This past week it has felt as though summer has finally arrived here in Greece. Bitter orange trees are bearing heavy fruit throughout Athens and the mercury has risen to a very palatable t-shirt-and-shorts temperature. I even wore open toe sandals yesterday. Today is May day and I have a thousand friends and their children arriving in the next few hours to eat pastitsio and lemon posset (last of the garden’s lemons) with me. But as promised, below is my list of all that I am loving here in the Mediterranean at the moment.

May marks the beginning of an eventful summer full of exhibitions, workshops and nights out in Athens. My paying subscribers will have access to the full KALO MINA list, including where I’m hanging out and what I’m doing in Athens this month (so many exhibitions and events coming up!), my favourite Greek islands to ferry off to at this time of year (LUSH with wild flowers and free of tourists) and what I’m cooking a lot of right now.

Wishing you all a Kalo Mina (a very good month!)

Kisses,

Anastasia

x x x

Food that fills my cup right now

I am cooking spanakorizo on repeat. A delicious, Greek risotto with half the fuss of a standard Italian one, risotto is a typical dish that most Greek matriarchs have perfected. Theia Soula’s recipe in my latest book MEDITERRANEA is so fragrant with the addition of plenty of dill and it’s a very easy one pot dish I refer to at least once a week when I’m feeling overwhelmed with child care and work commitments. It’s comforting, works amazingly well with a massive slab of feta and is a good alternative to risotto if you prefer a higher vegetable to rice ratio. My twist on the traditional recipe is adding coriander and lime at the end with a swirl of yogurt too.

I’m using up a crazy amount of lemons as it’s the tail end of citrus season. One of my favourite citrus recipes that I go back to again and again is ’s lemon tender cake. It’s so fantastically moist, tart and (my favourite) very easy to make. I have a dog eared recipe that I pulled out of a magazine over a decade ago when I lived in London and I still use it. Perhaps it’s time I wrote it up as I do worry that the link online might suddenly disappear… My only tweak on this is I swap out the vegetable oil for olive oil.

I’m drinking…

I’m so glad the weather is heating up. My go-to at this time of year is a chilled herbal infusion of camomile and louiza (lemon verbena). I make this by brewing the camomile and verbena then chilling it overnight.

I stock up on the herbs from my favourite apothecary in the heart of Athens, FOTSI.

I’m visiting

Some of you may know that last summer, we bought a tumble down house on the island of

Read more

April is my birthday month so it feels fitting that I would start this newsletter with you all now. Spring has sprung here in Greece and I’m counting down the days to go and forage camomile in Corfu with my Yiayia. It is my favourite time of year and in celebration of that, I’m sharing all things that I LOVE in the Med with you in this new, monthly series.

For those of you who don’t know, “Kalo Mina” (Καλο Μηνα) literally translates to “good month” and it’s what we say here in Greece to welcome in a new month. There are specific Greek phrases that will wish you well attached to almost every occasion, usually beginning with the prefix “kalo”. Bought a new house? We say “kalo riziko” (good roots - the deeper meaning to ground well or happy grounding. Published a book or launched your own brand? We say “kalo taksido” (may it travel well.)

I think this is very much in the spirit of the Greek people; we love to share good will and to celebrate at pretty much any occasion. Even a Monday morning will illicit “kali ebdomada!” from passers by in the street here in Athens. It happened just this morning at the bakery. I rushed in for an on-the-go spanakopita for breakfast and the moustachioed baker welcomed me with a beaming smile and a KALO MINA. It was enough to turn my morning around and leave me with a resounding feel of positivity about the month ahead.

Which brings me to this new series of Kalo Mina love letters that I’ll be sending you on the first day of every month. Celebrating all that is light, bright and fulfilling in the Mediterranean, I’ll be sharing what I’m eating, watching, listening to, buying and reading with you all. I’m also including new restaurant openings and exhibitions or performances I’m attending here in Greece (or Italy when I’m there!) too.

I would so love to make it a Kalo Mina for you all too.

This is a chance to get the inside scoop on great boutique mediterranean brands, know where to get the best Greek produce and generally snoop into my life here in the Med. It also allows me to share about the brands, artists and creators I truly love and allows me to write a little more about the other elements of my life that lift me (fashion, music, books, art, TV!)

Right now I’m reading Bread for the Living, Bread for the Dead - Eight perspectives on bread from across the Mediterranean basin, a beautiful anthology of essays on our daily bread.

As we’re at the tail end of citrus season, I’m also devouring the Lemon book from The Gourmand, a delicious deep dive into the significance of lemons in our cuisine and its accompanying recipes (the lemon infused spaghetti is on repeat each week at my house currently.)

Something I watched that made me feel very uplifted is this clip from the Aliki Vougiouklaki film, I Kori Mou I Sosialistria. It emits the energy and fizz I feel this month as Greek summer approaches.

Driving to Corfu for Easter I’ll be listening to my Yiayia Road Trip playlist. This is a hilarious playlist of all of my Yiayia’s favourite songs, which we compiled together a couple of summer ago when I took her on a roadtrip from south to north Corfu.

Read more

I write this from my balcony here in Athens, in the sun dappled shade of a tall eucalyptus that erupts from my garden below. I was going to share a guide to the city with you all today but in classic me style, I’ve decided to do a 10 section, thorough companion to living this city that will take me much longer than the two days I have committed to Substack to write. SO! While you wait for my BUMPER Live Like an Athenian guide, I wanted to share the story of how I myself became an Athenian.

If you scroll right the way to the end of this, I’m sharing my secrets to creating a new life in Greece (many of them can be applied to other countries too!) My inner circle subscribers also have access to a special chat, in which I answer any questions you might have about moving to Greece.

Today marks my eighth year in this city. I remember this because it’s my dad’s birthday and he was quite pissed off on his special day that year. As a Greek man from a village on an island who left Greece because of the lack of opportunities here, my dad was provoked into a spluttering, shouting fit when I called him on his birthday to tell him I’d just landed in Athens with a suitcase and no plans to return home to London.

For context, I spent my formative years on the island of Corfu and my parents - British mother and Greek father - moved us to northern England for better schooling and greater opportunities under (at the time) a progressive, left leaning government. My family never had very much money but my parents were able to buy a house, send me to a very good arts school and put aside a little cash to supplement the loans I would later need to take out for university.

Still, I never felt English enough, whilst living in England. In fact, the kids at school called me the “Legal Immigrant” (perhaps telling of the white, working class town I was raised in, in northern England and the immigrant hating vitriol spouted by tabloids that proliferated there). I did what all teenagers do: I assimilated in order to fit in. Even out of earshot of my friends, I refused to speak Greek with my dad and did my best to hide all the parts of me that made me special and unique. Perhaps the most upsetting to me now is my absolute refusal to take my parents’ lovingly prepared yemista or youvetsi to school in my lunch box, insisting on cheddar cheese sandwiches and packets of hula hoop crisps.

Then I went to university, moved to London and attempted to live some semblance of an existence exemplified by my posh friends who were raised in the home counties, holidayed in France and were backed by the bank of mum and dad. Trying to keep up on a hamster wheel that I really didn’t belong on, I burned out multiple times, the only reprieve being weekends and nights out that cost more than I managed to earn. I worked for men in their thirties that were privileged enough to have never had a boss themselves and completely unable to behave appropriately towards the young women in their twenties that they hired.

Over the ten years I lived in London, I began to fly back home to Greece more frequently, seeking an escape from the life I thought I was building for myself. Weekends in Athens visiting cousins and friends that had moved there from Corfu became a way for me to touch base with myself again. Warm welcomes, last minute plans and hours whiled away in tavernas listening to the mandolin and singing to rebetika helped my heal the identity crisis I’d had as a teen. After each trip back, I became increasingly connected to my Greek side. The the longer I stayed in London, the more strip lit offices at media agencies and newspapers I worked at, the more Greek I became.

My Greekness was something I couldn’t shake. If anything, as with many diaspora Greeks trying to connect with their identity in less sun-kissed climes, I became more “Greek” in my customs than I might have been if I’d stayed in Corfu all my life. Sunday lunch in my London house share was observed as religiously as it is at my Greek Yiayia’s home on my island of Corfu. I served up Yemista or slow cooked lamb Yiouvetsi with orzo as opposed to the classic Sunday roast, always with a hefty slab of feta atop tomatoes that tasted like they’d never before seen the sun. It was not exactly my Yiayia’s cooking, but it just about conjured the flavours of her white-washed out house kitchen on the days when I needed her most.

