The daughter of a Polish father and a Venezuelan mother who frequently sojourned in both homelands, Irena Stein acquired international tastes at an early age. She brought those tastes and an interest in world cultures to the United States in 1980 as a Fulbright Scholar, and in 1982 earned a Master’s degree in cultural anthropology from Stanford University.
Circumstances, however, steered Stein, a Buddhist, in the direction of jewelry design — in which, over the next 19 years, she achieved a national reputation — and ultimately toward culinary arts and catering. Her passion for food and its holistic health possibilities came to fruition in 2004 when Stein opened 130-seat Azafran Café (and Catering), an earnest eatery with an international flair on the campus of Johns Hopkins University’s Space Telescope Science Institute.
Are you still interested in cultural anthropology?
I love it, and I try to apply it in the food as well. Our food is very interesting, because it’s a very creative kitchen. Although we explore food from all over the world, we mainly do Latin-American food with a Mediterranean influence. Basically, it’s cultural anthropology put into the food. Our soups, entrees and desserts change every week. Our regular menu of sandwiches and salads changes seasonally.
Are your jewelry-design skills reflected in your culinary arts?
Yes. I pay very close attention to the beauty of all our presentations, and it is often said that they look like jewels. I have a very minimalist approach to food presentations. So, the decors that we have are very simple, because we want the food to stand out and “talk.” We don’t want any frou-frou to deter you from looking at the food and properly tasting it. Our main language is how to present the food and make it absolutely delicious and without distraction — just as was my approach to jewelry design.
Are your Buddhist beliefs related to your views on good dining?
I’ve been practicing Buddhism for 35 years, and I try to apply the Buddhist ideal that everyone should do the very best for everyone else. That’s the way I treat my staff; that’s the way I buy our food; that’s the way we present everything.
This project reflects my background. It involves really delicious, fresh food — obtained locally. Therefore, I have a double challenge, because I have to keep prices low, while buying from local growers. And the kindness of my staff is extremely important to me, too, so when you come in, it’s a lovely experience. The mood around the food, the beauty of the environment and the music are as important as the clean, fresh food.
Do you have a favorite dish?
Ay-yi-yi. No. We have so many favorite dishes. I’ll just tell you what my favorite dish will be next week (Oct. 27-31), because we’ll be celebrating the Mexican Day of the Dead.
We’ll have a Mexican menu all week, and culminate it with a dinner — open to all the community by reservation — that will feature Chiles en Nogaga. This dish has 36 different ingredients and takes us a while to make. There are marvelous, marvelous things in it. That’s a typical example of what we do. —
