90 delicious recipes, simple to prepare and for all tastes. What do they have in common? Cooking with the air fryer. Valentina Cutaia , the food blogger from Quartu Sant'Elena with almost half a million followers on Instagram , knows this well and published her first book with Mondadori Electa a month ago: a collection of her tastiest dishes to be prepared strictly using of the "magic" appliance, now a must in many kitchens. The debut in bookstores in January, a success already announced by the extraordinary numbers of online presales.
Yet Valentina, who today is the content creator of recipes with the most famous air fryer in Italy, years ago couldn't even imagine that her life would change so much and that her work would land online. Now 34 years old, he has a degree in Cultural Heritage in his pocket. «But after finishing university – explains the blogger – I immediately understood that there were no possibilities for my sector. So I left the island and took care of a thousand different things. I lived in England for two years, where I worked as a shop assistant. But I was also a warehouse worker and employee in some big brand stores. Then the period in Ferrara and the period in Lecce, always for work." But if on the one hand there was never a lack of employment, the desire to return to Sardinia, «home, was also a fixed thought. This distance often hurt me and I wondered if I was taking the right path."
But today's extraordinary results «make me think that this came later and that indeed, I should have started earlier. Mine is a full-fledged job. I have a VAT number, I earn from collaborations and my content... and there's a lot of commitment behind it. I'm not an influencer but my posts, my recipes, my videos... they are all made by me. At home I transformed a room into a small set, with professional lights, backgrounds and cameras. I had to study a lot but the satisfaction is immense. Creating content requires daily commitment but this has allowed me to find stability."
Then there is a reflection on cooking, today's "life companion": «It has never abandoned me. After the first steps taken with the blog "The thousand recipes of Vale" on Giallo Zafferano , where I shared recipes and preparations of all kinds, my attention was caught by the air fryer, which not many people had about 5 years ago. Then there was the boom. But I had already purchased it, one of the first models on the market. And with that I started experimenting so I could then help others replicate everything at home. What do I love about this type of cooking? Which is reminiscent of classic frying, despite being faster and cheaper."
My workhorse? The blue cords. But those who purchase the book will find much more, as well as a practical guide to learn how to best use this precious tool. The adventure with the publishing house came almost by chance. «I had already received other offers but had never accepted. This time I said yes without even thinking about it. The writing took me about a year, so I can say that this volume is a bit like my son."
But after the growing followers, the goals and the earnings...Valentina doesn't stop. «What do I dream for the future? Continue like this, with a few more projects, perhaps on national TV. Even if this will mean bigger commitments and maybe another move. I'm already evaluating it but in the meantime I'm enjoying everything I have: it's extraordinary."