When I wasn’t escaping to Greece, I tried to recreate Greece at home in London. Otherwise I was off in other far-away places, seeking to satiate the part of myself that deeply craves adventure and real connections. It all came to a head when in late 2017, I visited Argentina for the second time. I hopped on a plane to escape UK winter with my then boyfriend and was enthralled with summer in Buenos Aires. The energy felt so close to that of Athens - the late night dinners, effervescent people, the architecture - it all set something alive in me. Not to mention the Argentinian men. Oops sorry ex.

I returned to London in March 2018 expecting winter to have passed. Instead, I landed into a lovely snow storm. Anyone who knows me well enough will be aware of my great dislike of snow. It’s cold, it’s wet. What is there to like? Trudging into the grime / sludge of snow as I left my house in East London for work (copywriting at a famous British fashion house), I slipped on some black ice and landed hard on my coccyx. As people rushed past me as though I was a lamp post or a bin, another obstacle to their getting to work on time, I had an epiphany. I needed to leave this city.

My knee jerk reaction was to head back to Argentina. I had loved it there and felt that Buenos Aires could be my city. The only issue was the funds. I had been travelling for months and only had £2000 in my savings account, with no secure work on the horizon. Such is my distaste for snow, grey skies and fruit packaged in plastic boxes, that I didn’t let this bother me too much. I booked a flight to Athens (at the time my second best option) and left with one suitcase of stuff a week later.

It was irresponsible and impulsive but landing in Athens to bright blue skies, I was grateful to my aptitude for risk. Perhaps it has something to do with my family never having had much money but always managing to make do without. I didn’t need 20k in savings to live the life I wanted. I just needed kefi (the Greeks’ brilliant word meaning zest for life / things that you do) and a desire to make it work.

Why did I choose Athens?

Liberated from pre-set dates in the diary, restaurant reservations and tickets for club nights, I fell deeply in love with a city that opened up the day (and night!) to its full potential. I couldn’t move back home to my village in Corfu having lived in London - I needed the buzz of a new city and the excitement of new relationships. It goes without saying that the then boyfriend got ditched quite soon after moving back to Greece.

There was an incredible energy in Athens that spring of 2018. I found myself making new friends in cafes or at bars, many of them making up my close friends today. The city was emerging from the financial crisis battered and bruised but that left space for young Greek creatives (myself included) to quite physically take up the abandoned spaces left behind by businesses that didn’t make it. Instead, young Greek artists could use empty shop fronts to make art, exhibit it and party.

This is where my nights usually began, at an art opening where I made new friends easily, drank free wine and stumbled giddily down the road to local tavernas or late night meze spots for a meal that would start at 10pm and wrap up around 2 in the morning, at which point I’d head to a club with my new posse and dance until the sun’s morning glow over the white city would signal it might be time for a lie down, or at least a freddo cappuccino swilled under the shade of an empathetic bitter orange tree.

How did I make it work?

Read more

I’m really happy you’re here with me! Because you’re getting the VIP treatment, I made a special downloadable document for you to be able to enjoy EAT LIKE A YIAYIA in a more sexy, printable format. There’s more where this came from throughout the year for you inner circle members too….

‘Inner Circle’ subscribers get the VIP treatment…

• Unlimited access to my granny recipe archive.

• Multiple Longevity eating plans throughout the year - seasonal, downloadable PDFs of weekly meal plans based exactly on my Greek Yiayia’s own diet (I diligently call her and note down exactly what she eats for a week!) These include links to recipes and a provisional shopping list. No trends, no fads. The real deal mediterranean diet to nourish ourselves with, long term.

• Multiple In-depth Insider Travel Guides to Greece, Italy and other places I’m visiting, in the form of a downloadable PDF, with google maps links for ease when travelling. Think secret beaches that are off the beaten track, neighbourhood eats and unique places to stay (tried and tested!) in order to experience and live an authentic Mediterranean life.

• Themed e-books with inspiring stories from grandmothers - the exclusive outtakes that didn’t quite make it into my cookbooks!

• Inner Circle members get the first opportunity to book onto my Greek culinary retreats, along with special early bird discounts.

• Live Q&As with me and the grandmothers in my books, as well as with experts in longevity.

Also!

Thanks so much for your interest in eating like my Yiayia. I have to say she’s completely baffled as to why I’m sharing this with you all, which goes to show how much of a foundation it is to her life. It’s the bedrock of her existence and she can’t imagine another way of eating. These are staple meals that she has been cooking and sharing with her family for as long as she can remember.

The following nourishment plan details exactly what Yiayia ate each day of this week, inclusive of extra drinks (hello glass of wine with lunch!), the odd treat made by her daughters (she doesn’t bake herself!) and her go-to snacks.

I have included the pages in my books Yiayia and MEDITERRANEA, in which you can find these recipes or otherwise, the links to my Substack so that you can find and print the recipes. I’ve also added a basic shopping list but amounts for the fresh groceries will depend on how many you are cooking for so make sure to check the recipes well.

Read more

It’s so lovely to be back here. I hope that you had a much more relaxing Christmas break than my own. Mine consisted of 5am wake ups, endless tantrums and a baby and toddler both screaming at me to be fed at the same time. There were some cute moments too…

During my countless hours nursing the little one, I have of course been checking in with social media. January inevitably becomes a month in which resolutions are shared and shouted about but being forced to slow down thanks to the baby this year, I’ve taken a step back from my usual goals-setting for the year and instead chose to cosy up and lean into the (finally!) cold weather here in Athens.

While I do love a ‘new year, new me’, manifestation list or board, my baby-enforced hibernation has revealed some things that I’d like to share. First of all, January really shouldn’t be a time to be diving into new projects - especially projects of self improvement. Winter (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) is a time to cosy up, take stock and nourish yourself well before spring bursts into our lives again. For thousands of years before a couple of egotistical Roman emperors decided it, the new year began in spring. It still does for the Persians, Chinese and many Indians.

I’m usually the life and soul of the party and have terrible FOMO but this time around postpartum, I genuinely didn’t want to be out mingling with people in bars and catching colds at parties over Christmas. Hot milk, turmeric and honey at 9:30pm and a book are the ultimate luxury for me right now and considering the weather, it makes perfect sense. I currently spend my days dreaming up soup combinations and eating them with toast slathered in melted butter.

NEW YEAR, NEW ME DIET?

On that note, I am being served up so much diet and exercise content this month that it makes me want to drop my phone down the toilet. My postpartum belly is very much still present and I can’t fit into my jeans but I have zero desire to ‘get back into shape’ by punishing myself with runs in the park (eew) and cutting out carbs. If I were to mention being on a new year diet to Yiayia or present a diet trend to her - she would either whack me over the head (rightly so) or have no idea what I’m talking about.

While I love to look and feel good, I absolutely detest the idea of restriction when it comes to food. Nourishment should be exactly that - nourishing. Even more so in winter when there are so many nasty viruses and bugs floating around. It is the perfect time to feed our bodies and our immune systems. Calorie counting, intermittent fasting or cutting out certain foods sounds like torture to me right now and it’s something that my Yiayia and all of her sisters have never done. And yet! Yiayia is 90 years old, alive and kicking. She lives independently and is rarely sick, so she must be doing something right.

We hear about ‘the Mediterranean diet’ (the only diet my Yiayia has ever known) being the bastion of longevity. It’s one of the reasons I wrote my book, MEDITERRANEA and it’s the long-term form of nourishment that I live by. Despite the consensus on the Mediterranean diet being the best in the world, I haven’t seen any posts touting a Mediterranean diet this January. In all the ‘new year, new me’ content I’m presented with at the moment, it seems that diet fads and trends are performing the best on social media over tried and tested, all together more tasty methods of losing or maintaining weight.

WHAT MY YIAYIA ATE IN A WEEK

This brings me to the juicy bit of today’s post. For all of you who have resolved to ‘get healthy’ this year and for anyone who’s simply curious or might want to be inspired, I’m sharing a full breakdown of what my Yiayia eats in a week - just scroll to the end of this email!

