Vefa Alexiadou, the leading authority on Greek cuisine died on Monday in a Thessaloniki hospital. She was 91.
She was a bestselling author of thirteen cookbooks in Greece, she also had her own television series, regularly wrote articles for magazines, and gave lectures and demonstrations on Greek recipes.
She has served on the board of the Centre for the Preservation of Traditional Greek Gastronomy.
She was born in Volos, central Greece, on March 19, 1933. She married Konstantinos Alexiadis, a professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
She was a chemist-dietitian, a graduate of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, with special studies in America on food hygiene, table decoration and modern culinary art.
She began her television career on ANT1 while participating in and presenting many cooking shows during the heyday of private television.
“I am in love with cooking”
“My passion for cooking began in childhood because of my mother, who was born in Constantinople. She conveyed the beauty of her own homeland in the unforgettable tastes and aromas of food that tantalized everyone’s tastebuds,” Alexiadou said in an interview.
“My mother had an inexhaustible source of recipes, which she taught me to cook in her own inimitable way, and emphasized the need for each dish to look as attractive as it tasted. I believe she succeeded in passing on her love and flair for cooking to me.
“At that time, it was impossible to think how much cooking would influence me in later life. That it would be my main occupation, which after so many years, fills me with joy and satisfaction. I believe that I am in love with cooking,” she said.
Vefa Alexiadou’s Greek cookbooks translated into English
In addition, she wrote a series of successful books, while remaining widely loved by the television audience for many years.
Her books “Greece: The Cookbook,”” Greek Cooking,” “Greek Pastry” and “Holiday Table” have been translated into English.
The Cookbook was the first truly comprehensive bible of Greek food in English. Rapidly increasing in popularity, Greek food is simple to prepare, healthy and delicious, and, more than most other cuisines, bears all the hallmarks of the rich cultural history of the land and sea from which it is drawn.
It is the original Mediterranean cuisine, where olive oil, bread, wine, figs, grapes and cheese have been staples since the beginnings of Western civilization.
With hundreds of simple recipes by Vefa Alexiadou, the authoritative grand dame of Greek cookery, the book also included information on regional specialties, local ingredients and the religious and historical significance of the dishes, and was illustrated with 230 color photographs.
She left the public eye shortly after her two daughters, Alexia and Angela, passed away within a space of few months of each other in 2014 and 2015.
In the following video, she demonstrates how to make a traditional Greek cheese pie:
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