Growing up above her grandparents’ Greek Cypriot taverna in Tufnell Park, London, Georgina Hayden developed a love of cooking from the recipes passed down to her. A cook, food writer, and stylist, Hayden’s recipes are still very much shaped around her Greek-Cypriot heritage.
Her second book, Taverna, is dedicated to the Cypriot kitchen, with traditional recipes evoking memories of sun-kissed Mediterranean holidays, including cinnamon-infused stews and orange-blossom scented pastries.
“I grew up in a very food-driven household,” she shared in an interview with National Geographic. “Both sets of grandparents had emigrated from Cyprus in the late 1950s, and my mum’s parents opened one of the first Greek Cypriot delis in London, importing traditional ingredients. My dad’s parents opened a Cypriot tavern, which they ran for almost 30 years, and I was born above the restaurant, so most of my early memories revolve around it.”
Having grown up, she went on to study Fine Art at university, after which her passion for food landed her a job as a food writer and stylist on various food magazines. Hayden then went on to join Jamie Oliver’s food team, where she worked for 12 years. While there she wrote, developed, and styled for magazine features, books, television projects and campaigns. She also wrote her first book, Stirring Slowly, which was published in 2016.
“For a long time, I didn’t realize how much my family influenced my life,” she admits, “I assumed all families were food-driven. Since then I’ve learned it was a pretty special childhood. Cooking was, and still is, instinctive—there are no written recipes, and my mum and yiayias would cook whatever was in season. We have a bit of land in Cyprus, and even into his 70s, my grandad grew and pressed his own extra virgin olive oil. We had an endless supply. In Greek Cypriot families, there’s always soulful, nourishing food, and always enough to feed at least 20 people. I still make far too much today.”
Apart from her books, Hayden documents her recipes and food travels on her blog and Instagram page, which we recommend you follow.