We’ve been having daily phone calls for the past two weeks on this which have been very entertaining. She actually finds it completely normal for me to ask her for a run down of all her meals and snacks in a day - that’s how a typical conversation rolls for Yiayia and I, only it’s usually her enquiring on what I’m cooking (with responses varying from “you’re only eating soup?!” to “what’s this ‘curry’ thing? I’ve never heard of it.”)

For the purposes of this email I’m going to call it a ‘Nourishment Plan’ rather than use the word ‘diet’ because of the connotations of restriction attached to that word. When reading it, you’ll see that this is a diet of abundance, leaning on seasonal (mainly veggie!) ingredients and thrifty options to feed yourself and /or family and friends. I’ve mentioned where Yiayia makes extra, to lean onto easy mid week meals and also where she’s used leftovers to create an entirely new meal. I’ve added meals that I’m cooking too - some of my go-to’s external to Yiayia’s repertoire that bring in diversity and all of them can be found either in my books or right here, on my substack.

What you will notice is that Yiayia starts most days with a hot water and lemon, she takes a siesta every day and many of her meals are shared with others. These little notes are in there to nod to the fact that it’s a lot more than just her diet that keeps her in good shape, mentally and physically.

I’d so love if some of you might take this and lean on it as your ‘forever' winter nourishment - a repertoire of dishes that will boost energy, contribute to longevity, bolster the immune system and take advantage of seasonality. If your goal is to lose weight, I can attest to this being a diet that is tried, tested and works for long term goals. If you want to cut down on grocery bills, it’s also a thrifty and delicious way to eat. I hope it serves you all well.

A QUICK NOTE

My VIP, ‘Inner Circle’ Members will have access to this nourishment plan in a separate post so that they can download the sexy, printable PDF, along with a provisional shopping list and notes or links on where to find the recipes. If you sign up to join the inner circle, you’ll receive more nourishment plans throughout the year along with…

• Unlimited access to my granny recipe archive.

• Multiple In-depth Insider Travel Guides to Greece, Italy and other places I’m visiting, in the form of a downloadable PDF, with google maps links for ease when travelling. Think secret beaches that are off the beaten track, neighbourhood eats and unique places to stay (tried and tested!) in order to experience and live an authentic Mediterranean life.

• Themed e-books with inspiring stories from grandmothers - the exclusive outtakes that didn’t quite make it into my cookbooks!

• Inner Circle members get the first opportunity to book onto my Greek culinary retreats, along with special early bird discounts.

• Live Q&As with me and the grandmothers in my books, as well as with experts in longevity.

Subscribe now

If you don’t fancy subscribing for the year right now, you can purchase the nourishment plan as a one-off for yourself or for a friend, here.

Get Nourished & get the PDF

With love to you all this January,

Anastasia AND Yiayia Anastasia

xoxox

Read more

Once again, I want to thank all of you for supporting my work, from this newsletter to the books I have worked hard to bring into this world. It brings me so much joy that the grandmothers in my books - though many of them have never left their hometowns or villages - are travelling to far flung corners of the globe and landing in your kitchens. I want to pinch myself every time someone from Australia or the USA (I had a note from someone in Hawai recently!!) tells me they’re cooking my Yiayia’s recipes. It fills my cup to know that preserving heritage and holding on to time-perfected wisdom means something to all of you too.

2025 was a huge year for me. I birthed a baby and a new book and the combo completely floored me. I have a sailor husband who travels away from home for half of the year so promoting a book whilst also raising a toddler during the third trimester of pregnancy is a real killer. It resulted in a less than ideal birth and extremely difficult recovery (which I will write about when I have dealt better with the trauma!) I had some of my lowest moments this summer, alone with a tantruming toddler, very much isolated in my village in Corfu whilst heavily pregnant. Argh! It gives me goosebumps to think back to it. And not in a good way.

Each and everyone of you subscribing, supporting and coming back for this newsletter have kept me going. So thanks once again for giving me a reason to show up and do what I really need to do to get me through my lowest moments: to write, share and communicate.

In the spirit of showing gratitude for the good moments of 2025, I’m sharing a little round up of all that I have loved this year below. From personal learnings, playlists to cook to, places I’ve visited in Greece (secret swim spots galore!!) to tavernas, underrated islands, brands and produce that I’ve devoured as well as meals that I’ve cooked. It’s stuff that was new to me in 2025. I’m including links to my favourite posts and will take off the pay wall for a week so you can delve in for a little Xmas read.

I’ll be back in the new year with a more focused stack which I’ll tell you all about in 2026! It will involve extra special in depth PDF travel guides for my most loyal of subscribers and a delving deeper into ritual, heritage, tradition and the stories of the women that have so inspired my work. Hope to see more of you subscribing and supporting for all that is to come.

For now, here’s my ‘best bits of 2025’

My best purchase of 2025

We waited for 2 years for this to happen and I can hardly believe it but I now actually own an island home on the Cycladic island of Tinos. It’s a beautiful traditional white washed home and I hope so much to make it into a place that I can share with you in the form of retreats and residencies. For now, I’ll be sharing renovation updates and the ins and outs of buying in Greece with my paying subscribers.

My biggest learning of 2025

I am not responsible for my parents’ happiness. This year has been a tough one for many reasons, one of which was realising that my parents are not emotionally mature enough to ever really be there for me. I will write about this when I feel I’m ready to but what I will say is that 2025 has kind of been a year of letting go for me. I’ve been grieving the relationship I’ll never have with my mother all year.

My biggest learning has been to accept that no matter how hard I try or what I do, my parents will be the same people, not because I am not good enough or that I’m not doing enough, but for reasons of their own that have absolutely nothing to do with me. Now FORWARDS!

My most leaned-on recipes of 2025

I am not blowing my own trumpet when I say that my most cooked recipes of the year come from my books, MEDITERRANEA and Yiayia. That’s because they’re not my recipes but those of the masters of Mediterranean cuisine, the grandmothers I cooked with and gleaned these time-perfected dishes from. I have to admit I’m a lazy cook so my favourite meals have been one pot dishes or tray bakes that I can throw on the stove / in the oven and then get on with my day.

Here are the dishes that have been on repeat this year:

• Nonna Franca’s Lasagne - a favourite with my fussy toddler and a constant staple in my household since Sicilian Franca shared her recipe with me 7 years ago when I lived in Palermo. Rosie Birkett made it in advance of our kitchen hang earlier this year on Substack and attested to its deliciousness! Those of you with a copy of MEDITERRANEA - make sure this is on your January ‘to cook’ list!

  

• Yiayia Toula’s Kotopoulo Lemonato - lemon roasted chicken and potatoes. A Greek classic from my book Yiayia and one that I make at least once a week, pairing with Greek salad in the summer or leafy greens / cabbage in the winter months.

• Sicilian Citron and anchovy salad from Ragusa - In the winter we use the thick, spongy pith of the Citron lemon to make this but I made this obsessively in the summer too, swapping out citron for honey melon and eating it with a great dollop of burrata. Nonna Cece (in my book MEDITERRANEA) shared this recipe with me and what I think is most special about it is that most Sicilians aren’t aware of the recipe because it’s very regional to Ragusa.

  

• Yiayia’s Beef and Orzo soup - I was so in need of broths and soups this year due to my pregnancy and post partum period so it was this recipe from MEDITERRANEA that I went back to again and again. Nothing makes me feel nourished like my yiayia’s beef soup. It’s dense with orzo pasta and deeply warming thanks to the beef and its broth. A tomato infused bowl of hugs from my grandmother, even when she’s not the one cooking it.

  

• Nonna Carmela’s Tiramisu - the best Tiramisu recipe I’ve ever tried and such a winner at every lunch and dinner I’ve hosted this year. An easy win that yields compliments every time. Please try it if you have my book and let me know what you think but I really appreciate that Carmela didn’t over do it with the sugar - it strikes the perfect balance between sweet and bitter.
  

