Meet Soul in the Kitchen!
To begin with, could you tell us a little about yourself and how your passion for Mediterranean cuisine began?
I'm Claudia Polo, I'm a gastronome. I work in communication in gastronomy and I have a social media project called Soul in the Kitchen.
I studied gastronomy and culinary arts at the Basque Culinary Center. Since I finished I started working as a freelancer writing, giving cooking courses, doing training and starting to create Soul in the Kitchen as a brand.
My passion for cooking comes from a personal and family background. Understanding cooking as something that not only transforms food but also transforms, impacts and shapes our environment. The more you know about something, the more consistent you are with it.
What inspired you to create your Instagram profile @soulinthekitchen and what is the philosophy behind your recipes?
It was something unexpected and innocent. I had just started my degree so it was a way to upload what I was cooking and combine it with songs –music has always inspired me. I grew little by little but there was no pretence behind it.
The philosophy has evolved with me and has been built according to the values that I have developed in my life. Right now it is a consistent and conscious cuisine. A cuisine that understands food as something political, cultural, historical and heritage, but that also has enjoyment in mind.
What motivated you to write your book Entorno and what do you hope readers will get out of it? 
Entorno was born out of the need to put into words all the work of the last seven years and the philosophy I mentioned. I don't see cooking as a rigid space in which there are specific recipes to follow. In fact, all the cooking parts [of the book] are very narrative.
The Alhaja Cult Store jewels are inspired by the essence of the Mediterranean. Is there any recipe or ingredient that inspires you in the same way and that you feel has that special connection with the Alhaja jewels?
My cuisine is very aware of seasonality, the passing of the seasons and the place where we are. The wildness of nature, the roughness and the irregular shapes are what remind me of Alhaja jewellery. This is important because cooking is not perfect, food changes and transforms.
Both cooking and jewellery require a sense of style. How do you incorporate these elements into your cooking and the presentation of your dishes?
Design, art direction and aesthetics are very important things that accompany me in my everyday life. From the way I dress to the way I interact. This is also reflected in the dishes and the product itself makes it very easy. The colours and shapes of nature are already very beautiful and organic elements that inspire me.
We feel connected to your philosophy and your passion for local produce and ‘traditional food’. Is there a recipe that you learned from your grandparents that you consider a real family gem?
The truth is both my grandmothers hated cooking, I relate it more to my father but he was not very traditional. He was passionate about cooking, but he was a chef from the 2000s who experimented and had his sights set on other types of cuisine. I feel very identified with that honest look that respects the past but is located in the present.
If I had to choose one of those recipes that are jewels in the classic and popular recipe book, it would be escabeches. It is a technique that preserves raw materials and makes the most of everything to extend the life of food by giving it characteristics that it did not have before. I think this is becoming less and less common, but I am very much in favour of it when I cook.
You have a strong commitment to sustainability. What sustainable practices do you apply in your kitchen that you think could be inspiring for other sectors, such as jewellery?
Understanding processes as cycles rather than linear is useful for any kind of industry. Seeing products as potential raw materials rather than waste is important, whether in our industry or another. It is also necessary to move away from rigid structures and perfection.
