Kumairi is more than a name. It is the old name of Gyumri, the Armenian city where my roots lie. A place that, for me, is connected to home, hospitality and the flavours I grew up with.

When I started Kumairi Taste of Home, I did not simply want to make Armenian dishes. I wanted to bring something of that world to the Netherlands: the warmth of a table where food brings people together, recipes and flavours passed down from generation to generation, and the care with which food is prepared for guests.

At the same time, I did not want to merely copy that tradition. At Kumairi, familiar Armenian flavours take on a contemporary form. I work with attention to taste, detail and presentation, so that something with deep roots can also feel surprising and refined.

That is how Taste of Home came about. Not because home is the same place for everyone, but because food has the remarkable ability to evoke a feeling of home — through a scent, a flavour or a table you share with others.

Today, from Amsterdam, I continue to build Kumairi as a personal catering concept for special private and corporate occasions. With Armenian roots, a modern presentation and one thought that has stayed the same from the very beginning: