Maria Elia

Maria Elia knew she wanted to be a chef at the tender age of four, citing
her father’s Cypriot restaurant as a source of inspiration. Her progression through the culinary world began within the kitchens of Stephen Terry at Coast, Ferran Adria at El Bulli, and Juan-Marie Arzak in San Sebastian.

These experiences proved invaluable for her first head chef position at
Delfina in London, a position Maria held for nearly a decade before setting up The Whitechapel Gallery Dining Room.

Maria’s award winning second cookbook, Full of Flavour develops themes expounded in her bestselling debut title, The Modern Vegetarian, published in 2009.

She has contributed to a wide variety of publications from The Guardian to BBC Good Food Magazine, and has been hailed by The Independent as one of 10 Female Chefs to watch.