Greek-Australian cook and food writer Ella Mittas lives in inner-city Melbourne where she spends her days running her catering business Ela Melbourne, taking over the kitchen at Cam’s at Abbotsford Convent, cooking meze-inspired dishes from her self-published cookbook and teaching cooking classes.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, she has also worked with prolific figures in the global food industry like Brigitte Hafner, Annie Smithers and Ismail Tosun in Australia, sharpened her skills in London at NOPI, in Tel Aviv at Romano and in Istanbul at Lokanta Maya.Ella believes it takes equal parts skill and confidence to be successful. “As with any creative pursuit, it’s also about developing a point of view. Knowing how you want things to taste, or how you want things to sound when you write them. Also, just do things a lot! Practice, study, look at how other people do things to learn from them.”Taking a peek inside her home, Ella is a maximalist at heart; someone who enjoys an abundance of objects, styles, and patterns under one roof. “Some people like minimal living but I’ve always been someone that likes having all my stuff around me. Seeing my clothes on a clothing rack, having my books displayed on a bookshelf, having my records out. I live in an Art Deco building that’s all glass and wood. The inside of my house can be described as big open plan living with lots of plants and pops of colour.”As someone who needs to focus to stay creative, making a room feel comfortable makes all the difference to Ella. She uses Natural State’s soy blend scented candles to bring a softer, warmer vibe into her home. “There’s something about watching a lit candle that’s quite soothing and meditative. It helps me stay focused when I’m writing,” she shares.

That focus extends to the kitchen. When she’s cooking, for work or just for the joy of it, she uses her intuition a lot. “Food’s incredibly visual, and I rely on my sense of taste and smell; how it sounds, even, when I’m cooking on the stove.”

She likens cooking to a different way of thinking. “I’ll come up with a dish and think I know the flavour combinations. But what goes together in terms of taste can also look great in a colourscape, for example.” Ella believes confidence in the kitchen can come from having fun with it.Her two daily non-negotiables? Reading in the morning, and going for a walk or run. “Having daily rituals puts my workday into perspective. Being able to spend a good solid hour in nature in the morning helps me remember that the stress of any job I’ve got on is not my whole life.”

Running a successful business also means being clear about your values. Ella sources all her ingredients from small-scale farmers and makes sure she doesn’t produce any food waste. “A lot of my job has been learning over the years about ordering good amounts of things, planning how much food I’ll need for events, how much I’ll need to cook for people.”Personally, Ella doesn’t believe in fast fashion, either, and prefers investing in pre-loved clothing. While she lived abroad in Istanbul, she’d often visit the local flea market for one-of-a-kind items. “I buy all my clothes second-hand. I just feel like there are enough clothes in the world. We don’t need to buy new ones. There’s nothing I want that I can’t get secondhand. Or third hand. Or fourth hand.” There’s a particular dressing gown from that flea market that’s super special to her. “It’s hand-sewn and quilted, using old textiles. I hang it on the wall next to my bed.”

When it comes to advice on figuring out what’s important in life, Ella encourages putting happiness first. “Slow down and pay attention. What makes you stressed? Then, narrow things down to what matters most to you.”Lately, she’s stopped trying to be more ambitious and found there’s something more to be gained by appreciating the things we often take for granted. “Of course, it’s great to have nice things. But the richest I’ve felt is when I’m out in nature or with my friends.”

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