VEFA'S HOUSE - Greek & International Cuisine

Vefa Alexiadou, a gifted cook from Volos, is the leading culinary authority in Greece today. With a degree in chemistry from the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, she combined her culinary talents with scientific principles to modernize Greek cooking without sacrificing authentic character and flavor of the traditional cuisine. During her frequent trips and extended studies abroad, she furthered her knowledge of culinary arts, food styling, table decoration, nutrition and dietetics.
In 1980 Mrs. Alexiadou self-published "Invitation to dinner", fulfilling a life-long dream of creating a "user-friendly" cookbook. An immediate success, it firmly established Vefa Alexiadou Editions in the competitive world of cookbook publishing. After three more cookbooks in the "invitation" series, she revitalized interest in traditional Greek cookery for a whole new generation of urban cooks with her 2-volume premier work, "Greek Cuisine" and "Greek Pastries and Desserts", published in 1989-91 in both Greek and English. To date she has published a total of 11 cookbooks, of which three are available in English. During the past 5 years 3 titles at least, have appeared monthly on the Greek best sellers list. Also her books "Greek Cuisine" and "Greek Pastries and Desserts" as reported in the Hellenic Literature Society's Newsletter, "Greece in Print", are listed as best sellers among Greeks of the Diaspora in 36 countries.

Since 1990 she has appeared daily on Greek Antenna TV's most popular morning coffee show (viewed via satellite in North America, Europe and Australia) where she continues to pass the Greek food traditions to hundreds of thousands of households, making her the First Lady of Greek Cuisine. By popular request from Greek readers and viewers eager to acquire her books and products and utensils mentioned in them, she conceived in 1994 the idea of "Vefa's House" franchise which counts today 20 stores around Greece.
In 1995, her recipes began appearing in Greece's top-circulating family magazine, "7 Days TV". With its publisher, Liberis Publications, she and her daughter Alexia wrote and edited a series of recipe booklets "20 Best Recipes for …" which won the 1998 Diplome d' Honneur at the Perigueux World Cookbook Fair as the most successful commercial cookbook series.
Mrs. Alexiadou has served on the Board of Archestratos: the Center for the Preservation & Advancement of Traditional Greek Gastronomy. She attended both the 1997 and 1998 "Tasting Australia" events, invited by the Australian Government as a special guest and is an active member of the International Association of the Culinary Professionals. Also a member of Greek Publishers' Association, she is an active participant in Greek and International book fairs. Her articles and recipes frequently appear in Greek and international magazines and she travels frequently to other areas of Greece and abroad to lecture and give demonstrations on Greek gastronomical traditions. At the 2000 World Cookbook Awards in the "Salon International Livre Gourmand of Perigueux" Vefa Alexiadou won the award for the "best Mediterranean cookbook in Greek" and also the special prize for "Best Culinary Business Professional".
Married to Constantine Alexiades, Professor of Chemistry, Aristotle University, they have two married daughters, Angela and Alexia and one granddaughter. They divide their time between their home in Halkidiki and Athens, where their business activities are based.

Alexia Alexiadou was born in Thessaloniki and received her MBA at City Univerity, London. After working for a time in the field of finance, she gave it up to enter the world of gastronomy, thus following a family tradition. Her love of the ethnic cuisines she encountered while living in the USA, Great Britain and Italy, inspired her to write and publish her first cookbook, "Exotic Cuisine". Favorably received by modern Greek cooks, this exciting "taste" of the cuisines of Mexico, Hawaii and the Far East will sonn be available in English.
Mrs Alexiadou's talent for imparting a fresh youthful air to traditional Greek and International dishes has made her a popular contributor to several Greek magazines including the weekly "7 Days TV".She frequently appears with her mother, Vefa Alexiadou, on Greece's popular "Morning Coffee Show" and together they created the best-selling cookbook series, 20 Best Recipes for ... which won international acclaim and the Diplome d'Honneur at the 1998 World Cookbook Fair at Perigeux, France. She and her mother are presently working on a book of recipes without any animal protein or fat entitled Tasty, Healhty & Fasting Foods.
Mrs Alexiadou now makes her home in Athens with her husband, Evangelos Kitsakis and their daughter, Hara.

	Vefa Alexiadou, a gifted cook from Volos, is the leading culinary authority in Greece today. With a degree in chemistry from the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, she combined her culinary talents with scientific principles to modernize Greek cooking without sacrificing authentic character and flavor of the traditional cuisine. During her frequent trips and extended studies abroad, she furthered her knowledge of culinary arts, food styling, table decoration, nutrition and dietetics. In 1980 Mrs. Alexiadou self-published "Invitation to dinner", fulfilling a life-long dream of creating a "user-friendly" cookbook. An immediate success, it firmly established Vefa Alexiadou Editions in the competitive world of cookbook publishing. After three more cookbooks in the "invitation" series, she revitalized interest in traditional Greek cookery for a whole new generation of urban cooks with her 2-volume premier work, "Greek Cuisine" and "Greek Pastries and Desserts", published in 1989-91 in both Greek and English. To date she has published a total of 11 cookbooks, of which three are available in English. During the past 5 years 3 titles at least, have appeared monthly on the Greek best sellers list. Also her books "Greek Cuisine" and "Greek Pastries and Desserts" as reported in the Hellenic Literature Society's Newsletter, "Greece in Print", are listed as best sellers among Greeks of the Diaspora in 36 countries.
Since 1990 she has appeared daily on Greek Antenna TV's most popular morning coffee show (viewed via satellite in North America, Europe and Australia) where she continues to pass the Greek food traditions to hundreds of thousands of households, making her the First Lady of Greek Cuisine. By popular request from Greek readers and viewers eager to acquire her books and products and utensils mentioned in them, she conceived in 1994 the idea of "Vefa's House" franchise which counts today 20 stores around Greece. In 1995, her recipes began appearing in Greece's top-circulating family magazine, "7 Days TV". With its publisher, Liberis Publications, she and her daughter Alexia wrote and edited a series of recipe booklets "20 Best Recipes for …" which won the 1998 Diplome d' Honneur at the Perigueux World Cookbook Fair as the most successful commercial cookbook series. Mrs. Alexiadou has served on the Board of Archestratos: the Center for the Preservation & Advancement of Traditional Greek Gastronomy. She attended both the 1997 and 1998 "Tasting Australia" events, invited by the Australian Government as a special guest and is an active member of the International Association of the Culinary Professionals. Also a member of Greek Publishers' Association, she is an active participant in Greek and International book fairs. Her articles and recipes frequently appear in Greek and international magazines and she travels frequently to other areas of Greece and abroad to lecture and give demonstrations on Greek gastronomical traditions. At the 2000 World Cookbook Awards in the "Salon International Livre Gourmand of Perigueux" Vefa Alexiadou won the award for the "best Mediterranean cookbook in Greek" and also the special prize for "Best Culinary Business Professional". Married to Constantine Alexiades, Professor of Chemistry, Aristotle University, they have two married daughters, Angela and Alexia and one granddaughter. They divide their time between their home in Halkidiki and Athens, where their business activities are based.