Oi,

So happy you're here! I'm Jaíne, and consider this your invitation to join me in my kitchen. Here, we firmly believe that with enough butter, anything is better and that a party without cake is, indeed, just a meeting.

Seven years ago, I moved to Boston from the Brazilian Amazon (hope you don't mind my accent) driven by the dream of mastering the art of cooking like my childhood idol Julia Child.

I was convinced I would achieve this through the Gastronomy program at Boston University, but sometimes plans don't go accordingly and that ended never happening — too little English & too many immigrant struggles.

But wait until you see that life can be magic, mon amie. It really can be! Some years ago, armed with my beginner English and the courage of my convictions, I wrote for the special Julia issue of Cherry Bombe Magazine, and such was the success of my article, that I was invited to be on The Julia Child Challenge. Magic strikes again, and I win it!

I lived in Paris for three months, where I had the incredible opportunity to train as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu, just like Julia did—a truly remarkable experience that felt like not only winning my prize for the competition but also winning the lottery.

I am also (beyond) excited to share that I'm in the process of writing my first cookbook (more on that soon), developing a cooking show in Brazil, and so many other food adventures I get myself into.

Didn't I tell you life can be magic? And delicious!

I now live in sunny Southern California, with my lovely husband Doug, my immense collection of cherished cookbooks, and the privilege of cooking with the most extraordinary ingredients. I make omelettes every morning and bake cakes more often than I should, which to me sounds, again, like pure luck.

This newsletter serves then as an extension of my kitchen, and I sincerely hope you'll feel as at home here as you would in my actual one—you're my esteemed guest. So, please ask anything, comment, and critique the sauce if it tastes terrible. Here, I'm just a home cook (and your friend) with the purpose of sharing one or two tricks I might know.

As our beloved Julia once said,

"The measurement of achievement is not winning awards. It's doing something that you appreciate, something you believe is worthwhile."

With that wisdom in mind, together we'll cook up a storm, an Amazon rainforest-style one.

You can read more about my story here. If you like podcasts (I do!), you can listen to some giggle-filled episodes here & here.

Oh! You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every new edition of Dinner at Jaíne's goes directly to your inbox.

Cheers,