Hi, I'm Kasia — founder of MUUS, a bakery and café, and these days Slowhop's copywriter, content creator and the friendly voice behind our social media. Food and I have always got on well (I spent ten years feeding Warsaw's sweet tooth), and kitchen life is basically my middle name. Travel excites me just as much, so putting the two together felt obvious. I found Janek on Instagram, where he was going on dates with soups. It was the moustache that won me over. It didn't take me long to ask him out... on a date with Slowhop. And here we are.
Chaos in the kitchen is his middle name. The first one is Jan. He has perfected the art of imperfect cooking and makes whatever he happens to fancy that day. A sharp jawline, balanced out by a second chin, the way lemon zest balances the butter in a beurre blanc. Knows a great deal about soup. His type: girls shorter than him, or slightly taller. He's a little over two metres (six foot seven-ish). Hasn't measured himself in a while, to be fair.
Instead of hours over the stove, we're playing with flavour. These are Janek's quick, very good recipes — the kind you can make between a nap in a deckchair and staring at the trees. We mix whatever grows within arm's reach with a few local classics. You don't need to be a MasterChef finalist. You don't even need the moustache.
Ingredients
a 1-litre jar
enough radishes to fill it
sparkling water, the fizzier the better
dill
garlic
jalapeño, dried or fresh, or any other chilli
salt
(If you like pickled garlic too, chop it finely instead of crushing the cloves. It should cling nicely to the radishes as you fish them out.)
Somewhere between the Kampinos Forest and a wild stretch of the Vistula, north-west of Warsaw, stands a romantic cabin in a green meadow, with its own pond and a path leading straight down to the river. Monika, the host, looks after her guests beautifully, and you forget about the rest of the world almost immediately. Inside it's calm and unhurried, and every object tucked away here has a history and a character of its own.
You can help yourself to fresh vegetables and fragrant herbs from the garden. Cooking outdoors tastes different here.
And afterwards? You have to walk down to the Vistula, along a beautiful forest path that crosses an extraordinary footbridge built on a tree trunk — Monika made it herself. In the evening, straight into the bath, ideally with some of the bath salts made on site. Then it's soft dressing gowns, already waiting for you, the outdoor cinema on, and a film with a million stars behind it.
