Meni Valle

Meni Valle is an Australian-Greek food educator, cookbook author and glorious cook. While she has always been an advocate for Mediterranean food and its benefits, her latest cookbook, Ikaria, not only extols the food, but also the way people are eating that food and living together. As the title might suggest, this book features the food of Ikaria, a Greek island which has been included amongst the five ‘blue zones’ in the world where diet, community and lifestyle seem to contribute to longer, healthier and happier lives. Before I spoke to Meni, I watched a little video clip from when she was on the island, cooking with and learning from the people there. It is a beautiful place and hearing her talk about what she experienced there is a lovely reminder to take time to eat together, rest, walk in nature and appreciate those around us.