• Home
  • Notice (8): Undefined index: blogDetail [APP/View/Elements/header_menu.ctp, line 238]

Plate Nextdoor instructor spotlight | Olga Kharina

Plate Nextdoor instructor spotlight | Olga Kharina

10-Feb-2021
A love of all cuisines, born out of a long maternity leave that inspired time in the kitchen, has Olga Kharina teaching virtually and in-person with Plate Nextdoor.

It’s cold out when Olga Kharina mulls wine and starts preparing a Russian honey cake for a virtual class in late January.

But the warmth is in the cooking, she says.

The Plate Nextdoor instructor says food tastes better when it’s made with love, which may be why in a country full of honey cakes, Olga’s sister always requests she make hers when Olga visits her in Russia.

“Ever notice how food tastes different based on the household? … Food is always about the energy,” she says.

She recently hosted a sold-out virtual private event with the Museum of Russian Icons, hosted by Plate Nextdoor. The organization offers instruction for global cooking classes and empowers women instructors to share their cultural experiences and cooking talents virtually.

Olga will host a class geared toward kids Feb. 18-20 in Newton, Massachusetts. It’s meant for in-person participants and limited to 10 kids who will learn how to make dishes from a different country each day, including Italy, Japan and Mexico.

She holds passports for the U.S. and Russia, and hopes to get back to Russia to visit her family in March. It’s been a little over two years since she saw them, with plans last year derailed because of the pandemic.

Originally from Ukraine, her family moved to Russia and Olga moved to the U.S. about 12 years ago. She started cooking after the move, when she was a stay-at-home mom and wanted something for herself. Cooking and trying different recipes “made me feel something,” she says.

“I couldn’t get out from the house. … I had to create another world that was just mine for me to explore and learn something.”

Through it all, she leaned into recipes from home, like the honey cake, even though while living in Ukraine and Russia, she didn’t cook them with her mom.

Now her kids, ages 7 and almost 6, help in the kitchen. She says she likes to cook with them because it creates memories to cherish.

“They follow instructions really well,” she says.

Olga said she had coronavirus in the fall. It affected her taste and smell for about a month.

“It effected my cooking a lot,” she said. It forced her to cook differently, and occasionally her food was too salty, but her taste buds are back now.

Olga’s lineup for Plate Nextdoor often includes dishes from Russia, but also sushi, Mediterrean and others. She has hosted 16 private events in two years, and has been an instructor with Plate Nextdoor since March 2019, according to Plate Nextdoor CEO Supriya Shekar.

“I love people who like to eat,” Olga says.

She also enjoys traveling and taking cooking classes while abroad to bring back to teach.

“Coffee in Europe is amazing,” she says a little wistfully.

On her list for post-pandemic travel is Tulum, Mexico.

When Olga returned from a trip to Barcelona, she was inspired by a class she took on paella. It was one of the first classes she offered with Plate Nextdoor.

An introvert, Olga says it’s challenging to talk for two hours straight, particularly in a virtual class. But, she says, it’s the only way to share tips and the research and stories behind the dishes they are creating.

“I love the part where people can see that cooking can be fun and easy and delicious at the same time,” she says.

She is more comfortable now with a few more virtual classes under her belt.

“At first it’s something that I love to eat,” she says of the classes she offers. “I know that when I have a class, I will teach the techniques, but also talk about how much I love the dish.”

Some go-to shows and books on cooking for Olga include "Chef’s Table" and "Restaurant on Edge," both on Netflix, and the book “Science of Good Cooking.”

She also learned a lot from Tatyana’s Everyday Food website.

See what classes Olga is offering at platenextdoor.com or schedule a private event with her. Email info@platenextdoor for details.

[By Andi Petrini | Public Relations Manager for Plate Nextdoor. Posted Feb. 10, 2021]