Altynay

Altynay

Caker Crush

• Can you write a short paragraph about yourself - you can talk about anything at all.

  I was born and raised in Kazakhstan until I came to the US (Charlotte, NC to be specific) when I was 12 years old. In 2015, I Came to LA for a summer visit and fell in love with a guy, and now we are married with 3 kids. 

• What does food mean in your family? Are there any classic dishes?

  Food is the catalyst to social gathering. When I was growing up, my grandmother was the main person in the family to gather everyone together, including the neighbors over food and drinks. Hospitality is a big part of our culture, which is the reason I am the way I am. We thrive in bringing people together over a table of delicious food.

• What was your birthday cake of choice as a kid?

  I remember vividly watching my aunt Gaukhar pull up to our family yurt, on the back of some motorcycle taxi she caught on the street, balancing a perfect white box on her right hand. She dismounted and walked over to me with a big grin. In the box she revealed a perfectly in tact Napoleon cake. It was the greatest thing I ever tasted.

• And for your 3 children - tell me about one of the most memorable cake experiences you’ve had with them.

  By far the most memorable experience I’ve had involving a cake was when at my 24th birthday party, In a house full of 100 people, none of whom knew that I was pregnant. My third child’s gender was revealed, as a surprise. It was very emotional In a good way.

• Did you have a wedding cake? What was it?

  No wedding cake. Went to Las Vegas on a whim, with barely enough money for the gas back to LA. 

• Which 3 people, dead or alive do you wish you could share the cake you made with?

  1. My grandmother, Zukhra, who raised me. I was planning on flying to Kazakhstan to see her with the kids after Covid. But she passed away in 2020 FROM Covid. None of us knew it was coming.
  2. ancestors from my bloodline.
  3. ancestors from my husbands bloodline so to get to know ourselves more.

• What’s the dessert of your dreams? It doesn’t have to be one that you’ve already tasted or even one that exists.

  One dessert I keep having nostalgia over are these walnut shaped cookies this Russian lady would sell on the streets in Kazakhstan. It was filled with homemade caramel, and all the kids would go back to their homes to get any change they could find to get a piece of the cookie. Amazing. Might try to recreate it soon.

• For you, what is the ultimate song to bake or cook to?

  Depends on the type of desert or the mood I’m in. It can range from Bill Evans, to German electronic techno band Kompromat. 

• What star sign are you and what traits from it resonate with you?

  I’m an Aquarius, and I think I resonate with the unique and the outgoing part of it.

• If you could live in the world depicted in one movie or novel, or if you could travel back to a different era, which would you choose?

  I would say the roaring twenties, just to check out the speakeasies and the live music they had back then.  I love a little trouble. 

• If you could have a wardrobe full of one designer’s clothes, who would it be?

  I don’t pay much attention to designers nowadays, but anything that will fit my breasts well, and show my skinny little legs will do!