My top posts on Substack of 2025

My Long Lost Granny Joan and Yiayia as an Antidote to Dementia - How to hold onto your brain health for longer: be more Yiayia

Where to Eat the Best Seafood in Athens - My Top Twenty - My favourite spots for OXI Day - and a little on what this special public holiday means

How not to F* up your Greek Salad - Such a simple, universally loved salad, yet people can get it SO wrong.

RECIPE: The ULTIMATE Spanakorizo for spring - A classic Greek recipe using seasonal ingredients, served up by Yiayia Soula, a sneak peek into my book Mediterranea.

Read more

(Lead balloon?!)

As we all prepare for festive dinners this month, I’d love to share some thoughts on the way we eat this season, how special convivial eating can be and what it says about us. For my paid subscribers, I’m also sharing a selection of ideas below for easy, ‘picky eating’ aperitivo options you can serve up as part of an epic Mediterranean-inspired Christmas party spread and how best to serve for maximum impact.

(As a quick aside, next week, I’m sharing a recipe for the most dramatic of all desserts - perfect for a jaw-dropping show-stopper at your Christmas feast. The Cassata Siciliana cake from my book MEDITERRANEA will feature as a sneak peek for all my beloved paying subscribers…)

During this period - perhaps quite unlike most other meals - our festive tables are usually laid heavy with a selection of plates to pick from and assemble tailor made feasts, piling our plates high from a buffet selection. For certain in the UK, where I spent my teenage years, a Turkey would come ‘with all the trimmings’ - a tray of Brussels sprouts, piping hot roast potatoes, sage and cranberry stuffing, honeyed parsnips and carrots and of course, crisp but fluffy-on-the-inside Yorkshire Puddings. Christmas is one of my favourite times of year, in large part thanks to this lavish spread and the way we eat at Christmas time.

While most diners in the western world are now becoming au fait with sharing plates menus at restaurants, it should be pointed out that in the Mediterranean basin, ‘picky eating’ - as I like to call it - is more than just a trend in gastronomy or a one off at Christmas; it is a way of life.

I grew up on the Greek ritual of ‘meze’. My lunches and dinners have always been a chaos of arms criss-crossing over a diverse spread of light bites, served ‘gia to trapezi’ (for the table), no single dish belonging to one individual but rather an array of small plates for everyone to serve each other, share in and comment on.

Try and order your own plate in Greece and you’re at the mercy of your fellow diners. The dish will likely land far from your own seat at the table, being passed around for others to pick at before it arrives before you, half devoured.

In my years living and travelling across the breadth of the Mediterranean to cook with grandmothers, I have found this mode of eating repeated again and again. Think aperitivo in Italy, sharing cheeseboards in France, Moroccan tea ceremony, tapas in Spain, meze across Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine, Cyprus and Greece.

Each individual country’s relationship with picky eating varies, though we can give the Romans some credit for their ritual of ‘gustatio’, the practice of opening up their appetite (‘aperitivus’ in Latin), before a meal with a light bite accompanied by a slosh of honey wine. Alcohol has long been linked to this style of dining. The merchants and labourers of the middle ages in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) had a penchant for a glass of raki and a salty hunk of cheese or cured seafood meze before heading home for lunch.

Read more

Share

Kalimera one and all,

While I don’t buy into the hype of Black Friday, I’m currently FULLY into and focused on my Christmas shopping and adore buying gifts for others. Yes it may still be November but when you’re buying ethically from local makers like my list below, better to get in early with your orders!

With that in mind, I wanted to share a special Christmas gifting guide that supports small businesses, artists and authors like myself. Below is a BUMPER selection of gifts for anyone who might love Greece, the Mediterranean and Nonna style cooking in general. These are the brands and contacts I share only with my nearest and dearest and the pieces I’ve selected are a curated list of gifts that I either own or I’m currently coveting. Foodie products have of course been tried and tasted.

The list ranges from one off art pieces to buy from artists based in and around the Mediterranean and Greece to unique jewellery, fashion, books, ceramics and tableware as well as foodie treats that I’m purchasing for my own beloved this month. There’s even bags handwoven by grandmothers in there. There are also ideas for experiences and homemade gifts below too.

Think Nonna, think Mediterranean and above all, put your well earned cash into supporting artists and small businesses rather than the billionaire behemoths this Christmas.

I hope this Med-themed list might inspire you - even if it’s a special gift for yourself you’re shopping for in the coming weeks. Most of the gifts featured are from small, unique brands and businesses, ensuring your gifts are ULTRA special this year.

Books

My favourite gift is always a book and Christmas gifting is really no exception. Of course my number one recommendation is Mediterranea, my latest book. I would so love these grandmothers of the Mediterranean to travel far and wide, along with their life lessons and delicious time-perfected recipes. I think the book makes a great gift because it toes the line between cookbook, travelogue and coffee table book - for aesthetes, travel enthusiasts and foodies alike.

I’m also obsessed with my friend artist Michael McGregor’s book, The Greece Notebook. It’s a visual journey through Greece, all in his signature ‘point and sketch’ style. Incidentally, he did many of the illustrations for this book whilst staying in my apartment in Corfu. It makes a beautiful coffee table flick through.

One close to my heart, Maria Darling Jones has come up with a very beautiful and worthwhile initiative inspired by Greek Yiayiades and Pappoudes. A series of ‘memory colouring books’ for families to connect with grandparents living with dementia, the “I Am a Greek Cypriot Grandmother” is a tribute to Greek traditions as well as a hands-on activity to engage with your elderly relatives.

Dementia affects nearly 1 million people in the UK alone, with memory loss impacting families across all communities. Carers often struggle to find culturally relevant activities for loved ones. Colouring and memory prompts can reduce anxiety, spark conversation, and provide moments of joy. I’m buying one to take to my English Granny Joan, who struggles with dementia these days.

Design, interiors and architecture enthusiasts will also love The Doors of Kypseli, a visual feast by my screen printing artist friend, Eleanor Lines. On each page of this beautifully designed book is a screen printed image of a beautiful wrought iron door from my Athenian neighbourhood, Kypseli. Eleanor also offers workshops at her Kypseli studio, which I’ll be including in my ‘experiences’ section of this gifting guide below.

Read more

I wanted to share my very first experience of Substack live with you today and a huge thank you to the lovely for hosting me as part of her Kitchen Hangs series. Also to everyone who joined us live, including Hannah Rochell, Maria Harte, Valentina Solfrini, Christine, My Tuscany Roots, Sarah Hardaker!

Like myself, Rosie is a home cook and food writer whose focus is on hosting, nourishing and elevating ‘simple’ dishes in order to bring people together. In the spirit of that, we enjoyed a morning brew together yesterday and touched heads to discuss my new book, Mediterranea, granny cooking and what researching a book like this entails.

There’s lots in our chat on the making of my new book, including the difficulties of wheedling these time-perfected recipes out of grandmothers that move very quickly and have no time for ditherers with weighing scales like me in the kitchen. Also some hot tips on Mediterranean living and insights into the recipes and the nonna stories behind them plus an ill-fated love affair in Palermo that led to the best lasagne recipe of my life.

As I touched on earlier this week on instagram, I feel hugely grateful to Rosie and other brilliant food writers who have ‘leaned in’ to help share the granny love and promote my latest book. It means a lot to have this support from others in the same industry, who share similar values and is extra special when you get on as well as we do.

Like myself, Rosie has a very special cooking matriarch in her family that has hugely inspired her. While my Yiayia carries the culinary baton for our own family, Rosie looks to her mama (Queen of Sunday Roasts!) for inspiration in the kitchen. Her epic feasts that Rosie shares on instagram are refined home cooking at their best so I’m really pleased to announce that Rosie is sharing the recipe for her mum’s delicious herby lamb and white beans braise with me. It makes for the ultimate Sunday family get-together meal and I’m posting that in a separate email later for you all.

For now, make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and please enjoy the laughter of our morning hang out. Thank you Rosie!

A x x x

Read more

I’ve had multiple people reach out to me about the potential of me helping to plan their own weddings after they watched my wedding highlights from a few years ago and while I really don’t have capacity to become a wedding planner right now, I’m really happy to share some tips and ideas that created unforgettable moments at my own wedding - including what was on the menu. Plus there’s a fair bit of ‘wedding porn’ because mine was undeniably sexy and who doesn’t like a nosy into another person’s life once in a while?

