“I’m from a family where every member of my family knows how to cook the entire animal from head to tail. It’s so important not to waste when it comes to food. We’re from the mountains in Azerbaijan. It’s so beautiful there that you can hear the voice of the river as you sleep. Mostly we grew our own vegetables and had cows, sheep, chickens. It’s so different now, though—it’s become a ski resort and a place for tourists.
“I collect all my tea from Azerbaijan when I go home for four months in the summer. When I was a little girl, my mum would take us into the forest and mountains and she would show us which herbs to pick so we could forage ourselves for all of our teas. I now bring so much back with me from Azerbaijan. I don’t even know the name of some of the herbs I bring back with me. It’s so important to have the ingredients I know and love from my home.
