Welcome to the Mad Kitchen!

I’m Madison.

I was a pastry cook in Richmond, Virginia for several years, though I’ve been cooking since I could first read a cookbook.

I feel that cooking for someone is my way of connecting with them. I enjoy learning what someone enjoys eating, what one wants to try as well as the foods they may be restricted to, and working within those confines to create something unexpected and delicious.  You’ll see this is why I create and share recipes for vegetarians, vegans, paleos etc., as my cooking style and knowledge has developed.

My desire to prove that anyone can have great food, no matter their restrictions, started The Mad Kitchen.

Inspiring me from the beginning, since my earliest days of cooking as a child, are regional and cultural influences on food throughout the world. Whether it’s eating, learning to cook with a new recipe, ingredient or technique – I believe food can enlighten us and open windows into different parts of the world, allowing us to explore through the delicious. Thus, my kitchen is a globally-inspired creation.

On that note, I’m currently living in Spain and on a wave of Spanish-inspired cooking. Quite possibly my favorite cuisine to cook, you’ll find a category of my blog solely dedicated to tapas and all things Mediterranean. No joke – the first cookbook I owned as a kid was basically a tapas bible.

Luckily, what also comes with living abroad is the chance to travel to places I otherwise could not afford to while living in the U.S. I also document these experiences through The Mad Kitchen. Hopefully they’ll aid you in planning your next adventure abroad or at the least give you a few good laughs.

While cooking is one of my favorite creative outlets, I am also an artist in several other forms.

Check out my work at www.madisonpollard.com

Shop my artwork at www.etsy.com/shop/TheMadKitchenShop