After seven years studying Accounting and Finance, I found myself deeply unhappy and disconnected from the life I was building. I was good with numbers, but it never lit me up the way food did. So I packed my bags, bought a one-way ticket to Thailand, and spent seven weeks backpacking, journaling, and trying to figure out who I really was and what I wanted.

On June 2nd, everything shifted. I met Andrew Joseph Camacho, and from that moment on, my path began to change. What followed was a whirlwind of travel across Europe, long stops in London, and eventually a long-distance relationship that would shape the next chapter of my life and quietly set the stage for FoodByMaria.

Fast forward to January 2014, in Bromley, England. The misery returned. I’m working in accounting in central London and life feels so dark. It wasn’t until September that I decided to grab life by the balls and make some choices that led me to where I am today.

The IG account of @foodbymaria was born. Initially, FoodByMaria started as a way of healing from years of battling an eating disorder (the misery I speak of). It was my passion project that helped distract me from the reality I was existing in. It helped me create a healthy relationship with food.

On October 1st, 2015 I launched www.foodbymaria.com.  Pure passion, naivety and love with 0% of a clue. 

At the time, it was a hobby. Barely editing photos, shooting them on my phone, eventually on my first Canon, and creating recipes in real-time. Quite literally giving myself minutes to meet my scheduled post. My blog was something for me to mend my relationship with food and get me excited about it. It was an escape from the everyday responsibilities of working as a waitress and pursuing my post-secondary education to become an accountant. 

Here’s the crazy part, it eventually flourished into an award-winning home of nutritious, comforting recipes that thousands of people make every month.

Fast forward to 2018, I had enough of the traditional road my life was headed on and I took a leap of faith. I quit my waitressing job and decided to pursue my hobby as a career. I was broke, but fueled by my love for cooking and creating recipes that I could share with all of you. At the time, all I had to my name was one $800/month partnership with a snack company. My pockets were empty, but my heart was so damn full. I was energized, motivated, and most definitely terrified.

Although my choice to ditch a conventional career to pursue a career in blogging came with a lot of learnings, challenges, and road bumps, I got affirmation that I was on the right path when I landed a book deal in 2018. It’s only been uphill since then! Hundreds of recipes, one cookbook, several eBooks, 900K+ followers, a contestant on Guy’s Grocery Games, and all of my wonderful fans, my little Tzatziki’s.

Andrew and I eventually ended up buying our own home for a new and fresh energy (and of course a gorgeous kitchen for the FBM headquarters). We also had a member of the family join us, our furry little weiner friend, Herbert (we call him little, but trust me, he has that BDE). He’s the best little boy and we love him so much.

If you’ve made it this far I want to say thank you for being here, for making a recipe, for leaving a review, for liking those Instagram videos, and for making me your little Greek food bestie. FoodByMaria has become so much more than I ever imagined. I am so thankful to bring my food, routed in my family history and recipes I grew up with from my Greek mama and yia-yia into your homes.