Cooking" because that's exactly what it is: my cooking, my perspective, my love letter to food that feels like home. Not a brand trying to be something it's not, just an invitation into my kitchen and my approach to food.
My Cooking Philosophy
I believe that cooking should be accessible, not intimidating. You don't need fancy equipment or hard-to-find ingredients to make something truly delicious. You just need quality basics, clear guidance, and an understanding of why you're doing what you're doing.
I believe that the best meals balance tradition with creativity. I respect classical techniques and regional recipes, but I'm not afraid to adapt them for modern life and contemporary tastes.
I believe that food is inherently emotional. Every dish carries a story, a memory, a feeling. When I develop a recipe, I'm not just thinking about flavor and texture, I'm thinking about the experience it creates, the moment it captures, the connection it fosters.
I believe that simple food, done well, is often more satisfying than elaborate presentations. There's profound beauty in a perfectly roasted chicken, a well made soup, a rustic vegetable tart. These are the meals that sustain us, comfort us, bring us together.
Beyond the Blog
When I'm not cooking or developing recipes, you'll find me wandering through the markets of Marseille (the fish market at Vieux-Port is my favorite), reading cookbooks in cafés (I'm slightly obsessed with collecting them), or hiking the calanques along the coast.
I still work part-time at a small cooking school in Marseille, teaching beginner classes. There's something deeply satisfying about watching someone's face light up when they master a technique or taste something they've made themselves. It reminds me why I do this.
I'm also passionate about sustainable cooking and reducing food waste. Growing up in a household where nothing was wasted has influenced how I approach recipes, I try to use whole ingredients, suggest ways to repurpose leftovers, and encourage mindful shopping.
Let's Cook Together
Whether you're an experienced cook looking for fresh inspiration or someone just beginning to explore the kitchen, I'm here to guide you. Cooking doesn't have to be perfect to be meaningful. Some of my best meals have come from mistakes, experiments, and happy accidents.
Follow me on Pinterest and thank you for being here, for trusting me with your time and your appetite. I hope my recipes inspire you to cook with more confidence, more curiosity, and more heart.
Because at the end of the day, food isn't just something we make, it's something we feel, something we share, something that connects us to each other and to ourselves.
Welcome to my kitchen. Welcome to Ava's Cooking.
With love from Marseille,
Ava