As an aside, I was an events producer whilst living in London (think immersive theatre and supper clubs / food installations) and love planning a party, so I do have some creds when it comes to events.

The sad reality of modern Greek weddings

First though - what makes a Greek wedding different? I’m going to ruffle feathers here and say that modern Greek weddings have become trashy as hell. Think huge function halls, purple LED under-lighting and soggy pasta on a sad looking buffet. The men

smoke incessantly. The women pile on the make up. The photographers pause the action in order to capture a moment that never existed in the first place. The contemporary Greek does not want a picture perfect Mamma Mia! wedding in a small chapel by the sea. They want an enormous wedding, plenty of tulle and polyester dressed plastic chairs with gargantuan bows everywhere your eye might turn. Then those in the business of weddings capitalise on the egregious nature of the events and follow suit in a theatrical production that’s no longer very pleasing to look at or be a part of. Yikes I’ve really gone for it, but that’s the truth.

I didn’t want any of this and quite frankly, it felt almost impossible to find people to work with who didn’t share in a cheesy vision of conspicuous consumption that has become the Greek Wedding when I planned my own five years ago. So, below I’m sharing the contacts of people I love and trust (photographers, cake makers, florists, band etc), as well as some suggestions on how to choose a venue and location because it’s a nightmare trying to do this if you’re going in blind… truly.

I’m sure everyone will say this but against all odds, our wedding was beautiful. The brief I gave myself was “Dolce & Gabbana ad, in Greece” in the style of the mid noughties ads that inspired me to study fashion journalism (another life!)

The Big Fat Drama of my Big Fat Greek Wedding

It was September of 2020 and an entire summer passed by in which I was on the receiving end of constant messages from friends about how the pandemic would inevitable shut down the wedding. Links to articles about the next tourist spot to go into another lockdown came at me from all angles but after suffering a miscarriage earlier in the year, I was determined to make September 12 2020 (the due date of our little boy) a joyous occasion.

I wanted my wedding to be like that of my parents’ or the one of my Yiayia and Pappou. A small, local church ceremony (I love the ritual, tradition and scents and smells of mine in Corfu and above all of this I really get along with our village ‘Papa’) followed by lunch in a no-frills but pretty sea-front taverna. The importance of hosting my own wedding in Corfu, the island on which I was raised, was as much about paying homage to my home as it was celebrating the man I was bringing into it.

Quite hilariously, the owner of the taverna that I hosted the wedding at was a total nightmare to work with the entire summer. I didn’t have a wedding planner and my man works a seasonal job that takes him away on a yacht all summer long so I was in the planning and negotiating all on my own. Manoeuvring around this guy’s ego was difficult, made even more tricky by his Greek, macho outlook. Conversations would go around in circles for hours.

Me: “We’d like the tarpaulin removed because I want guests to be able to see the olive trees above us”

Him: “That’s going to take 4 days we can’t do it.”

(It took my amazing florist an hour)

Me: “I’d like all the dips served at once.”

Him: “Not happening, that’s not how we do it. Tzatziki must go with the Greek salad.”

(WTF?)

Me: “I’d like drinks served on the beach below the taverna for the party after dinner.”

Him: “You can use the beach but our staff will be tired after dinner and we can’t bring drinks down there.”

(Again - WTF?)

We came to blows the week before the wedding when he announced he wouldn’t allow more than 100 people at the reception because of the risk of covid (despite our being able legally to host the 150 guests as planned). I had guests flying in from the UK, Athens and Italy and yet this guy wouldn’t budge. So, one week before my wedding, I changed the entire itinerary, split the wedding party so that close friends and family from Corfu would attend a wedding lunch at one taverna (not his!) and then our ‘out of towners’ along with close family would all meet at a jetty and take a traditional fishing Kaiki boat to the next venue with its grumpy owner.

The reason I didn’t abandon this location all together was because I dreamed of marrying there since I was a little girl. The owner’s father was a family friend and before the son had taken over, this was our family’s favourite place to eat together.

In the end, the wedding was perfect. And CHEAP as weddings go (we didn’t spend more than 14,000 euro). Covid regulations did not change. All friends invited did attend and the dual locations and all the special touches throughout the day and the days before made for the most traditional Greek wedding I’ve ever attended.

Here’s how I did it…

Tradition and rituals of a Greek Wedding

Those of you who have followed my work for a while and have my books will know that tradition is important to me. It was less a religious obligation than a way to nod to those who came before me when I decided to include many of the rituals my own Yiayia had adopted for my wedding at my own. I think they were beautiful ways to honour tradition and fun for the Italian and British contingency who had no idea what happens at a traditional Greek wedding.

Below is the itinerary sent out to guests for my wedding day, with a list of ‘moments’ that happened throughout the day that really made the wedding Greek…

Preparing the marital bed

Morning of Saturday, 12th September, 9am

On the morning of the wedding, friends and family members will gather at the villa in Agia Pelagia to ‘prepare’ our marital bed. Along with freshly brewed Greek coffee, baklava and a morning shot of Metaxa, unmarried members of the family and friends will make the bed.

Prosperity and putting down roots are symbolized by throwing money and rice onto the bed, which each friend and family member take part in. Then a baby is rolled on the bed to bless it with fertility. (Those of you with babies - please feel free to volunteer your child for the bed roll!)

The superstitious amongst us believe the newlywed’s first born will be a girl or a boy, depending on the gender rolled onto the bed. We’re up for twins - so if you can roll one of each, that would be great.

Singing to the bride

At Yiayia’s house while the bride is dressed, 10:30am

Anastasia’s grandmother (Yiayia) and her aunty Stamatella will give a live vocal performance as Anastasia’s ‘koubares’ (best women or maids of honour) dress her for the wedding. Hair, make-up and dressing the Greek bride is accompanied by elderly female relatives singing as the bride prepares for the day ahead. Can’t promise perfect harmonies…

The bridal shoes

At Yiayia’s house …

On the morning of the wedding, before Anastasia puts on her shoes, the names of all her single friends will be written on the bottom. Greek superstition says that the first names to wear off will be the next to marry.

The red ‘mantilia’

Anastasia leaving the house

In either hand, Anastasia will hold a red ‘mantili’ - a sash of fabric - that will be held on either side by her father and brother, who will accompany her in her walk to the church. Traditionally, Corfiot girls who were engaged would wear the red fabric in their hair or as a head covering, as a symbol that they were ‘taken’. The red is symbolic of the forthcoming wedding night…

The band

The bridal procession, 11am

Anastasia will be led out of Yiayia’s home in Perivoli village by a mandolin band. They will follow the bridal ‘carriage’ - Anastasia’s father’s Hyundai pick up - all the way to the neighbouring village, where they will accompany the bridal party in walking up to the church. Just incase Edoardo wants to make a run for it, he’ll hear the approaching wedding party before they arrive.

The ‘Koumbaroi’

The ceremony

The Koumbaros and Koumbara are the best man / maid of honour. We have four in total! In a Greek Orthodox wedding, they are seen as the ‘sponsors’ of the wedding and they perform some of the most symbolic elements of the wedding. In order to perform the ceremony, our priest (Papa Georgis) needs items provided by the sponsors. These are Stefania (two crowns joined together with a ribbon to symbolise union, royalty and honour), the rings, two candles and wine decanter and glasses set atop a silver tray.

As well as providing these items and being a part of the ceremony, the Koumbaroi are the people the couple have chosen to be the people they turn to for help, guidance and spiritual advice in the marriage.

Blessing the rings

During the ceremony, the couple place the rings on the tips of their wedding fingers (on the right hand in Greece) and the koumbaro (best man) will exchange them three times. The priest will then bless them three times.

The ‘stefania’

The marital crowns are two beautiful pieces made from flowers and foliage and joined together by a strand of ribbon. It is the role of the Koumbaroi to provide these.

They symbolize the union of two people into one couple. The crowns are swapped back and forth by the Koumbaro three times and the couple wear them as they walk around the altar three times (everyone throws rice and confetti over the couple at this point) to represent their journey through life together. Papa Giorgis will bless us before our crowns are removed.

