About Marcello’s Place

Welcome to Marcello’s Place!

We are Eunice and Jorn, and we enjoy helping busy families prepare delicious meals without fuss. At MarcellosPlace.com you’ll find easy, flavorful recipes perfect for both quick weeknight dinners and special occasions.

One of us writes most of the code, the other most of the recipes — together, we make Marcello’s Place. Let us introduce ourselves!

About Eunice, recipe developer

I prepared my first family meal at age nine. My mom was stuck in traffic, my siblings were hungry, and school was starting soon, so I quickly cooked up rice with beans, chicken, onions, and peppers. Mom was stunned when she found I’d learned just by watching my grandmother cook. Since then, cooking has become my favorite way to relax and spend time.

A New Yorker for most of my life, I started out on Wall Street trading floors right after college, where you had to be loud and decisive just to get heard. I guess that explains my take-no-prisoners attitude in the kitchen!

I like complex, layered flavors and season my food boldly with staple seasonings like garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, sofrito, and (importantly!) bouillon.

At our home, holidays and special occasions have their signature dishes. Super Bowl Sundays mean spicy buffalo wings; Memorial Day barbecues and Cinco de Mayo potlucks are about smoked brisket, fresh guacamole and grilled veggies.

I love cooking with the seasons. Spring means trips to the farmers’ market and growing fresh herbs, summer is for grilling outdoors and creative popsicles, autumn calls for hearty casseroles and soups, and winter is perfect for cozy baking and comfort food.

My kitchen is uncluttered: I rely on a few high-quality tools like a Viking gas stove and a set of Japanese knives, kept honed and sharp at all times.

Food waste is a pet peeve. Pasta water enriches sauces, and vegetable water becomes a soup base. I like efficiency and control: aprons with pockets keep utensils close, and if I see someone struggling in the kitchen, I step in. My Taekwondo black belt probably helps me get away with that!

About Jorn, software developer

I spent much of my career as a software entrepreneur traveling across Europe, Asia, and the United States. Having logged more flights than I care to count, I now spend more time at home: coding, cooking, and sharing meals with my daughter.

Sometimes, the coding background trickles through in the kitchen: a lumpy pancake batter needs “refactoring”, burnt toast requires a “hotfix”, and missing ingredients trigger a quick “dependency check”.

Growing up, cooking duties at home were shared. My dad’s standout dish used to be a marvelous spaghetti bolognese that I still cook the same way today.

My mom is known for desserts, especially her “Tropical Ice Cream”, which is actually a pudding. During one of my dad’s poetry club meetings, one guest famously kept finding new ways to accept another serving: “Well, if you insist,” “I wouldn’t say no,” “Maybe just one more,” and “It’d be rude to decline.”

Mom’s secret weapon is a tongue-in-cheek cheating cookbook called Darling, You Shouldn’t Have Gone To So Much Trouble, where everyday items like canned Campbell’s soup magically become gourmet dishes with, say, a splash of brandy.

No cheating is involved though in her signature recipe “Chicken with Secret Sauce”, a closely guarded family secret passed only from mother to daughter. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have any sisters.

In college, cooking in shared dorm kitchens was challenging due to limited space and lots of dirty dishes. Usually, I managed just enough room for a pot of chili or rice with almonds and orange slices, prepping ingredients right above the pan.

Since then, I have been gradually expanding my culinary skills. Somehow – I wonder why – that expansion went first into cookies, cakes, (apple) pies and (Linzer) tarts.

As my daughter grew up, the focus shifted to heartier fare. I established a weekly routine: stir-fries on Mondays, (shepherd’s) pies on Tuesdays, steak and salad on Wednesdays, and something special on Sundays — like salmon seared on a Himalayan salt block.

After years of practice, I believe I’m still a better developer than chef, but with Eunice’s guidance, who knows?

Our Manifesto for Better, More Enjoyable Cooking

It’s no fun if you’re not good at it

(Jorn:) Cooking used to be a chore for me. The results would be hit or miss, and I wasn't always sure why. What I needed was better execution.

With Eunice’s guidance, things improved very quickly. Small adjustments began to make a difference. Disappointments became rarer, and my cooking became more consistent.

As cooking became more fun and less of a gamble, it was easier to try new recipes or experiment with existing ones, knowing that the result will land somewhere between an A- and a C+, instead of between a C+ and a D-.

In order to enjoy cooking, you need skills. Fortunately, the most valuable ones can be learned quickly.

Develop Those Tastebuds

(Jorn:) When Eunice and I watch travel videos, it strikes us how often people don’t know how to describe food.

They try stroopwafels or Tom Yum Goong and say: “Oh, this is good”.

But “good” or "not good" isn't very helpful. It doesn't describe what makes it interesting or special.

