Living outside of the box, rebelling against every grain that runs through the sand on a vast beach. Finding a path that truly aligns with how I want to pursue this lifetime: Profound beauty. Everything comes together at the baseline of: Magical Food Department.

Since I was fourteen, I have worked in the food industry. First the local neighborhood’s pub, where they sold the best sticky spare-ribs in town. Famous for their steaming hot pans of fresh mussels and thick Belgian fries. A bar filled with exactly the same personalities that kept dancing around each other like flames under a big cauldron. A familiar hug that kept me from pursuing what was already brewing inside of me. Trying to fit in and swim together in large groups. After a few years of serving beer on tap and bringing huge chunks of meat on a bistro platter I wanted to leave that environment to grow in my craft. Ever since I entered this industry, I took it very seriously. I had so much respect for all the details that comes with a communal experience that we collectively need to survive turned into luxury and pleasure.

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A small summer’s waiting table job opened in the middle of the forest near the coastal shoreline of Zeeland. Run by a married couple that bickered all the time with each other behind the scenes. I started to recognize the unseen of this industry. What it takes to be a fully functioning human being and standing in the spotlight of serving others for a living. The lack of balance intrigued me more than most. There was never a voice inside of me that warned me to be careful to see the signs when you forget yourself completely. Yet again, after a few summers of awkwardly standing at the terrace with my big chunky wallet, trying to stay calm and trying to do the math. You see, I have dyscalculia. When a guest wanted the check I wanted to disappear from the grounds. I was terrified of giving too much money back or worse, revealing this weakness that I thought was unforgivable as a young waitress. Charm is not going to help you here darling, was a phrase I heard in my head constantly, it made me feel ashamed.

Then highschool graduation arrived and numerous options were on the table. Going to culinary school. Own the craft. I signed up for college and even found an amazing local restaurant with great potential to work besides my studies. To lean into my new job more I decided to sacrifice a long summer of sunbathing for working in a loaded rubik’s cube of a kitchen. The first day was terrifying. The kitchen was always a familiar place where I could find solace but instead the opposite grabbed my attention.

From doing hours and hours of the most routined mise en place to organizing spice stickers. Starting from the bottom is a journey you set sail on when you start out in these kitchens. For some reason I never was interested in that journey. Not that I wanted short cuts or cut corners from a perfectly good sandwich but this way was not my way. I would hide in the walk-in refrigerator and ask myself: “Is this really what you are going to do”? The question became a painful thought process that reminded me that I did not belong on this path. I dropped out of culinary school before the semester even began and quit the summer job the next day. I felt nothing, no relief, no regret, nothing.

All these years that I was young and working in these establishments made me feel numb. Stuck in the same structure and even felt abandoned by my own choices that led me here. In order to live a full life and college experience I decided to audition for an academy for dance teachers and find my spark back in life. Besides I always was that kid that performed fearlessly for family, friends, basically everyone with eyes.

When I boarded the train to the audition, I only then and there decided on the spot what my musical pairing was going to be for my piece of choreography, which I improvised on too.(this is also the reason why every recipe of mine has a musical pairing). I realized that doing things on a whim when it feels right was my superpower. I felt alive. The Assassin’s Tango, Soundtrack from Mr. and Mrs. Smith was blasting through the speakers and while I was dancing, I did not pay attention to the teachers writing their notes. At that moment in time I was completely alone. Waving and paving my path and giving that eternal flame inside of me a blast of life again. Give it breath and a heartbeat.

After a few weeks of biting my nails and pulling my eyelashes because of excitement and self-doubt, the letter finally arrived that clearly stated I got accepted. I finally understood that technique did not bring me there but my talent to take my audience to another world. Making them feel emotion that they never felt before. I finally could express my uniqueness. What was repressed for so many years before has now a place to stay. So I thought…

The next four years were undeniably epic. Being able to perform every week at different theaters and places. Meeting famous dancers/choreographers that have meant so much to your own journey as a dancer and being able to create your own style with every meeting and connection that you make in this funny small world. But…

I didn’t want to be a dance teacher from the get go. I wasn’t interested in being in large classes with screaming children or grumpy teenagers that barely moved. So I had to give up parts of myself to fit into this mold again and follow the dance teacher curriculum. Very important exams and projects that determined getting my diploma. We only graduated with 5 dancers left, we started the first year with 25. But what was left of me? However hard I tried to thrive in hostile and judgemental environments, it did not help me move forward and it gave me more grief than I anticipated. So when I finally graduated as a dance teacher, I gave up dancing professionally as a career. Before I started this school I wanted to dedicate my life to this art form and yet again this was not my path.

2 weeks later I found out that I was definitely burned-out and needed to recover with grace and peace. Unfortunately that was not what was waiting for me.

In the years that followed I moved to an entire different region and city within The Netherlands. I needed to know who I really am without that structure that made me feel so depleted. You see I just found out that my dad who raised me isn’t my biological father. I had been searching for him without success and decided to contact Spoorloos. A Dutch Television show that helped family members reunite. And they found him. I met the masculine part of myself. The dark side. The parts that were hidden. The toxic patterns and behaviours that embedded in me were finally cracked open. Even though this turned my whole world and identity upside down, I gained strength and massive character development because he and I were never getting along. I was and am everything he ran away from his whole life. And for which he could not manipulate this strong and determined young woman.

As an artist we have to alchemize these tower moments into something meaningful and I decided to apply for another restaurant job. This time full time in the kitchen. A part of me could not stomach the defeat I felt during my other jobs, previous work projects and small business concepts that all fell through the sugary cracks that led me to my first 20 m2 studio overcharged city apartment and here is where it got interesting.