Gifting

Card and gift giving happens at the church at a Greek wedding. Traditionally, the bride and groom have money pinned onto them at the wedding reception but increasingly so, it’s now done in a less overt display at the church, given in an envelope. If you want to give a gift at the wedding, please do so when you see Greek family members approaching with their envelopes, which they drop into the draped mantili!

Bonbonniere

After the ceremony

Odd numbers of Koufeta (sugar-coated almonds) beautifully packaged are given to guests after the wedding ceremony. They symbolize purity, fertility and the endurance of marriage. These Greek wedding favours were originally inspired by the king of Athens, Demophon, whose wife, Phyllis, turned into an almond tree. In the tale, Demophon left his wife to attend his father’s funeral but promised to return soon. He delayed and his wife believed that he abandoned her. As a result, she took her own life. However, the gods took pity in her story and turned her into an almond tree. Demophon returned and found out the news, made a sacrifice to the almond tree and the gods blessed him by making the tree blossom. Hence almonds at a wedding.

Greek dancing

At the reception

The band will play at the reception, with Greek dancing to be expected. The first dance will be Anastasia and her father, Vasilis, dancing Sirtaki for the new member of their family. Corfu’s music tradition was highly influenced by Italy with main instruments being the guitar, violin and lute and in recent times, the mandolin. The people from Corfu are particularly musical and famous for their ‘kantades’. The dances are graceful and flirtatious - so look forward to that and please do, join in.

Smashing plates

From 9:30pm

It’s customary to smash plates at a Greek wedding. We’re ordering a load in just for smashing. This happens when the guests begin to dance Zeibekiko, the ‘eagle’ dance.

Little Black Book of Wedding Contacts

A great wedding is the sum of its parts. It’s a theatrical production that needs many elements - from hair and make up to a great venue, photographer, florist, cake maker, chef. The list is very much endless.

I found it difficult to source certain parts of the whole - because of the direction Greek weddings have taken in recent years. It’s incredibly important to find the right people for you so I’m sharing just a few of the options that I have used for my own events and at my wedding, including private contacts who are happy for me to share their details with you, my local subscribers! Of course my own wedding happened in Corfu but the list includes photographers and florists willing and happy to travel to your choice location!

Read more

Flying to London from Athens last weekend, I crash Landed into my old neighbourhood of Columbia Road (East London) just in time for my MEDITERRANEA book launch supper club on Monday evening. It’s been a whirlwind of a week, which included a pit stop at the Penguin offices (I can’t believe I’m being published by one of the world’s biggest and most esteemed publishing houses?!?!?) to sign books and I’m coming down from the great elation of presenting my book to a selection of close friends and journalists. It meant a lot to gather a group of incredible women together to celebrate all the matriarchs in our lives in an evening of story telling and great food.

Anyone who has experience working in events will know how chaotic and all consuming planning a dinner like this is - especially when your entire planning period takes place remotely. Despite the madness, my Mediterranean themed dinner party was a great success and I’m sharing lots below from the night, including how to dress your tables to great effect this summer, my playlist for a Mediterranean dinner party and my dinner party menu from the night (plus a sneak peek recipe from the new book - the most incredible, zingy and little known Sicilian salad which will revolutionise your summer tables!) In addition, on instagram you asked me to compile a list of Greek hangouts, restaurants and delis in London. I am delivering this in today’s newsletter too!

There’s lot going on today BUT before all of this:

I’m sharing a list of stockists for my book that are NOT Amazon. Pre sales in this period before my book is released are REALLY important for determining the fate of MEDITERRANEA so if you enjoyed Yiayia / like reading my work / LOVE grannies and Mediterranean food and beautiful photography - please do pre-order your copy. While I do need to make a living, I also agree with so many of you boycotting Amazon (I haven’t used it in years and that guy does not need more cash to line his pockets with!) It’s the worst way to buy books for the planet, for authors and because of its exploitative employment practices. So, I’ve compiled this list below for those of you wanting to buy ethically

WHERE TO BUY A COPY OF MEDITERRANEA: LIFE-PERFECTED RECIPES FROM GRANDMOTHERS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN ONLINE (AND AVOID AMAZON!)

The instagram hive brain has delivered on Amazon alternatives - thank you to all who messaged me to keep me better informed and please do share any others I can add to this list…

USA - Bookshop.org , Barnes & Noble

UK - UKBookshop.org , WHSmiths, Waterstones, Foyles,

Canada - Bookcity.ca, AnotherStory.ca

Australia - Readings, Booktopia, Dymocks,

Greece - Hyper Hypo (email at shop@hyperhypo.gr to reserve your copy for pick up in Athens once it drops this summer!) or you can order online after August, Bookodyssey.gr if you’d like to pre-order online now

Germany - Fairbuch

Belgium - standaardboekhandel

Netherlands - American Book Centre

Bringing the Mediterranean home this summer

Monday night’s launch dinner for my book was really an exercise in recreating the flavours and feels of the Mediterranean in London, despite the temperamental weather forecast. I have so many people to thank for this including my dear friend Ola at Table Magazine for giving us her beautiful studio for the night, Odysea for supplying us with so many incredible Greek goodies and to SeasonItaly (a UK based Italian produce importer with their own subscription service) for the fresh, seasonal ingredients. In addition to this, Zymi Organic, Lamiri Harissa, Citizens of Soil and Nonna’s Gelato all contributed with their incredible Mediterranean inspired offerings.

What was on the Menu?

I really wanted to show the breadth of where I travelled to across the Mediterranean for this next book. We had so much food left over at the end because I couldn’t narrow down my dishes much further than these! They were some of the highlights from my journeys across the Mediterranean and I’m so proud that the dishes (with the exception of the Sicilian swordfish rolls!) are plant based.

Below, I’m sharing an exclusive look at the Sicilian salad recipe, a perfectly balanced summer dish - singing of sweet honey melon, salty anchovies and a punchy kick from red chilli peppers. Mamma Mia! This one is on REPEAT all summer long and I’m so proud to share a sneak peek for my loyal paying subscribers before everyone has access to it on the book’s release day at the end of July.

Each of these recipes feature in my new book, MEDITERRANEA.

Table scaping and aperitivo

My first thought and slightly crazy ambition was to create an enormous, interactive tablescape completely covered in tomatoes that ultimately, would be enjoyed by my guests. I had this dream to bring the Mediterranean style of eating tomatoes to London: a great, juicy, seasonal tomato that tastes of summer, sliced there and then with a ‘nonna’ knife (those small, plastic handled beauties with a serated edge that all grandmothers in the Med own) and sprinkled with sea salt flakes. Isle of White Tomatoes kindly obliged!

As is common practice in the entire region I travelled to for my latest books, great tomatoes need little extra dressing. It’s a salt, drizzle of oil on crusty bread affair and this is what I wanted for the guests at my dinner. Isle of White Tomatoes provided my ACTUAL WEIGHT (60kg for those of you wondering) in tomatoes for the dinner and offered such a diverse variety the colours across the table varied from pillar box red to orange, yellow and green. Great, bulbous heritage tomatoes perfect for salads, beef tomatoes for yemista, vine tomatoes in a bright bold palette that wafted a fresh summer scent throughout the space.

Read more

I’m musing on the importance of community today - something I’ve learned from countless Mediterranean grandmothers, is vital to our wellbeing. Scroll down for my favourite very local spots in Corfu, where I’ll be reconnecting with my people in a few weeks’ time. You’ll also find my favourite ‘Yiayia’ playlist and hot tips for the week, including the ultimate Greek snacks to pick up from the supermarket this summer.

As I write to you all today, I look out from an office window onto a leafy garden boxed in by 1960s apartment blocks. I do love my home here in Athens and I must admit that as big city living goes, I have it very good. Our building is a beautiful 1930s structure, early modernist with only eight apartments. I was lucky enough to be introduced to it by an architect friend, who also invited other friends in our social group to viewings while most of the apartments in the building were being sold off. Somehow, I’ve ended up living in a building almost entirely comprised of friends and people in my extended network of friends. If I miss a delivery, I can call on someone to be here to open up. Sets of keys have been exchanged with neighbours and we visit each other’s flat in slippers. Should I need a cup of sugar, there’s always someone around to lend it. And yet still, I pine now for my village in Corfu.

