Stretched dough went through the pasta machine to get stretched further, then passed on into a pair of hands that cut it into circles, onward into another couple of pairs that filled it with minced mushroom and chestnuts, folded them over and nimbly sealed into tiny little pockets. Another pair of hands, skillful and confident these ones, demonstrated how to boil them and when to deem them done. The scent of the fresh chopped chives wafted in the air teasing an anticipation of the finishing touch.

I met Júlia not too long ago, on a Facebook group bringing women in the Berlin food scene together. We met in person a few weeks later, with the intent of shooting her pelmeni-making workshop. It wasn't until the very end of the workshop that we finally had a chance to wind down and chat. As the conversation unfolded, I realised Pelmeni Slam, which is clearly an arduous labour of love, isn't even Julia's primary job. A product manager at a startup living a dual life, my mind was instantly boggled with the realisation of how so much hard work, as demonstrated by the past few hours, was only a fraction of what Júlia did.

Compelled to get to know her superpowers better, I caught Júlia again for a Q&A.

What's a pelmeni?

A Russian dumpling, traditionally filled with mixed minced meat or fish. The proportion of filling to dough is higher than in other dumplings such as pierogi or varenyky.

What's the origin story of Pelmeni Slam?

I used to work at the Russian restaurant Arany Kaviar in Budapest, where I fell in love with pelmenis and learned how to make them from the "babushka" who was preparing the pelmenis for the restaurant. Years later I moved to Berlin where I got inspired by the flourishing food scene and decided to share the #pelmenilove.

During my research, I have seen that most of the places do not invest the time and resources to prepare pelmenis the traditional way. So my unique selling point is that in spite of the time-consuming process, my pelmenis are 100% handmade.

The name Pelmeni Slam comes from Poetry Slam because I wanted to create something more and combine tradition with improvisation. This is how the vegetarian version came to life, like the mushroom-and-chestnut version, the smoked cheese version and the beetroot-and-apple filling with their individually picked toppings.

From the very beginning, I had my family and friends supporting the project, proving to be the cohesive force of pelmeni-making. Recently I started to give workshops where people can not only share and enjoy eating together, but also enjoy preparation.

I learnt rather late in our acquaintance that Pelmeni Slam is really your side project and you have a full-time job, besides making 1200 dumplings at a time and being everywhere in Berlin. Are you a superwoman?

Or just simply crazy! *laughs* If we consider dreaming, discipline and persistency super powers, I think I am.

How do you do it?

It is a continuously perfected production schedule including night and weekend shifts in the kitchen– combined with a logistics plan to optimize my time while living Neukölln, working in Charlottenburg, renting a production kitchen in Friedrichshain and selling mostly in Kreuzberg.

Is there an Eye of the Tiger soundtrack for your pelmeni production regimen before a market?

The answer for everything is Bonobo! *laughs* Time to time, seasoned with some Hungarian hip hop and alternative rock.

What's been the funniest/weirdest thing to happen to you while Pelmeni Slamming?

Hard to say...maybe at the very beginning when we were joking before my first performance in Neue Heimat that it would be such a cool story if one of my customers would fall in love with me or with my pelmenis as the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I was actually asked out the next day!

Julia, thanks so much for sharing your Pelmeni love with me and Berlin at large! As a female chef, as a juggler of many jobs and for all the deliciousness, you're an inspiration!

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