When we had our Wiener Schnitzel at Andy’s Knablergarten in Munich, Eunice took one bite and said: “Ah, semolina flour.” She can reverse-engineer a dish just by tasting it. That turns eating into a much richer experience.

A few weeks of thoughtful attention taught me to say: “The grilled chicken is juicy with a crispy crust. The sauce is slightly tangy. I get some sweetness from the peppers, a bit of sharpness from the lemon, and freshness from the herbs.”

Sometimes, Eunice lets me try something she's making, and asks, "What does this need?" I now know how to quiz myself and find the answer. "The flavors are all there, they just need to develop. If anything, it needs a bit more salt."

This is a skill that anyone can learn. You learn to notice sweetness, acidity, saltiness, and texture, describe what you taste, and enjoy food more because of it.

And in cooking, you'll know how to adjust if there's too much or too little of something.

Knowing what you taste is the first step towards improving your cooking.

Rescue That!

A key skill for more interesting, adventurous cooking is knowing what to do when things don’t go as planned.

The mayonnaise is curdling. The soup stays bland and watery, whatever you try. The fried rice is sticking to the pan and starting to burn. Now what?

It’s tempting to give up in moments like these. To fall back on the same safe meals. Reliable, but boring. And cooking becomes a chore again.

We can do better than that!

Turning situations like these around makes you fearless in the kitchen. And recipe rescue isn’t usually that complicated. With a small set of basic skills, you can fix many issues.

Experiment!

(Jorn:) Once I had developed some tasting skills and learned how to rescue a dish, the door to experimentation opened up.

Following Eunice’s lead, I started small. Adding ground cumin or freshly grated nutmeg to garlic mashed potatoes. Finishing roasted vegetables with a drizzle of honey. Adding a bit of soy sauce to a stew.

Most of the time, it worked. And when it didn’t, it usually didn't matter that much, or I knew how to fix it.

That’s the key: experimentation becomes less risky with experience.

Leftovers are great for experimentation. I have some cooked chicken, courgette and bell peppers, what can I make with those? Hmmm, with rice, spring onion, cumin and soy sauce, that makes a stir-fry!

Over time, you start to understand what works and what doesn’t. And your cooking becomes your own.

The Family Table

Nothing bonds a family like sharing a home-cooked meal.

It’s when we talk about our day, share stories, and reconnect.

But it’s easy to lose that when you're busy. We eat in a hurry, during commutes, at work behind our screens, alone while flipping through TikTok videos: barely noticing the food on the plate or the people around us.

When we let things slip like that, we miss an opportunity to enjoy some of the best things in life.

It does’t need to be that way. With a bit effort and attention, we can enjoy our food and the presence of our loved ones. It’s better for our health, and better for our happiness.

Season It!

Sometimes, home-cooking lacks flavor or complexity.

The ingredients are good, but the taste is flat, or one-dimensional (just salty, just acidic, etc).

Proper seasoning makes all the difference. Salt brings out flavor. Acidity sharpens it. Spices and aromatics add depth.

Taste as you go. Add a pinch of salt. A squeeze of lemon. A bit of garlic or bouillon. Adjust until it works.

It’s a small shift, but it changes everything.

One Bite Won't Kill You

(Jorn:) When I started doing regular business in China, I discovered the true vastness of Chinese cuisine. I would go there for weeks, sometimes months, and never ate the same dish twice. It made me realize just how much more the world has to offer than what I've seen in the US and Europe.

Of course, not everything is familiar. Some things (definitely in China) can feel strange or off-putting.

For example, I’ve never liked the smell or texture of beef liver. But when Eunice (who loves liver) cooks it, I still give it a try.

It’s easy to dismiss something at first glance. To stick with what we already know. Safe, but limiting.

This is why Eunice always says: “One bite won’t kill you.” There’s a whole world of food out there. If we don’t try, we miss out.

Take Small Bites

This especially applies to men: we tend to eat too quickly.

We take big bites, chew a few times, swallow, and move on to the next. Before we know it, the plate is empty, and we barely noticed what we just ate.

Slowing down starts with something simple: taking smaller bites.

If you take big bites, you're just filling yourself up. With a smaller bite, you actually taste the food. You notice fragrance, texture and flavor.

The first moment, the middle, the finish.

You start to pick up things you would otherwise miss. A bit of sweetness, a hint of bitterness, the balance between acidity and richness. And it feeds back into your cooking.

If you taste more carefully, you understand more clearly what works and what doesn’t.

Conclusion

Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated.

With a few basic skills and a bit of attention, everything starts to change. You cook with more confidence, you enjoy your food more, and you’re no longer afraid to try new things.

That’s why we created this site. To help you build practical kitchen skills and develop your taste, so cooking becomes something you enjoy, not something you get through.

And most importantly, to help you bring your loved ones together. In the kitchen as well as around the table, sharing food you made yourself.

So cook. Taste. Adjust. Try again. And enjoy!