Let's start October, month of Halloween and warm colours of autumn, with a sweet (pun intended) interview of Lydia Breite, our special guest today, translator and interpreter specialised in marketing, cosmetics and culinary.
Lydia Breite, EN>DE translator and interpreter
Who are you?
My name is Lydia and I’m a translator with a passion for baking. I work with a lot of marketing, cosmetic, and gambling texts, but also specialise in culinary translations. I mostly follow English (UK) recipes, but as I’ve recently moved to Germany, I’ve started using German recipes as well. The cake on the picture is a actually a German speciality: Streuselkuchen.
What is your relationship with cooking?
It is probably non-existant. Cooking is a tedious task to me and I don’t like warm meals that much. But baking is my hobby! I have a sweet tooth and started baking when I was little. I like trying out new recipes and surprise others with them. For some reason, people seem to appreciate my bakes more than something that I tried to cook.
I feel closer to English recipes as I’ve used them a lot over the past six years and over here (in Germany) my tasters get very excited over bakes from English recipes. I like how innovative English recipes can be (have you had Slutty Brownies yet?) and as a translator, I want to introduce those bakes to the German people, I don’t want Germany to miss out on wonderful flavour combinations.
What dish do you like to cook the most?
Usually, if I just need something easy, then I bake Oreo brownies using an English recipe. People love them and they are really quick to make.
I can’t actually think of a German speciality that’s comparably easy, but if I had to choose a German recipe as well, then I’d say Plätzchen. They are Christmas cookings and come in all sorts of variations (Vanillekipferl, short pastry, shortbread, etc.). They give a hint of the German Christmas culture and the baker gets to be really creative.
And the least?
Anything that takes too long and can easily go wrong, like a wedding cake.
What have you always wanted to know how to do in cooking (e.g. a technique or a dish)?
I just wish my piping skills were as good as you can always see on The Great British Bake Off. I’d be more than willing to do a piping course.
What do you eat and/or drink while translating?
Vanilla Diet Coke, but I’m trying to cut back on it.
Bonus: Could you share a quick, easy, delicious recipe?
I’d be happy to share the recipe for the Oreo® Brownies that I mentioned. I put a German and
English version on my website here:
Follow Lydia on social networks:
Twitter: @lydiabreite
Instagram: lydiatranslates