Despite having friends around, city life - even in Greece - demands a certain level of insularity. Everyone is busy with art openings, social appointments or otherwise, plain old work. The chance, whiling away of the hours that my Yiayia does with her friends on the front stoop of her village home is a far cry from the kind of socialising that the city allows. Unorganised, ‘sitting around’ is the favoured pass-time of islanders or southern Mediterraneans. ‘Dolce far niente’ is the Italian saying for the sweet art of doing nothing at all and it’s what I miss most about my village home when I’m not there.

I was inspired to write this today, having read a quote from the School of Life’s Alain de Botton. He says:

“For 99% of human existence, we lived in communities of 20-30 people who worked together, shared meals. and existed deeply connected to one another. We’re designed for tribal living, yet modern life has separated us in ways we barely recognise.”

This has chimed with me because for the most part, Greek village life still feels very much like living within a tribe. When I’m in Corfu, extended members of family like my aunts and cousins are always there to lend a hand. Becoming a mother has made me realise that living within a community is vital for mental health. On the island every summer, despite my parents living in the UK and my partner working away, I never feel alone.

The baker kindly delivers bread to my home by the beach, knowing it’s a drive for me to get into the village to pick it up in the mornings. Once on the beach with my toddler, my cousins who own the beach bar there are on hand to take Calypso off my hands and entertain her while I go for a swim. I bump into aunts on the beach, who commiserate with me when I moan about having a man who works away for the entire summer. At my friend’s restaurants, I know that even when Calypso toddles off alone, she will be watched over by all the staff, whom I’ve known since we were children. Add to this the home cooked meals, made with so much love by my Yiayia and my father’s two sisters. And the afternoon hours spent simply sitting in the company of my Yiayia and her nonagenarian friends while Calypso plays with the other children off the village in the churchyard playground, across the street from us. I feel less of a single parent when I finally return home to my village.

I have to admit I had a slight mental blip just over a month ago here in Athens. My man was leaving us for four months to work away (he’s captain of a sailing yacht and spends every summer sailing the Mediterranean) and I wasn’t sleeping. The current pregnancy has rendered me exhausted with frequent dizzy spells thanks to low blood pressure and I was not at all ready to be left alone to take care of a toddler on three hours of sleep a night. In short, I felt like I was losing my mind.

Read more

Lots of BIG NEWS from me this week!

My new book, Mediterranea, Life-Perfected Recipes from Grandmothers of the Med is published by Penguin Random House at the end of July and is now finally available to preorder.

The book is packed with delicious recipes from my journeys across the Med, from the more obvious Greece, Italy and Spain to the south of France, North Africa, Slovenia, Croatia and the Levant. As well as recipes and beautiful travel photography and portraiture of these incredible grandmothers, Mediterranea is a testament to living long, full and healthy lives in the Med. It's interspersed with essays that focus on the Mediterranean lifestyle and diet, from 'Picky Eating' to Breakfasting and the concept of 'Filoxenia' (hospitality) across the countries I visited.

Here’s the new cover in all its glory and below, I’m sharing some beautiful photography from the book in advance of it coming out. I’d so love to hear your thoughts on this as the cover image took about three goes to get right.

The first time we flew Marco Arguello (my photographer) out to Corfu to get THE shot of Yiayia eating by the sea, our dream cover image completely fell through. I’d prepared Yiayia for her cover shoot and she’d even agreed to coming down to the coastline and posing in front of fishing locals and teenage boys swimming off the rocks (just out of shot of the final cover image) but just as we timed golden hour, the sun dipped behind grey clouds and the water, instead of looking like somewhere you would want to instantly plunge, looked like murky pond water. Sunlight is SO necessary for the perfect image - especially when you’re trying to convey summer in the Med!

The second time Marco was due to fly out, a catastrophic storm occurred — fire, brimstone, lighting - all of it. This instantly cancelled his scheduled flight and our shoot (after an evening in the kitchen spent preparing two trays of perfect Yemista (stuffed peppers and tomatoes).

Third time’s a charm, all the ingredients for a perfect shoot were there. Yiayia was being uncharacteristically co-operative, the weather was clearing up after yet another weekend of rain and I had brilliant on hand after my retreat to help me with the food and styling. Hilariously, Yiayia hadn’t quite understood that the tray of Yemista was to be included in our photoshoot, so she gave it away to our neighbours (“how much food do you expect me to eat?”) before we had a chance to pick our winning stuffed tomatoes for the photo. Alas! We got the shots we needed, regardless…

I’m sharing some of my favourites below from the new book along with another announcement on retreats…

Read more

Read more

First, I want to thank you all so much for subscribing for this newsletter. Last year was the first year I got a frequent newsletter up and running and I am so humbled by how many of you have signed up to the granny recipes, anecdotes and life lessons. The process of travelling to these women, cooking with them in their kitchens and interviewing them is really quite an undertaking and it means a lot that you would support me on this mission.

I’ve been ruminating on ways that this newsletter can work and last year was a bit of an experiment, between travel tips, granny stories and recipes. There will be more of the same this year but in a slightly more structured way, as I’m less ‘on the road’ in 2025 now that the research and all the non-stop whirlwind travel for my next book, Mediterranea, is complete.

I would love to hear your feedback but for a while now I’ve been toying with the idea of writing essays about what I have learned from my experiences of cooking with grandmothers for a decade. It’s a slight divergence from the recipes but something I feel is so pertinent to share. In the lead up to my new book coming out, I’ll be sharing the following:

• Preview recipes and behind the scenes encounters from the book (launching in August 2025)

• A monthly newsletter dedicated to life in the Mediterranean, exploring how we can all live better, healthier, longer and happier lives, if only we lived like a Mediterranean matriarch like the ones I interview.

• A monthly interview with my favourite chefs, producers and other people of note with a dedication to their grandmother in the form of a special recipe.

• A monthly travel guide / insider travel newsletter that will take you by the hand and show you my favourite places to eat and explore - giving you the local experience of the places across the Mediterranean that I have travelled to for my latest book.

• Early bird opportunities to book onto my in person retreats and special subscriber only discounts to these events.

As you are my supporters and those that essentially fund my Great Granny Odyssey, I am sharing below a first peek into my manuscript for Mediterranea. It isn’t polished, but it’s the idea I first went to my publisher with. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Kisses for the New Year xx Anastasia

MEDITERRANEA : A MANIFESTO FOR LIVING

Six years ago I made the decision to move back to the Mediterranean. A decade in London and even longer in the drizzly north of England had not managed to shake my Greekness. If anything, as with many diaspora Greeks trying to connect with their identity in less sun-kissed climes, I became more Greek. Sunday lunch in my London house share was observed as religiously as it is at my Greek Yiayia’s home on my island of Corfu (check out a younger me cooking Sunday lunch of moussaka way back when in London here).

I served up Yemista or slow cooked lamb Yiouvetsi with orzo as opposed to the classic Sunday roast, always with a hefty slab of feta atop tomatoes that tasted like they’d never before seen the sun. It was not exactly my Yiayia’s cooking, but it just about conjured the flavours of her white-washed out house kitchen on the days when I needed her most.

Mediterranea is the book I wish I had back then. Not just because of the 70+ recipes that instantly transport me to the land where olive trees stand testament to fertile land and cloudless days. This is a passport to classic dishes and some lesser known traditional recipes of the Mediterranean basin that will bring warmth to any kitchen. Transgressing the food, it is a tome of lessons to live by, gleaned from women equipped with the experience of a lifetime.

Read more

Summer is officially underway and what kicked it off for me was a trip to Turkey last week. Well into another granny cooking odyssey, I headed to Ismir and the countryside and villages surrounding it to explore what culinary secrets Turkey and its grandmothers are sitting on. On my first day there the mercury hit 32 degrees C. Sweltering season is ON.

I like to think I’m fairly well travelled but Turkey isn’t a region I’ve explored in great depth, which is why last week’s trip was so refreshing for me. One of the things that hit me from the very minute we arrived in Ismir was the level of hospitality in the country that well exceeds anything I’ve every experienced before.

