Nice to meet you, my name is Raheli Krut, and I’m so happy you’re here.
I grew up in a home that loved and lived food, the kind that created countless memories around the table. My grandparents, on my mother’s Hungarian side, worked in a butcher shop, and as a child with parents who worked long hours, I spent a lot of time in their kitchen, usually perched on a highchair, with a knife and fork beside me. Yes, even when it was just bread spread with butter, my grandfather insisted on proper table manners. He was also the one who reminded me, after every bite, to gather the food back onto the plate so it wouldn’t scatter.
Alongside my grandfather’s precision and the manners, he brought from Hungary, there was my grandmother, who cooked like a storm, dressed like a flame, and filled everything around her with emotion and aroma. Their differences were part of their magic, and even though I was very young, I know that much of who I am today is thanks to them. They were the first to open up a whole world of flavors and scents for me, of stews and tall cakes made from just one egg. Despite all that, I was actually a very picky eater, and rumor has it that every trick in the book was tried on me well into my teenage years just to get me to eat something.
The culinary spark didn’t skip the Russian side of the family either. My grandfather on my father’s side was the most optimistic and big-hearted person I know, and he used to make us potato and carrot latkes that were impossible to recreate, their perfect taste and the comfort that came with every bite. I remember arriving at their apartment and already smelling the frying from the parking lot. That smell is what led me, years later, into the kitchen to recreate the memories that came with it.
Those memories also include countless meals cooked by my mother, the real cook in the family.
Until the age of 21, I mostly ate mashed potatoes and schnitzel (breaded chicken cutlets) with ketchup. The turning point came in Australia, during a long trip. That’s where I discovered that sushi isn’t necessarily as pretentious as it was once made out to be, and that carrot cake is a truly wonderful thing. Who would have thought carrots could belong in desserts?
From there began a long journey in search of flavors, aromas, and the emotions that come with food. At first, I tried countless recipes in my parents’ kitchen, along the way completely wrecking it. Later, I took courses and workshops that intrigued me, but most of my knowledge came from trial and error, and especially from endless tasting.
In 2007, I found myself writing about food on a major website and later editing the section for six years. That period, beyond being intense and demanding, was the best school I could have asked for.
In the three years that followed, I founded and managed a culinary website that was eventually sold.
When I decided to go fully independent, I created my Hebrew blog, Krutit, which quickly became the largest food blog in Israel. I never imagined how far it would go or how meaningful it would become for me and for the millions of readers who visit it every month. And truly, every single morning, I get excited all over again to see so many people creating memories together with me.
After 10 years of running my Hebrew blog, I finally decided to open this English version, so I could share my kitchen and my heart with even more people. I hope you’ll create memories here with me, in the kitchen.
Alongside the blog, my beloved baby, I write a food column for Israel’s leading newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, consult and build content, marketing, and social strategies for culinary brands, launch projects that I’m deeply passionate about, develop recipes for both retail products and food companies’ content platforms, and I’ve also published a challah book, dedicated to the traditional braided Jewish bread, which sold in many thousands of copies and brought me so much joy.
People always joke that I have no time, and honestly, they’re right. But you’ll never hear me complain about the work I chose, and that in many ways chose me, because I genuinely love waking up to it every day. And most of all, because I understand that through food, I can touch people’s hearts. And at the end of the day, that’s why I do it all.
So, on that optimistic note, I invite you to make yourself at home. Browse the recipes, step into the kitchen, and try. And try again. Make mistakes. Taste. Enjoy. And never give up, even if the cake doesn’t turn out exactly like the picture. I promise you, in the end it will work, and the satisfaction… oh, the satisfaction.
And I’m always here to help.
Enjoy.