Caryna Camerino of Camerino Bakery, Cakery and Café shares her life in food
Caryna Camerino shares her life in food, from her earliest memories to her favourite flavours and culinary inspirations.
Caryna Camerino is an inspiring bakery owner and entrepreneur whose journey from Canada to founding Blackrock’s Camerino Bakery, Cakery and Café is rich with food memories, personal insight, and passion for quality ingredients and community. She shares with us her life in food.
What are your earliest memories of food?
Growing up, my extended family gathered for a meal at least every week and food was always central. Anyone could be the cook. My Romanian grandfather might be barbecuing homemade mititei (which is a kind of beef meatball), my French grandmother could be flipping her crêpes (made with Grand Marnier!), my Italian grandfather might be warming up his lasagne (with homemade pasta sheets!), my Greek uncle might be roasting lamb (on a spit in the backyard!), my mother might be frying artichokes (my family was once in the Montreal Gazette because of those artichokes), my father might be experimenting with a recipe for café granita con panna. My aunt baked me a Cherry Chip birthday cake every year and that’s still the cake to beat. An appreciation of food is in my DNA.
How would you describe your relationship with food?
Food is an integral part of how I move through the world. I’m mindful of the ingredients I buy and where I shop. I make an effort to buy local and seasonal. I’m not the type of person who can cook or eat the same meal on repeat. I need variety for the sense of time passing. I’m also that person in the local park picking elderflowers for seasonal cordial (just today I rang the doorbell of a neighbour because I noticed that they weren’t picking the pears from their tree and could I please make pear and cinnamon jam with them?)!
What was the first meal you learned to cook?
It was probably macaroni and cheese, from a packet. It was super popular in Canada in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
How did working with food become your career?
In 2008 I started baking out of desperation to cope with the stress of a terrible job (making people redundant during the last recession). The worse the job got, the more I baked. Eventually the job got so bad and I had so much baking that I started a stall at a farmer’s market to sell the bakes over the weekend. That’s how I accidentally started a bakery.
What’s your go-to breakfast?
I usually start with a cup of tea at home, then walk over to Camerino Bakery Café for a cortado and yogurt with nutty granola to start me off. Then, the eating doesn’t stop until bed time.
If you’re impressing friends and family at a dinner party, what are you serving up?
I want the meal to feel like a banquet, with lots of options. Always served family-style. I tend to over do it with the quantity. Instead of curbing my tendency I’ve started offering takeaway boxes when folks are heading home. It would be a nightmare if anyone left hungry.
Who is your culinary inspiration?
I love Ina Garten, Claudia Roden and Julia Child the most. What they have in common is talent, a sense of adventure, grace and badass-ness while also coming across patient and kind. They are all teachers.
What would your last meal on earth be?
Suppli al telefono. It’s considered more of an appetiser than a meal, but I’d make it a meal!
What’s your go-to comfort food?
Chicken soup. It’s good for the body and the soul.
What’s the go-to quick meal you cook when you’re tired and hungry?
Eggs (scrambled, an omelette, tortilla, frittata… eggs in any form). If I’m very tired and hungry, anything anyone will cook for me tastes delicious.
What is one food or flavour you cannot stand?
I don’t like sweets snuck into my savoury foods. Save your sultanas for mince pies; please keep them out of my couscous.
Hangover cure?
Breakfast roll and sparkling water.
Sweet or savoury?
Sweet. Even if I’m completely stuffed from a meal, there is always room in the dessert stomach.
Fine dining or pub grub?
Pub grub all the way. I enjoy the experience of relaxed meals more than fancy meals.
Favourite restaurant in Ireland?
My favourite place to go out to eat is M&L. We even book in for Christmas dinner (it’s so popular that if you don’t reserve your spot by October you missed your chance).
Best coffee in Ireland?
Roasted Brown! Camerino has been partnering with them for years and they recently opened a gorgeous new roastery in Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow.
What are your thoughts on the Irish foodie scene?
I love how small the food scene is here, and yet it’s so diverse. I’d love to see that embrace of various cultures and flavours carry through more of the world outside our food scene.
What’s your favourite thing about cooking?
Cooking opens up the opportunity for sharing. It allows us to gather and enjoy a meal alongside folks who are like us and also not like us. We don’t need to talk about politics with a mouthful of freshly baked bread. We can enjoy a simple and wholesome experience together. You don’t even need words.
What does food — sitting down to a meal with friends, mindfully preparing a meal, nourishment, etc — mean to you?
My family sits down to dinner together every evening. We cook every night even though we’re busy. I think sharing a meal is the best way to come together.
Food for thought — What are some areas for improvement within the Irish food/restaurant/hospitality scene?
I don’t understand why coverage of the difficulties in the industry are presented separately. The shtick about ’the most expensive sandwich’ etc is always separate to the coverage of costs and closures. I find the click-bait news items ugly.
Chef’s kiss — Tell us about one standout foodie experience you’ve had recently.
I was at Sea Shanty and the owners talked us through a plate of Irish oysters, and eating them one by one was like travelling along the coast. It was delicious and educational, my favourite combination!
Compliments to the chef — Now’s your chance to sing the praises of a talented chef, beloved restaurant or particularly talented foodie family member.
I’m going to shout out my son Nico, who is five. He has been baking with me for his entire life. He started by laying beside me while I baked and was cracking eggs by the time he was two years old. Opinel makes a junior chef’s knife and he’s been chopping up vegetables since he was four. This kid learned how to read by following recipes. His first solid food was kohlrabi. He’s hands down the foodiest person I know.
Secret ingredient — What, in your estimation, makes the perfect dining experience?
When you can feel the hospitality. You feel welcomed, valued and taken care of. It’s in the details of the space, the greeting, the selection of ingredients and the flavours. It’s in the menu design, the prices, the feel of the cutlery and the sound of the cup as it finds its place on the saucer. If you’ve been given everything you need, and you can sit back and let your guard down and enjoy the meal, it’s bliss.
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