Writer and Cook Ella Mittas on observing identity through food and navigating burnout
Ella Mittas has built her career in food working under Brigitte Hafner, Annie Smithers and Ismail Tosun in Australia, honing her skills in London at NOPI. Her recipes have been featured in The Design Files and Broadsheet, and her cookbook is Ela! Ela! To Turkey and Greece, a journey home through food.
A QUICK WHIP AROUND THE INGREDIENTS THAT MAKE UP ELLA
PRONOUNS: She / Her
HOMETOWN: The Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people
JOB DESCRIPTION: Writer and Cook
You may be familiar with the cookbook Ela! Ela! (meaning 'Come, come' in Greek), the a heartfelt journey of knowledge in food, culture and belonging.
What you may not know is that Ella is also working on a novel, and in our interview we discuss where her writing began and how it has developed over time. She explains being motivated by the necessity to try new things, how she has navigated burnout balancing both her cooking and writing careers, and why creative work can’t always be fun.
Copies of Ela! Ela! To Turkey and Greece, a journey home through food available here
"My father’s side of the family is Greek. They all live on one street, in houses next door to each other. There are holes cut between backyard fences, so everyone can be together easily. That one small section of street has given me a sense of community and belonging I haven’t been able to locate in the rest of my life. It seems separate from the rest of Australia, but it’s a version of Greece abstracted from the real thing; its traditions are built on distant memories."
Listen here to find out What Ella Eats.
Artwork by Ella Mittas
LINKS, MENTIONS, RESOURCES
LINKS TO ARTIST INFORMATION, RESOURCES & TID BITS