Marianna Leivaditaki

Marianna Leivaditaki was brought up in Chania on the Greek island of Crete. Her father is a fisherman and she spent most of her childhood evenings in her family's seafood restaurant, standing on a chair peeling sacks of potatoes and gutting the day's catch. After finishing her studies, she traveled through France and Spain on a bike and lived in the Ecuadorian jungle for a while, eating local fresh produce and learning to cook in local ways. After returning to the Cretan restaurant for 2 years, she went to London and began working at Moro with Samantha and Samuel Clarke. Since 2016 she has been Head Chef at Morito, where she has brought a Cretan influence to the signature Spanish and Middle Eastern menu.