Hi, I'm Peter Kolesnichenko, and my last name is so long, it doesn't easily fit in my own website sidebar! 😂 I live in sunny Perth, Western Australia in one of the world's most isolated cities. Living the sunniest capital city in Australia, we enjoy incredible beaches, and have a thriving food and wine industry.
I love to eat (a lot) and naturally my love of cooking comes as part of the deal. I really like authentic food, especially the Russian foods that we grew up eating. I have a beautiful God-given wife and 2 cool boys (young men) who are growing up faster than I'd like. I want to pass down our food traditions that we enjoy to my children and the next generation.
Why did I start a blog?
I am the last person who should have started a blog, because I am not internet savvy at all! I love food and cooking, and started training to cook in a commercial kitchen in high school. The website journey all began after a spinal injury which had me off work for an entire year. The goal was to write down all my recipes of the foods we eat and how we make them. When I got stuck or forgot how to make something, I called my mom for help, and she reminded me. She is the one who taught me all the Russian recipes, and is an amazing cook. Instead of a written recipe book,(which will happen one day) this turned into having a Russian food blog. The recipes I make aren't only Russian, but include many of my favorite American foods and multicultural recipes from around the world. These are all foods and recipes that we eat at home.
Who Am I?
I was born and raised in British Columbia Canada, part of a small Russian community. My grandparents fled the USSR via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan into China, where my parents were born. Back then, there were some small Russian Christian communities living in Northern China near the Russian border, but after China turned to communism, they had to either return to the USSR or leave China. Hundreds of Russian families arrived to Australia in late 1950's, settling around Australia in Sydney, Adelaide, Orange and Melbourne. Some of the community later moved to Canada in the 1970's, where I was born. We are known as White Russians, who's families emigrated from the Soviet Union.
While we are not part of the post Soviet migration from Europe in the 1990's, we all share the same roots, language and recipes. I grew up in a typical Russian immigrant household, where we only spoke Russian at home, and held onto our cultural roots. We still have relatives in Russia, some we have re-connected with since the Soviet Union collapsed, and others have been lost.
I am part of the millions of Russian people who live outside of Russia. We speak, think and live in the English language (although many are fluent in Russian) and are very proud to be of Russian heritage. As a proud Australian and Canadian of Russian heritage, I think it's important not to forget your family history and roots. This is what makes our countries so great.
As you can imagine the foods we eat are quite multicultural. From classic Russian, modern Australian, American recipes, South African, to Central Asian foods that most people in the West have never heard of. My wife Rita (who is also Russian) is an amazing cook, who influences my cooking and keeps me sharp! We love cooking together, but I always make the bigger mess in the kitchen. Some of my most popular posts are Rita's recipes, like her Sharlotka Apple Cake.
Peter's Food Adventures Philosophy
They say you're supposed to share a reason for having a website, like a mission statement. I couldn't think of one. I just want to share the Russian food recipes that I love, and hopefully you will love as well! I am genuinely happy to share the recipes of foods that make me and my family happy. And hopefully yours too. These are recipes we eat, some are quick and easy while others need planning and time to make. All will be delicious. I don't follow any diet trends like keto, vegan or paleo, but some of my recipes will fall into those categories. Food made with love makes you happy.
My love of cooking means I don't spend enough time in the gym, and it's starting to show as I get older. I always joke that I'm 'happy fat' because I am happiest when eating good food. Food is meant to bring joy and to be enjoyed with others. I often say 'Everything tastes better with butter' because it truly does. Which brings me back to my happy fat statement. But please don't take this as my diet advice for everyone, as I have just joined a gym!
Food and Travel
There has always been a link between my food adventures and travel. I've been to every continent (except Antarctica). I get so much inspiration for food from my travels. I suppose it was always going to link to Peter’s Food Adventures website. I've started to share some of my Russian travel adventures with you, but don’t worry, I will always share my food recipes. I promise the videos will continue to improve over time.
Drop me a line if you've tried one of my recipes, or hashtag it with #petersfoodadventures. I'd love to hear about it. I will respond unless you are spam, or unsolicited business offers! Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!
Welcome to my world!
Official Disclaimer! All opinions and photos in Peter's Food Adventures are my own unless otherwise stated, and are not professional advice. Attempt these recipes at your own risk, be careful and don't burn your house down while following my recipes and seek advice from your doctor for dietary needs! In general, you shouldn't listen to advice from people on the internet, me included. Most of my photos and videos were shot on an iPhone. Spoon graphic by Flaticon using Logomakr under Creative Commons 3.0.