About

I am an Australian-Japanese food writer, photographer and cookbook author based in Italy. After graduating from art school, I ended up in Florence, Italy, in 2005 to study art restoration and fell in love with a Tuscan sommelier. We have recently renovated a new home in a charming hilltop village between Florence and Pisa and have finally opened our own space for hosting cooking classes and food and natural wine experiences in San Miniato.

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, which is about the Japanese cuisine of my upbringing, will be published by Smith Street Books.

I have been writing about regional Italian cuisine and travel for over a decade. I have a monthly recipe column in Corriere della Sera’s Cook liftout called Cucina Letteraria, where I pluck recipes out of old cookbooks. For many years I wrote a regular column for Food52 where you can find over 200 articles on regional Italian food, as well as restaurant reviews for The Good Food Guide, Australia’s leading restaurant guide. 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, Corriere della Sera, YOLO Journal, Good Food Australia, The Canberra Times, Saveur, Food and Wine, Conde Nast Traveler, Gourmet Traveller, The Kitchn and more. I was also nominated as a Rosewood Placemaker for Tuscany in 2021. I have appeared on TV for Adam Liaw’s The Cook Up (SBS Australia) 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 Financial Times. Make sure to check the workshops page to see all culinary experiences available (such as my annual classes at Anna Tasca Lanza in Sicily and my Lagoon Workshop in 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 for my favourite recommendations from almost two decades of living (and eating) here, as well as the video below, made for Monocle Magazine. I’ve recently written a guide to eating in Florence for American Express’ Departures 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 media enquiries, book extracts, interviews, or collaborations please email me at info[@]emikodavies.com. You can download my Press Kit here.

Taste of Tuscany from AO on Vimeo.

Website design by Paper Moustache. Portraits by Sofie Delauw.