While I am very comfortable writing this part of the story there are also crucial parts that I deliberately leave out to a better momentum to share more sensitivities. Or I never share them, I will never be sure because I am a Gemini Sun, Libra Rising and Aquarius Moon so I am all air, always moving, changing and most of all overthinking the meaning of sharing with the world. Back to the story…

I joined a very colorful kitchen with many different kinds of colleagues that made me feel at home. Everything is also so exciting in the beginning. Learning so many new skills like working under different levels of pressure and responsibility. Creating menus, developing recipes. The magic of mixology, managing the restaurant’s social media accounts, barista courses, catering food for a restaurant that was entirely run by blind hosts. So many diverse ways to manage the food industry. I enjoyed it so much, I felt like a sponge, soaking up all the marinating juices of the craft. Over time, more employees were not happy with the way the restaurant was running. Because it became very clear that it had a very imbalanced structure.

The problems were brewing on a medium-high heat and waiting to boil over big time. By the end of my expansive job there I was the only one left. No waiters, no one to do the dishes, no general manager, no sous-chef, nobody else there in this entire restaurant. Did I want to quit everyday during that situation, yes. But there was a need for this too. Otherwise I would never be this force in the kitchen. The complexity of that situation brought me to my second burn-out, a leaky gut and crippling perfectionism mixed with anxiety. Not to mention being horrified everytime by preparing animal products everyday because you turned vegetarian at that time. That combination of insanity combusted in my face and when I quit that job, the restaurant closed a week later. Leaving behind a whole chapter yet again.

Girl had to pay her rent, to the worst Landlord in history so I decided to apply to the last “normal” job I had before Magical Food Department. My first time working in an open kitchen. Not being able to run to the back of the restaurant, swear like a sailor and go back in when calmer was not an option anymore. Working with more spiritual rooted people who had boundaries and stayed grounded during their shift made me feel seen and also disconnected from myself simultaneously. While I had complete creative freedom from my previous job, now I found myself in a well oiled vegetal kitchen, farm to table style with a bible on my workbench with set in stone recipes. Yet again a place where my values aligned and another part I had to repress in order to stay in the job. After three fruitful and hard months my body started to give out on me. My mental health was at an all time low and I couldn’t stomach all these regressive situations anymore that left me so drained, powerless and unseen.

With heartfelt regret I left my resignation and had to stay home. After years of working in that kind of chaos, it felt awfully silent at my apartment. At first I had no idea how to navigate this phase of my life. Way past my early twenties, no social life because vacation and days off are taboo in the food industry and I only had myself to entertain and deal with. As I often did, I was walking around the city at night, headphones on full blast. Playlist that fueled my warrior side and songs that completely broke my heart while listening to it. As I was walking back I stopped and looked up to the stars, closed my eyes and waited until I heard something, a phrase of comfort or just one word that would make this all feel alright again. And then the name Magical Food Department was planted through the crown of my head that made its way, very quickly to my heart. The same evening I turned on my tv, had a Harry Potter Marathon and the next day I went to the thrift store to find a particular fabric and it popped off from there. Recreating moments and scenes from this abundant franchise. My inner child started giggling again and I felt more at peace, even if it was just for a few minutes.

I would write all my recipe ideas in my little Emerald green notebook and the next day, I looked around in my apartment which was decorated with 83 plants and old knick knacks that I collected over the years. All these probs became a part of this bigger plan and story. After practicing food styling for a while, I wanted to create more depth and quality, started to learn how to work a professional camera and started to build a foundation and level to keep challenging myself. However, behind the scenes I was struggling with the tiny apartment. More and more stuff started to pile up and the space became a booby trap. Being alone 24/7 did not help this situation either but I kept isolating myself until I felt like a connection with other human beings felt and were safe.

But behind many of these beautiful shots was a very unhappy woman. After many injustices that don’t leave a mark necessarily but leave you numb are often a very hard mindset that comes with it and having a free creative flow of state simultaneously is a full time job on its own. Over time I sacrificed so many things that made me human in order to keep evolving as an artist.

After being consistently on social media, sharing my food photography and Instagram Stories about my dishes, learning and connecting more about the Harry Potter Community, a very dear friend of me now: Tylor Starr took notice to my work and we got the amazing opportunity to co-write: The Unofficial Harry Potter Vegan Cookbook. I couldn’t believe it was actually happening! And sometimes there are still moments where I pinch myself. Not even a year later I got the privilege to create a Harry Potter I-spy Book: Where in the Wizarding World…? I believe that both these projects were the ultimate test for me to hone all the regimes I disciplined myself into. All the hours crying behind the stove because you’re so exhausted or being frustrated with how you were treated, moments turned into steel. And using this to express all of these emotions waiting to be alchemized. Each shot I take is manufactured by my profound passion for beauty, wanting to project that onto the world and make people feel something when they see my work. And being a published author is a dream coming true. Working with amazing like minded people with a zest for life and veganism was absolutely refreshing. And I actively manifest so many more projects like these.

Now with two books to my name, having an actual studio where I can work instead of my garden table outside of my apartment and having to feel the need to express myself through a newfound favorite medium: video and film, launched a YouTube Channel in 2024 and being consistently on a journey where I find myself making little food movies that make me feel excited about many aspects of life again. Is the only path that brings all these previous endeavors and points of my story together. All connected through a red thread. The insecure teenage years where I wanted to fit in but find myself completely lost. Being able to use my fiery energy and passion to perform and express myself and working in an insane regime that brought me an iron fist in the kitchen that I am deeply grateful for. Now all forged into a path where I can share all these artforms and stories and never ever repress who I am and how I want to express it.

This is my baseline and that is the Inception of my business and baby: Magical Food Department.

I am Imana Grashuis, A Dutch Caribbean Kitchen Witch and there will definitely be more of these stories I want to share. Especially about how I got into Kitchen Witchery. 

Blessed Be.

Imana