Under the olive tree - Irini Tzortzoglou

Irini Tzortzoglou was born on the Greek island of Crete, but has lived in the UK for forty years. Her home is in Cartmel in Cumbria, with her husband, John. She studied at Kingston University, is a retired banker and a step-grandmother. In 2019, Irini won MasterChef in the first all-female final seen on the show. Having attended a course in January 2020, Irini is also now an olive oil sommelier.

Glorious and sumptuous. From the simplest dishes through to the more complex, Irini totally captures the gastronomy of Greece.
Victoria Hislop

An ode to Greek gastronomy
Radio Times

You can learn cooking technique. What you cannot put into somebody is absolute love and passion. And Irini is just bursting with it! It's from the heart, every time she cooks.
Gregg Wallace, MasterChef episode, 2019

The 2019 MasterChef champion has created a stunning book full of
delicious family friendly recipes. Ideas for breakfast, quick meals,
salads and dinner are included. Moussaka, baklava and slow-roasted lamb
are some of the tastiest dishes on the menu.
the Sun

This is my favourite cookbook of the year. [Irini's] approach to cooking
is celebratory. It's about flavour, texture and presentation, of course,
but it is also about emotional nourishment: love and family,
conversation and laughter, hearts and minds. Anyone who says they don't
like sharing plates needs to read Tzortzoglou's words, make her recipes,
and enjoy her food. A total joy from start to finish.
Russell Norman

Completely mouthwatering, elegant and celebratory.
Anna Chancellor

What a gorgeous book! The recipes and the beautiful photos had me immediately transported to the beautiful island of Crete. If only I could hop on a plane; cooking the recipes in my kitchen will be the next best thing.
Rachel Knoo

Greek food has a very special place in my heart as I spent some very
enjoyable early years of my career working in a Greek restaurant in
Southampton! Under The Olive Tree is a treasure trove of personal
and factual information about the food of Greece and its islands.
Irini's love and passion for Greek ingredients as well as for values
associated with food such as nurture, sharing and hospitality are
infectious.

Simon Rogan

Irini brings holiday flavours to your home with these delicious Greek recipes from her stunning debut cookbook.
Woman & Home

A beautiful book, oozing with the true flavours of Greece.
Anthony Horowitz

Irini brings us the tastes and smells of Greek food, without having to actually hop on a plane. Discover sun-soaked dishes, from the simple to the more complex, in this wonderful celebration of all things Greek.
Liz Earle Wellbeing Magazine

A beautiful book.
Miguel Barclay

Gorgeous, easy-cook summer suppers with all the sunshine flavours of the Med.
YOU magazine

a tribute to the family and culture that brought her up... Tzortzoglou includes in Under the Olive Tree stories that recall a lost world.
Times2

This cookbook is so beautiful and I want to cook everything in it!
Lisa Faulkner

Tzortzoglou's warm personality pervades recollections of her father playing his bouzouki, olive oil decanted into ceramic pytharia pots, and of her mother using the village's communal wood-fired oven to bake. She shows that there is a lot more to Greek cuisine than the dishes we associate with summer holidays
Daily Telegraph

Sophisticated, modern take on traditional Greek fare
The Journal Newcastle

A sunny, satisfying read.
Daily Mail, Christmas Cookbook Roundup 2020

The 2019 MasterChef champion has created a stunning book full of delicious family friendly recipes. Ideas for breakfast, quick meals, salads and dinner are included. Moussaka, baklava and slowroasted lamb are some of the
tastiest dishes on the menu.

The Sun - Natasha Harding