Meet Karina Torbensen

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Karina Torbensen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Karina, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I truly have always loved to bake and cook but I didn’t see it as a passion, or my purpose, until I got older. As a kid, I used to sit on the counter while my mom baked our family’s secret chocolate cake recipe, absolutely enamored by the process (not to mention the enticing reward of getting to be the first one to lick the spoon if you helped). We were the house that hosted all the holidays, birthdays, and events, and my mom did everything. From hand crafting decorations, to cooking the whole table of food AND making desert.
Growing up with such creativity around me, I have always had a wide array of creative outlets. For a while it was drawing, then ceramics, then paining, crafting, designing… anything you can think of I probably have thought to myself I can do that and have it somewhere in the craft corner of my home.
I feel like we all want so badly to find our purpose. I think that everyone has it deep down in their hearts, they just need to nurture it and give it the room to blossom. With my wide array creative outlets, it was hard for me to see what I was really meant to be doing because it had to just. feel. right.
I would say my “aha” moment was when I had been managing a restaurant for a few years. No matter how exhausted I was after a shift, I would come home and bake or cook a full blown ridiculously meticulous meal. Just because I wanted to. And I loved it so darn much. Something about being in my own kitchen, shutting off all the noise around me, setting the tone to my sacred environment, and getting to create whatever I can dream up. I love me a good sweet treat, and cakes became my perfect outlet for limitless creativity. Once I found out how much people enjoyed my food, it made me feel like I had found my calling. Not only does it feed my soul- I get to share that with others, and that’s when I knew I had found my purpose.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Citrus & Salt is my little baked goods & catering business. I make cakes, cater small events, and recently have been doing pop-ups with my baked goods! My mission for Citrus & Salt is sharing fresh, organic, seasonal, and, when I can, local foods that do not skimp on flavor and will always be pretty to eat. I didn’t have much of an idea on how I wanted my business to grow, but I am so incredibly thrilled on where I am now.
Each dessert is like a little canvas- I have so much fun creating. I love when my customers give me creative freedom with their cakes and I can really let my creativity flow. It has been so much fun and incredibly cool to find my own style as the orders come in. The pop-ups are my absolute favorite! Though a lot of work, it fills my heart to be able to share my baked goods with others. It makes my whole world to hear how much people enjoy the hard work I put into creating my little sweets.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

A few impactful things I have learned on this journey of mine is the importance of believing in myself and not being too hard on myself when things don’t go according to plan (which they often don’t!). It its easy to get down on myself when times are slow or when things don’t turn out perfect. When I get like that, I remind myself how amazing it is that I’m where I’m at in the first place, and that no matter what, I’m constantly learning! I just practice more, and know that I also have people believing in me!
It is also so important to learn how to be when I am too overwhelmed and stressed out. Times can get incredibly overwhelming when I have a lot of components to juggle at once and a time constraint. I’ve learned that organization and planning is so key, as well as balancing a healthy lifestyle for myself when I know I have days of work ahead of me. Wake up early, plan out my day to the hour, morning workout, eat, and drink plenty of water. Staying organized definitely lessens the stress of it all.
The most impactful knowledge I receive is reading a lotttt of cook books, listening to podcasts of small creatives like myself, and truly a large part is the amazing creatives I follow on instagram. It is so inspiring to see how different we all cook/ bake. I have learned a lot of techniques from others on that platform as well as been inspired to create more often.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

A lot of people play a large factor in where I am today. Friends, family, strangers, but I truly could not be where I am today without the help of my boyfriend, Miles. He has been my biggest supporter throughout this whole journey. Telling me I can do it when I didn’t believe I could, being there for me me when in the midst of a breakdown when stressed or overwhelmed, helping me set up my pop ups, delivering cakes when I have a full plate.. I could go on. To say I’m lucky is an understatement. To have the support I do around me is a large part of how I’m even here in the first place.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thecitrusandsalt.com
• Instagram: @citrus.andsalt