Maria Benardis is a Gourmand Award-winning Author, Chef, Food Alchemist, Motivational Speaker, Intuitive Health & Wellness Coach and Founder of Greekalicious. After spending many years as a well-respected and highly sought-after accounting, taxation law and financial specialist, Maria decided on a career change after she experienced her life-changing calling and epiphany which inspired her go back to her first love: cooking.

After much success in Australia, Maria set her sights on expanding to the United States. In 2014, Maria packed up and moved to New York City, where she continues to spread her wisdom and passion about Greek cooking and its healing wisdoms. Maria is dedicated to being the catalyst in awakening people to the ancient Greek wisdoms and practices that help people live their optimum health, wellness and life. She places an emphasis on the Ancient Greek way of eating for health, healing and well-being. The Ancient Greek Practices and tools she has adopted to heal her illnesses.

Maria Benardis has been featured in top media in Australia, the USA and Europe, including the The New York Times, The Today Show, and Vogue; she has offered “Cooking with Agapi (unconditional love)” classes at prestigious venues including, The Natural Gourmet Institute, Brooklyn Kitchen, Sur La Table, Williams Sonoma and Haven’s Kitchen; she is a food and health blogger and writes for the Epoch Times and Estiator Magazine.She is the author of three books: My Greek Family Table, Cooking & Eating Wisdom for Better Health, and Greekalicious Feast and; she is the creator of the online course, The Ancient Greek Hidden Practices for Health, Happiness, Harmony, and Wellness that is returning the world back to agape (unconditional love) and the real diet (Greek word meaning, “a way of life’).