Vefa Alexiadou, a celebrated author, television personality, and trailblazer of Greek cuisine, has passed away at the age of 91. Born on March 19, 1933, in Volos, Greece, Alexiadou devoted her life to promoting and preserving Greek culinary traditions, becoming a household name through her bestselling cookbooks as well as through her television career that spanned two decades.

With a degree in chemistry, Alexiadou first spent 13 years as a chemist and a commercial representative for scientific instruments. Her transition to cooking was sparked by her studies in dietetics while in the United States and her exposure to Julia Child’s television programs.

Combined with her mother’s traditional Constantinopolitan recipes and encouragement from friends who praised her culinary creations, Alexiadou was inspired to pursue a professional career in cooking.

In 1980, she self-published Invitation to Dinner, a groundbreaking cookbook featuring color photographs for every recipe and standardized international measurements—an innovation for Greek cookbooks at the time.

The success of Invitation to Dinner paved the way for further publications, including Greek Cuisine and Greek Pastries and Desserts, which gained popularity in the United States, Canada, and Australia during the late 1980s. Her work culminated in the comprehensive 704-page Vefa’s Kitchen, currently available by Phaidon Press.

Beyond her books, Alexiadou became a familiar face on Greek and Cypriot television throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and connected with the global Greek diaspora through ANT1 satellite broadcasts. In 2010, she also made an appearance on The Martha Stewart Show, where she prepared a lamb giouvetsi and galaktoboureko.

Her dedication to Greek cuisine earned her numerous international accolades and awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Gourmand Awards in Umea, Sweden, in 2023. Through her cookbooks, television programs, and tireless advocacy, Alexiadou brought the flavors of Greece to kitchens around the world, ensuring that Greece’s beloved culinary traditions remain vibrant and cherished by generations to come.