Olia Hercules was born in the south of Ukraine in 1984. She trained at the renowned Leiths School of Food and Wine and then worked as a chef in restaurants, including Ottolenghi. She is an author of three critically-acclaimed cookbooks, including the award-winning “Mamushka,” which is a celebration of the food, flavors, and heritage of Eastern Europe from the Black Sea to Baku, from Kiev to Kazakhstan. Her second cookbook, “Kaukasis,” explores the food of the Caucasus region, and “Summer Kitchens” is an ode to Ukrainian regional cooking. Olia lives in London with her sons Sasha and Wilfred and her husband Joe. She keeps busy writing, cooking and feeding her unceasing curiosity by researching food culture and culinary traditions of countries less explored.