Instead of a Foreword

Cook Eat Up is for those who believe that good nutrition begins with home-cooked food, for themselves and for the people they love. It is for those who see cooking as an expression of love and care.

Deeply engraved in my mind and heart are the memories of my childhood. Memories of family gatherings around the table, not only during holidays but throughout the year. Memories filled with beloved flavors that I am delighted to share with you through this website.

So many people… laughter… lively conversations… the sound of forks against plates, glasses clinking together, my mother and aunts hurrying in and out of the kitchen, serving food while alternately scolding us children, who were running around underfoot, and my grandmother, who simply refused to sit down and rest after all her cooking and let the younger generation take over.

And the aromas… what wonderful aromas they were! Different for every occasion. Strangely enough, I do not remember the exact smell of the dishes themselves. What I remember is Christmas having its own scent, Easter filling the house with its unmistakable fragrance, especially on the night of the Resurrection when we all returned home together from church. I also remember Saint Demetrius Day, the feast day of Thessaloniki, our city, which we celebrated with particular joy and pride because my grandmother’s name was Dimitroula.

Dimitroula was a refugee from Asia Minor and an extraordinary cook, but that was only part of her talent. She was also a true craftswoman who paid great attention to the presentation of her dishes. I still remember watching her carve tomatoes into roses so realistic that they seemed almost alive. In many ways, she was a pioneer of what we would now call food carving and food styling.
As the years passed, some things changed while others remained exactly the same. What changed? New additions to the family, of course, more grandchildren, new daughters-in-law and sons-in-law, and plenty of new recipes. These days we share them by email, as the traditional handwritten recipe notebook has long since disappeared. Everything else, however, remains wonderfully familiar. The family gatherings continue, the aromas still make our mouths water, and good cooking has become a family tradition and, one might say, a matter of honor.

From a very young age, I loved art in all its forms. At one point I became fascinated by glass and the way light is transformed as it passes through it. This passion led me to work professionally in the creation of handmade glass objects and works of art. Cooking, meanwhile, remained another great passion of mine. I have always believed that it is a unique form of art, one that has the remarkable ability to delight several senses at once: sight, smell, and taste.

That is how Cook Eat Up was born. I created it to share this form of creativity with those who already possess the same passion and with those who may discover it here for the first time. It is for people who believe that home-cooked food matters, for themselves and for the people they care about. For people who see cooking as an act of love and care.

My goal is for every recipe I share to be detailed and precise, exactly as I would want it to be for my own daughters. A new generation is coming along, and one thing remains undeniably true: the way to the heart is through the stomach. And a good recipe is always a valuable thing to have.

So, welcome to my kitchen! Let’s cook together…

And the Journey Continues…

When I wrote the text above, Cook Eat Up was still taking its first steps. Since then, many years have passed, filled with creativity, study, and countless hours in the kitchen. My love for cooking not only remained strong, but eventually led me to fulfill a dream I had cherished for a long time: attending and graduating from culinary school.

This decision was not driven by a desire to change careers. It came from a desire to learn more. To gain a deeper understanding of the techniques, ingredients, and principles behind every successful dish. Culinary school gave me valuable knowledge, but it also confirmed something I had already believed. Great cooking is not found only in professional kitchens and culinary laboratories. It is found in homes as well. In recipes passed down from one generation to the next. In grandmothers who cook without measuring cups but with experience. In mothers who simply want to place a good meal on the table for the people they love.

The final dish I prepared at culinary school. Civet de lapin, a classic French hare stew. One last photograph, just before the kitchen lights went out and an important chapter of my life came to an end. 💛

As a result, Cook Eat Up continued to evolve. Within its pages, you will find authentic Greek recipes, dishes I learned during my culinary studies, and flavors from other cultures that I discovered through study, travel, and my love of gastronomy. In recent years, Cook Eat Up has also found a new expression through YouTube. There, I have the pleasure of sharing not only recipes, but also techniques, small details, and practical knowledge that help people become more confident in the kitchen.

Of course, pies continue to hold a special place in my heart. Perhaps more than anything else. I continue to devote myself to them with the same love, curiosity, and enthusiasm I had from the very beginning. For many years, I have been researching Greek pies, phyllo-making techniques, regional variations, and the stories that accompany them. This research continues to this day and has become one of the most important parts of my work.

Despite all this, the essence remains the same as when I first wrote these words. I still believe that cooking is an act of love and care. And I still feel a special joy every time one of my recipes finds its way to a family table and becomes part of new memories.

Thank you for being here and for sharing this journey with me…

Nanà…✍️