Biography
For as long as I can remember I have always been fascinated by the natural world, biology, food and its implications for the human body. Over the years, this fascination flourished and my love for biosciences and chemistry led me to the study of agriculture and food science.
After my 5 years integrated Master’s degree, I continued with a Master’s degree in Nanobiotechnology with a focus on Food Nanotechnology. For my first degree I was awarded the Academic Achievement Scholarship of the State Scholarships Foundation – I.K.Y. In addition to this, for my Master’s Thesis which was carried out in collaboration between the Physics Department and the Food Chemistry-Biochemistry Laboratory of the Food Science and Technology Department at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, I received a distinction. It was a pleasure for me to organise this interdisciplinary collaboration between the two departments.
As in today’s world, the food industry plays a significant role in food consumption, I decided to expand my research interest into the nutritional characteristics of frozen vegetables in comparison to fresh vegetables. For this purpose, I worked as a Research Assistant in the Food Chemistry/Biochemistry and Physical Chemistry Laboratory of A.U.Th., with General Foods S.A. - Barba Stathis, the leading food company in the production and sale of frozen vegetables (conventional and organic), mixed vegetables (plain and with rice) and combinations of frozen vegetables based on traditional Greek recipes, as well as tomato products and fresh salads in Greece.
Furthermore, I conducted research programs and training about Food Labelling and Food for Specific Groups– FSG (baby foods, food products for people suffering from gluten or lactose intolerance and for Special Medical Purposes-FSMPs) as a Research Associate at the Centre for Research and Technology – Hellas-CERTH.
What I enjoyed as well on my career pathway was my own weekly TV Show “Mother Earth” (Mητέρα Γη) on the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation regarding new food production methods 'From the farm to the fork'. With the team of the show we achieved the largest viewing figure of the TV channel and some of our episodes are available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MhteraGhTV.
In the beginning of 2020 I moved to London where I initially worked as a Production Manager of the food start-up company “Serious Pig”, which produces premium snack products. My duties included all production stages from production planning to the final product, and it involved organising organoleptic tests as well as working as a team member on site. Subsequently, I worked as a Production Supervisor in the Gousto factory. After resigning from this organisation because of poor culture and skill fit, I composed and delivered a 4-page letter with company suggestions, which was well received by the CEO.
While deciding on my next career move, I collaborated with Food Logistics to write articles on an ad-hoc basis, which enabled me to explore new perspectives on food production and logistics, and they have published several of my articles.
In December 2022, I started my collaboration with Wikifarmer as a contributing author to develop a knowledge hub about effective and innovative food manufacturing practices. Wikifarmer is a global platform that aims to empower farmers by providing them with free access to educational articles and the local and global markets to sell their products at fair prices. My article about food fraud in honey and maple syrup was in the top three most-read articles on the platform for the year 2023.
I can not imagine myself without a tint of art in my life. My two big artistic loves are painting and cooking. When I was a teenager, I won the first award in a Panhellenic Student Art Competition from the Greek Ministry of Education and Religion, and I still enjoy painting.
Cooking and painting have also always been in my heart. Having grown up withtraditional Mediterranean cuisine, I found myself in the U.K. discovering new combinations with modern food trends.
Choosing the correct ingredients, comparing prices and grocery shops, cooking utensils and kitchenware accessories and beautiful ways to present them, all these things are for me small art projects.
I enjoy using my scientific background in food science every time I want to create or change a recipe. I see cooking as an expression of myself. Preparing high-quality food for our loved ones is an expression of love and respect both for them and for ourselves.