Welcome to All My Kitchens
My name’s Devora, but family and childhood friends call me Divalee. I’ve recently been returning to it.
As far back as I can remember, books and food have been a focus of my curiosity and identity. Although I’ve enjoyed lightly messing around with writing and experimenting in the kitchen, I didn’t consider having a focused place for these interests until I started to feel a lack of creative output.
I was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Beijing, and attended high school in Tzfat. I then lived in Milan and Cape Town, before moving to Brooklyn, where I’ve lived for the past 7ish years. The cultures, people and experiences I’ve encountered have all contributed to who I am and how I see the world. When I think back on my time in each place, my mind wanders to the kitchens I inhabited. Each represent a significant part of who and where I was at any given time.
I recently got married and moved again. When we were looking at apartments, it was important to me that we find a place with lots of light and a kitchen I could envision myself cooking in. Being here now and beginning to cook as we unpack and settle, I continue to recognize how much value cooking holds for me. It’s a way to experiment, share, and soothe.
Initially, I wanted to call this Substack Melting Pot, because of all the countries I’ve lived in and how they’ve contributed to the person I am and the food I cook. Upon reflection, I realized that more so than the countries themselves, the kitchens I encountered impacted my experiences both within each place and beyond.
As someone who has famously spread herself too thin, there’s a part of me that feels intimidated by the thought of starting this and maintaining it. However, over the past few years, I’ve worked on leaning into the joy of creative output without a focus on outcome, and giving myself permission to be imperfect. Truthfully, I also love a challenge, and I want the opportunity to focus on writing that isn’t for graduate school or that disappears in 24 hours from the Internet.
I plan to share my recipes, how I came up with them, as well as reading suggestions and anything else I find intriguing and exciting. All my kitchens have been places of creativity and security and I hope this space can be that too.
Subscribe if you feel so inclined! I’d love to have you around.