Introducing Babi's Kitchen Video Series

I have a very special treat for you today, which involves a culinary spotlight on my fabulous aunt Hela, a cooking diva in her own right and an educator of healthy, nourishing food.  In addition to being a great cook and a creator of unique recipes, Hela also produces a popular online cooking show for kids.  Babi's Kitchen, as she's penned her program focuses on traditional family recipes, featuring some very cute co-stars, Camryn, Leia and Zack (aka Hela's grandchildren).

Not only do they infuse an element of fun into the videos, you couldn't even make up some of the funny one liners they come up with on the show.  Just have a look here, and learn more about Hela's tasty endeavor in the following interview:

Interview with Hela Klein - Creator and Producer of Babi's Kitchen

1.  What inspired you to start Babi's Kitchen video series?
Ten years ago when I asked my son Tibor what to get him for his birthday, he said he would like me to write a cookbook of all his favorite recipes.  Around the same time, I also gave my son-in-law a recipe for his favorite walnut cake but it didn't come out the same.  Soon after, I decided to start a cookbook but also wanted to video tape each recipe and include the relevant link to avoid confusion.  When I was taping my first recipe, my 5 year old twin granddaughters were at our house and were eager to help.  And that's when the idea of Babi's Kitchen was born, as I realized they are capable of cooking and baking with my supervision.

As to why a series? After posting just the first video, I've gotten a lot of comments on Youtube saying, "It's awesome! You have to make a whole series!" which is just what I did.

2.  What do you want people to get out of watching Babi's Kitchen?
Becoming a Grandma aka Babi, as they call me, is just marvelous in itself, but to teach my grandchildren long lived family recipes is truly special.  I want people to get a sense of the closeness and love that I feel when I cook with my grandchildren.  I love knowing that my cooking knowledge and family traditions are being passed on beyond to just my direct family. 

3. What's the most unexpected thing you've learned by creating Babi's Kitchen? I learned that you can do anything you ever want in your life if you put your heart into it.  Spending the last 22 years working as a Controller in a prestigious manufacturing company, I never thought I'd be doing this. l had to learn every aspect of running a video series, after which my creative juices just started flowing.

4. What's the funniest thing that's happened during a taping?
There are plenty funny things in each video.  To watch the kids interact brings me pure fun and  joy.  One thing in particular pops into my head from my first video when I asked my granddaughter  Leia "what's next?" in the middle of a potato recipe.   Her clear and confident answer was, "we now shred the marshmallows " instead of potatoes.  

5. What's next for Babi's Kitchen?
To my surprise, I was contacted by a production company in LA who work on a TV series called "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader."  They're developing a children's cooking show and they loved what they saw on Babi's Kitchen. So, who knows what the future brings?

In the meantime, we are evolving the show by incorporating new, healthier ingredients.  I look forward to continuing to teach children to cook with healthy ingredients, and to spread family traditions to future generations.  

And now without further ado, here's Babi's Kitchen.

Making Kugel & Brussels Sprouts


Papa's Favorite Nougat Cake


Pirogy with Prune Butter


You can check out more of "Babi's" recipes on her website helenaklein.com