About

A food blog with delicious recipes and a dash of havocinthekitchen!

Hi – I am Ben!

Hi there,

Thank you very much for stopping by my food blog with delicious recipes and a dash of havocnthekitchen!

I am Ben – a home cook, recipe developer, food photographer, and blogger. I have never had any formal training in either cooking or photography, but I’m doing my best!

I was born and most of my life lived in the northern part of Russia (The Republic of Karelia.) However, my husband Andrew and I have been living in Canada since 2012, and we are really happy with our choice We used to live in Ontario for a number of years, but in 2018 we chose Nova Scotia, a beautiful Atlantic province. 

In 2020, we got a dog (Dar) and cat (Daisy). While I haven’t shared many Dar’s photos yet, beautiful Daisy often gets a chance to be featured. Let’s be honest – if you see a recipe with prosciutto, scallops, shrimp, chicken, and few other things, there chances that Daisy joined the photo session are high! lol

Why Havoc In The Kitchen?

Honestly, I wanted a different name – Chaos in the Kitchen, but sadly it was already in use. 

Certainly, I’ve been quite ironic about the name. But there’s a grain of truth in every joke, you know that! When I am taking pictures and looking for the perfect props, that could be a messy situation. Also, I often try making and photograph 2 or 3 recipes at once (I think my record was making and shooting 5 Christmas recipes in one day! But I am too old for this these days lol), and those days kitchen might look disastrous, I must admit that, too. 

What’s my cooking style? 

The majority of recipes are savoury foods including salads and appetizers, pasta, soup, and savoury baking. I love the combination of sweet and savoury (salty) in my salads, bruschetta, and flatbreads. I proudly believe you can find some delicious and unique salad ideas on my blog!

There are many sweet baking and desserts as well, but my major interest, as of today, savoury food.

I must admit my cooking style is easy-going and not too meticulous. There are certainly some recipes, particularly relating to baking, that require some precise measurements and techniques, but when it comes to, let’s say a salad or soup, there’s a lot of eyeballing and intuition. You know, a handful of this, a pinch of that – but everything is adjustable to you liking! lol

I hope you will enjoy browsing this blog.

For questions and inquiries, please check the contact information. You can also find me on Instagram !

Cheers,

Ben Maclain

March 2021