I have been lucky to receive many kind compliments about my food, often from paying guests. After private dinners, I’ve had people tell me my food was better than dishes they had enjoyed in well-known, chef-led restaurants — even some with Michelin stars. Comments like these are always flattering and deeply appreciated, but the best compliment I ever received came in a very different setting.

It was at the end of one of my retreats in Morocco, after a week of simple, mostly plant-based meals. An affluent American professional turned to me and said, with genuine surprise:

“I didn’t know food could taste this good.”

Her words have stayed with me because she wasn’t talking about elaborate creations or technical showpieces. What had moved her was the everyday food we cooked and ate together: chickpeas spiced with cumin, lentils simmered with garlic and onions, roasted carrots glistening with olive oil, tomatoes bursting with seasonal sweetness, and a squeeze of lemon to brighten everything. Honest food, treated with care.

For me, her reaction was particularly powerful because this was the food of my childhood in Crete. Though we lacked modern conveniences, we had abundance in what really mattered: our own wheat for bread, honey from nearby hives, fruit and nuts in every season, olive oil pressed from our trees. Garlic and onions were pulled fresh from the soil, and lemons picked straight from the tree. It was food that gave strength, comfort, and joy — a kind of everyday luxury that shaped me and continues to guide my cooking today.

That guest’s words remain the ultimate compliment because they weren’t really about me — they were about the ingredients themselves. All I did was give them space to shine. And in that moment, someone who thought they had experienced everything discovered a whole new way of tasting food.

And that is, in truth, why I cook and why I host retreats: to show that food doesn’t need to be complicated to move you, to nourish you, and to stay with you long after the last bite.

My Tips for Everyday Flavour

• Use lemon juice to brighten a dish — it often removes the need for salt.
• Lean on onions and garlic: they create warmth, depth, and comfort in almost any dish.
• Keep good extra virgin olive oil close at hand — it elevates even the simplest ingredients.
• If your climate allows, grow or buy ginger, lemongrass, or fresh herbs for natural fragrance and vitality.
• When tasting the food you have cooked be mindful of the need for balance of flavours and textures (sweet/sour/salty/creamy/crunchy)