Diane Kochilas

Diane Kochilas, a Greek American cookbook author, celebrity chef, and cooking school owner, has made a significant impact in the culinary world, particularly in the realm of Greek cuisine. Her influence extends beyond her cookbooks and into the realm of television, where she has appeared on popular American programs such as "Throwdown! with Bobby Flay," "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern," "The Today Show," "PBS News Hour," and "Martha Stewart." Moreover, Kochilas hosted the TV cooking show "Τι Θα Φάμε Σήμερα Μαμά?" (What Are We Going to Eat Today, Mom?) on Alpha Channel and Sigma in Cyprus.

Kochilas's contributions to the culinary field extend to academia, where she has offered her expertise in Greek cuisine to students at Ivy League institutions such as Harvard and Yale, as well as UMass Amherst. Her book "The Glorious Foods of Greece" earned her the IACP Jane Grigson Award for Excellence in Research in 2002, while her book "Ikaria: Lessons of Food, Life & Longevity from the Greek Island Where People Forget to Die" won best cookbook in the IACP International Category, a Books for a Better Life Award, and was listed for an Art of Eating Award.

In addition to her television and publishing exploits, Kochilas runs the Glorious Greek Kitchen Cooking School on the Blue-Zone Greek Island of Ikaria and has an online shop for artisanal, hand-picked Greek specialty foods. She has been a consulting chef at top Greek restaurants such as Molyvos, Pylos, and Committee Boston, bringing her authentic recipes and innovative techniques to a wider audience. Her TV show, "My Greek Table," has a viewership of approximately 1.5 million people per episode in the U.S. alone and has been honored with a Taste Achievement Award in 2020.