Food stylist, recipe developer & photographer. Loves travelling, food, and good coffee.
Hi, I’m Irina — welcome to my kitchen
If you’ve ever opened the fridge at 5:47pm, stared into it for a full minute, and wondered how you’re supposed to feed everyone in the next twenty without ordering takeaway again — you’re in the right place.
I’m Irina. I live in the West Midlands with my husband and our two teenagers — who, between them, can empty a fridge faster than I can fill it. This little corner of the internet is where I share the recipes that actually get made in my house: quick weeknight dinners, freezer meals that save me on chaotic days, and meal prep ideas that mean Future Me isn’t panicking at dinnertime.
What you’ll find here
Real food for real families. Most of what I share lands in one of these buckets:
- Quick weeknight meals — on the table in around 60 minutes, because that’s when most of us need them
- Make-ahead and freezer-friendly — because Sunday-you is kinder than Wednesday-you
- Teen-approved portions — if you’re feeding bottomless appetites, I’ve got you
- Easy meal prep — batch-cook once, eat well all week
- The occasional weekend project — a slow braise, a proper bake, the kind of recipe you make when you’ve actually got the afternoon
Most weeks it’s the quick stuff. Some weekends, I want to take my time. The blog reflects both, because real-life cooking is a mix of the two.
A bit about me
I’m a home cook and baker, not a chef. Everything here, I’ve made dozens of times in a normal kitchen with a normal oven and two teenagers asking when dinner is.
My inspiration comes from everywhere. My roots are Russian and Eastern European, but I love food from all over — Asian, Mediterranean, North African, and good old British comfort food. If it’s quick, tasty, and gets eaten, it ends up on the blog.
I love photography (you’ll see), travelling — usually with a notebook for recipe ideas — and the kind of cooking that brings people to the table without keeping you stuck at the stove.
The name
The Coffee Break, because the best ideas — and the best conversations — happen over a good coffee. Pull up a chair.
Let’s stay in touch
The easiest way to keep up is to subscribe to the newsletter — new recipes and meal-prep ideas straight to your inbox, no spam, just the good stuff. You can also find me on Pinterest (where I save and share everything), Instagram, and Twitter.
Got a question, a recipe request, or just want to say hi? Head to my contact page — I read every message.
Now — what’s for dinner?
