Story

ESTELLE GOODEN

I’m Estelle, a Greek girl with a passion for cooking gourmet meals & entertaining!

It all began at the age of 16, when my YiaYia told me I had to pick a Greek dish and perfect it. I took her request as a challenge and I perfected Baklava. What a win!

Flash forward to 1986 when my husband, Mark, and I got married then moved out to California (I’m a born & raised New Englander). At the time, I was a terrible cook.  One night my mother-in-law asked when she was going to get an invite to dinner…I panicked. Like my YiaYia, I felt I needed to impress my new mother-in-law. I mustered up the confidence to try and create a great dining experience she would never forget!

The first step was to call my mom and get her lasagna recipe. I thought ‘hey, this should be easy, and everyone likes lasagna right?’ Wrong! I was so very wrong. As I read through the recipe, gathered all my ingredients, and began the prep I quickly realized I had bit off more than I could chew. WHOOPS. It took me ALL DAY LONG to prepare this dreaded meal!

Come to find out, there is a lot more than just cooking that goes into a great meal; prep, chopping, organization, timing, and so much more! My in-laws arrived and witnessed my disaster of a kitchen and could sense the stress in the air. They did in fact love the lasagna, but all I could do was sit there, defeated, and drink my wine in disgust.

The experience exhausted me. I told Mark after his parents had left that I quit cooking! I was done, I tried and failed miserably.

So how did I turn into the Greek Girl Gourmet recipe creator & food blogger you ask? One man by the name of Roger swooped in and changed everything. Roger was Mark’s friend who taught me how to get organized in the kitchen, prep ingredients, and many other basic cooking skills I still use today. I gained so much confidence in the kitchen and began to love cooking all thanks to Roger!

In the 90s, we moved back East and currently live in Massachusetts with our son, Douglas, and Shih Tzu, Bella; my parents live next door and my daughter, Chelsea, and her husband, Brandon live down the street. 

My love for food has grown so much over the years as I mastered simple lessons I learned early on. I grew a passion for cooking for my family & friends and I love to host & entertain them. I am excited to share my Greek Girl journey with you! I can’t wait to give you my twist on delicious gourmet dishes.

Enjoy!