Ella Mittas

is a chef and writer.

By this author

Culture June 21, 2025

The Life, Old Age, and Death of a Working-Class Woman

Shame is ever-present in The Life, Old Age, and Death of a Working-Class Woman, French sociologist and philosopher Didier Eribon’s theory-memoir about a woman he’s afraid to name: his mother. It’s a sequel to his cult classic, Returning …

Life September 11, 2021

Greece in Brunswick

A conversation between a daughter and her father sheds light on the experience of migrant communities – and on the process of accepting family.

Life February 01, 2025

Grape picking under the Tuscan sun

Picking grapes in the vineyards of Lucca, the writer encounters gentle confidences, curious traditions and a precarious living for the tenant farmers.

Life April 24, 2021

The cultural ties that blind

For the author’s Greek grandparents, happiness revolves around food, family and togetherness in Australia. So why is connecting to her heritage so challenging?

Life October 05, 2019

Rediscovering a love for food in Abruzzo

Burnt out by working long hours as a Melbourne chef, the author headed to Italy to study art and regroup. In the process, she found her passion for food was reignited.

Food August 10, 2019

Fava and pickled sardines

Greek fava is made from yellow split peas. Confusingly, in Turkey it’s made from fava beans, as you would expect by its name. Somehow, at some point, it evolved when it was introduced to Greece. Now each country has its own version that it swears is …