On arrival, Marco (my very good friend and photographer on the project) and I headed out for dinner - starving after a delayed flight. We were so surprised that within minutes of sitting down, a salad, pillowy pitta, spicy dip, stuffed peppers, spice-filled meatballs and a red pepper paste filled lettuce all floated down onto our table, a choreography of various waiters’ hands lavishing us with unexpected, unasked for and most welcomed free dishes. This is before we had even ordered anything. This level of extravagance extended to dessert, which saw a baklava, ice cream and halva along with sweet tea arrive to chase down our enormous kebab.

It made perfect sense then, that by the time we got to cooking with grandmothers in the villages surrounding Ismir the next day, that we would be lavished with a feast on every door that we knocked on. I will go into much further detail in my next book, Mesogeio, which I’m currently writing but the five grandmothers I cooked with rolled out the red carpet to ensure we were well fed, watered and bursting at the seams by the time we left their homes. The grandkids and neighbours also opened their arms to us, inviting us to sleep at their homes as their guests, giving us gifts and insisting on us not saying thank you. “It’s something we would do for any of our friends,” they responded, every time my mouth attempted a ‘thanks.’

As I discovered on the first morning in Turkey, this display of hospitality is perhaps best showcased within the context of a Turkish breakfast. It’s just a few miles away from me here in Greece. As nations, we’re neighbours and much or our culinary history and culture is shared thanks to the Ottoman Empire but Turkish breakfast could not be further away from our Greek on-the-go spanakopita or even worse, coffee and a quick cigarette (I’m not partial to either of these by the way!)

Is it an extensive affair that can span hours of prep and even lengthier eating times. According to my friends and the grandmothers I cooked with in Turkey, breakfast is a meal that is the star of the show and if you want to impress guests in Turkey, you have to throw them a mighty breakfast spread. I’m not just talking croissants and a boiled egg or two…

Here’s an excerpt and sneak peek from the upcoming book as well as details on how to make your own Turkish breakfast at home this weekend…

There’s nothing quite like arriving to a place starving hungry and being treated to the kind of hospitality you get in Turkey.  Esma is the first grandmother I meet on my Turkey leg of this particular grandma odyssey and as I arrive at hers on a Saturday morning, she has offered to make me a Turkish breakfast. She lives in Selcuk, a historic village in which majestic stalks nest on the walls of the ancient city of Ephesus. As I stroll to her home, the birds pass mere centimetres over my head, seemingly oblivious to the farmers market and its bustle below. 

Read more

This week you may have seen on instagram that I’ve been on the Spanish island of Mallorca, cooking with a number of brilliantly characterful grandmothers for my next book, Mesogeio. I’m giving paid subscribers a cheeky sneak peek into one of the tastiest and easiest Spanish go-to recipes that I learned this week but before that, I wanted to share a little more on the magic time I spent on the island and a few tips if you’re thinking of heading there yourself.

So! If you’re in it for the recipe, scroll straight on down for Abuela Maria’s Pa amb Boli - Mallorca’s most iconic dish - and my interview with the 80-year-old grandmother who shared it with me.

Mallorca travel tips

What I love about Mallorca is its landscape. It’s an island you can fly direct to from Barcelona or Madrid but offers something completely distinct to the Spanish mainland. I chose to travel to Mallorca for my next book because numerous sources assured me that this was the spot in all of Spain to travel to for both authentic grandmothers and delicious, native dishes.

Mountainous with moody peaks and a dramatic craggy coastline, Mallorca has so much to offer, from dreamy sunset views over the Mediterranean to valleys dotted with pretty villages and wild flower strewn meadows where horses, sheep and hens roam. Meanwhile Palma is an enormous, buzzing city with trendy bars and restaurants you wouldn’t expect to find elsewhere. I’m sharing some of my discoveries below, because I’d so love for you to experience Mallorca as I experienced it.

If I didn’t live in Athens, I would likely live in Palma…(watch this space!)

Shop at Antic Mallorca

Hand crafted woven bags by grandmothers - what more could you wish for? I met wonderful Araceli, founder of this great initiative on my search for Mallorcan grandmothers and she was the person who led me to Maria, the grandmother whose recipe I’m sharing in today’s newsletter. Her hand woven bags use an age-old technique that very few on the island can still master. The ladies that make them are well into their 80s and 90s and are keeping the skills alive and sharing them with the next generation of weavers in Mallorca.

Stay at Casa Balandra.

I was lucky enough to be hosted here by Claudia, who hosts residencies and retreats in the family home she lovingly transformed into stylish accommodation, nestled away from the bustle of Palma. Bold north African rugs and art work donated by the artists that take part in the Casa Balandra residencies off set the neutral, earthy colour palette throughout the house.

I love the kitchen, a sort of gathering place at the heart of the home with plenty of vintage cookbooks piled high on the bottom shelf of an enviable kitchen island. The courtyard and gardens with pool and pond that lead just off from the dining area are the perfect place to take breakfast, listening to the hum of bees dipping in and out of all the foliage.

Eat at Bens D’avall

I am biased because I cooked with Abuela Ninette, the 88-year-old grandmother who founded this place back in the 1960s but having won a Michelin star recently, Bens D’avall is a must if you’re heading to the island. Positioned on a craggy outcrop of rock which overlooks the sparkling Mediterranean below, this restaurant, now run by the grandson of Ninette, Jaume, offers elegant Spanish cuisine with the most impressive sunset view on the island.

Also eat at La Mirona

Claudia, our host at Casa Balandra took Marco (the photographer) and I to La Mirona in Palma on our second night on the island. A tiny local spot run by a husband and wife duo - the parents of Claudia’s friends - this place has only three tables inside and offers up hearty small plates made with love. Here we sampled cod canneloni, tuna tartare and a hearty, slow-cooked beef stew, swilled down by local Spanish wines. It’s the ultimate place to head to if you want to rub shoulders with locals and sample some great food while you’re at it.

Coffee at Hotel Cappuccino

Set in a pretty square in Palma, Hotel Cappuccino is the spot to see and be seen at in the city. Soak up the sun and people watch between your sightseeing and beaching, then head over to the bakery directly opposite the hotel to pick up a slice of Ensaimada (a Mallorcan almond tart) to enjoy your coffee with.

Visit Lubi

This cute little village at the heart of the island is where I cooked with the lovely Abuela Maria, who taught me how to make the Pa amb Oli recipe I’m sharing with you below. It’s a rare spot that’s relatively untouched by tourism and is charming to take a stroll around or grab a coffee at the central square here.

Visit SONMO for a workshop and great souvenirs of the island

SONMO is a collective of producers and creators based in pretty hilltop region of Valle de Mossa. Visit them for beautiful hand crafted, naturally dyed linens, blankets made using the wool on the SONMO Finca as well as products like olive oil and their own gin. (Before visiting Mallorca I hadn’t realised how damn good gin and tonics were in Spain - apparently, it’s a thing.) Back to SONMO, this summer they’re also offering workshops in hand dying fabrics so follow them on instagram for updates.

NOW A SNEAK PEEK INTO MY NEXT BOOK WITH A SPECIAL RECIPE FROM ABUELA MARIA…

Driving to Maria I pass through fields full of flowering almond trees and citrus orchards with blossoms that give off the sweet scent of spring in the Med. Her home is full of intricately embroidered textiles that she has poured hours of her time into crafting, from chair covers to traditional linen curtains that hang from her windows. While we put together a simple lunch of Pa AmB Oli - which literally translates to bread and oil in Mallorquin - Maria lets me into the realities of island life and how traditions were borne of necessity here. 

Pa’am Boli is usually eaten with Mallorquin bread which is traditionally unsalted and made with the husks of the wheat. I prefer a salty sourdough so (contrary to what Maria would advise!) I like to make this one with a normal, crusty sourdough loaf.

It exemplifies what I love most about dining in Spain - there’s a focus on simplicity and abundance in flavour. The best way to eat this is in company. Serve with olive, a good jamon and queso (Spanish cheese) and a little cervecita…

ABUELA MARIA’S RECIPE - Pa amb Oli to share between four 

INGREDIENTS

Read more

I’m weighed down with a rather large head as I write today’s newsletter to you all. That’s because Jamie Oliver has selected my book - Yiayia: Time-perfected Recipes from Greece’s Grandmothers - as his book of the month in the Jamie Oliver Cookbook Club.

What does this mean?

First of all that one of the world’s best known chefs is aware of my g…

Read more