Hey there! I’m Marilena
I’m the heart and hands behind CookinAthens — a warm cooking studio in the center of Athens where I teach people how to cook Greek food the way we actually make it at home.
I actually started my career at the Stock Exchange — yes, really. After years of pretending I belonged in finance, I finally gave up and followed my gut… straight into the kitchen.
In 2015 I launched my first food blog, Marislurp, and a few years later I created CookinAthens — a cozy cooking studio where people from all over the world come to cook, laugh, taste, and fall in love with real Greek food. Since then, more than 10,000 guests have cooked with me — travelers, expats, families, solo adventurers, couples, friends… each of them bringing their own story into my kitchen.
I’m not a chef in a tall hat, I’m a Greek home cook who grew up in a family where food was the love language and Sunday lunch was basically a religion. Over the years, I turned that love into a place where people can learn authentic Greek dishes, ask questions, make mistakes, and sit around a table like old friends.
In my classes, you won’t just follow a recipe. You’ll simmer, taste, laugh, talk, try again, and learn the little secrets a Greek yiayia would actually tell you (if you were lucky).
When I’m not teaching, I’m testing recipes, taking care of my furry babies, Marcos and Steve, travel, taking photos, building this blog, and trying — always trying — to perfect my moussaka. If you love Greek food and want to cook it the way we do at home, welcome — you’re in the right kitchen.
Hey there! I’m Marilena
I’m the heart and hands behind CookinAthens — a warm cooking studio in the center of Athens where I teach people how to cook Greek food the way we actually make it at home. I actually started my career at the Stock Exchange — yes, really. After years of pretending I belonged in finance, I finally gave up and followed my gut… straight into the kitchen.
I’m not a chef in a tall hat. I’m a Greek home cook who grew up in a family where food was the love language and Sunday lunch was basically a religion. Over the years, I turned that love into a place where people can learn authentic Greek dishes, ask questions, make mistakes, and sit around a table like old friends. In my classes, you won’t just follow a recipe. You’ll simmer, taste, laugh, talk, try again, and learn the little secrets a Greek yiayia would actually tell you (if you were lucky).
In 2015 I launched my first food blog, Marislurp, and a few years later I opened CookinAthens — a cozy cooking studio where people from all over the world come to cook, laugh, taste, and fall in love with real Greek food. Since then, more than 10,000 guests have cooked with me — travelers, expats, families, solo adventurers, couples, friends… each of them bringing their own story into my kitchen.
When I’m not teaching, I’m testing recipes, taking photos, building this blog, and trying — always trying — to perfect my moussaka. If you love Greek food and want to cook it the way we do at home, welcome — you’re in the right kitchen.