About

I am an Australian-Japanese food writer, photographer and cookbook author based in Italy for the past 20 years. After gaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts, I ended up in Florence, Italy, to study art restoration and soon met my husband, a Tuscan sommelier. We now live between Florence and Pisa and in 2023 we opened Enoteca Marilu, our own space for hosting cooking classes, culinary workshops and other food and natural wine experiences in San Miniato. See what the Sydney Morning Herald wrote about us here.

My cookbooks

I have written six cookbooks, Florentine: The True Cuisine of Florence (March 2016 and a new edition in November 2020), Acquacotta (March 2017 and a new edition in February 2023), Tortellini at Midnight (March 2019), Torta della Nonna (March 2021), Cinnamon & Salt (April 2022), published by Hardie Grant. In September 2023 my sixth book, Gohan: Everyday Japanese Cooking, which is about the Japanese cuisine of my upbringing, was published by Smith Street Books and it won Fortnum & Mason’s Cookery Book of the Year and the Andre Simon Special Commendation awards. It will be published in Italian in September 2024 by Slow Food Editore.

My work

I have been writing about regional Italian cuisine and travel for well over a decade. I have a monthly recipe column in Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera’s “Cook” liftout. I had a column for Food52 for four years where you can still find 200 articles on regional Italian food. I have been a judge for the Guild of Fine Food World Cheese Awards, a consultant for best selling author Sarah Winman’s Still Life novel (set in Florence) and I contribute to publications such as Financial Times, The New York Times, Corriere della Sera, The Canberra Times, Saveur, Food and Wine, Conde Nast Traveler, Gourmet Traveller, The Kitchn and more. I have interviewed Massimo Bottura for the BBC World Service and appeared on TV for Adam Liaw’s The Cook Up (SBS Australia, 5 epsisodes) and Clive Myrie’s Italian Road Trip (BBC). I was recently named one of 50 powerful women in food by Italy’s leading newspaper, Corriere della Sera.

Cooking Classes & Workshops

I run regular culinary workshops and weekly cooking classes at Enoteca Marilu, our natural wine bar and cooking school, as featured in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Financial Times. Make sure to check the workshops page to see all culinary experiences available (such as my annual classes in Sicily and Venice) and our classes schedule at Enoteca Marilu, in San Miniato, Tuscany.

Florence & Tuscany Travel

If you’re traveling to Florence be sure to check also the travel articles and in particular this piece on how to eat and travel sustainably in Florence for my favourite recommendations after two decades of living (and eating) here, as well as the video below, made for Monocle Magazine. My Substack Newsletter, Notes from Emiko’s Kitchen, has more recommendations too and you can see the archive of travel articles here.

Keep in touch

Find me on Instagram or, for regular posts in your inbox sign up to my newsletter here. For any media enquiries, book extracts, interviews, or collaborations please email me at info[@]emikodavies.com. You can also download my Press Kit here