Marilena was born and raised in Greece in an environment where fresh, seasonal food plays a central role in everyday life. She considers herself privileged to have had the opportunity to attend cooking school in Italy where regional Italian cuisine was introduced, discussed, prepared, and enjoyed in its many rich and subtle variations.
When her family moved to the United States 10 years ago, she completed a culinary course at L’Academie de Cuisine, with a concentration on traditional French cuisine and classic cooking techniques. She also became a member of the American Personal and Private Chef Association (APPCA).
Soon after that, she joined the talented team of chef instructors at Culinarian Cooking School in Vienna, Northern Virginia where she focuses on Mediterranean cooking and, in particular, regional Italian and Greek cuisine. When she’s not at school, she teaches private cooking classes, caters to small events, works as a private chef, and does freelance content creation like recipes and photography for some of her favorite food brands.
She started this blog in January 2015 as a way to record her culinary adventures for her friends and students at the cooking school. Her goal was to create a space where everyone could access the simple and foolproof recipes she cooks for her family. As Marilena’s Kitchen has grown to a small online community, she has been able to share her food and photographs with people from all over the world and she is so excited about that.