Christina Kotsilelou

Christina Kotsilelou (b. 1978 in Athens, Greece) has graduated in 2000 from BA Product Design in Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and has continued there with an MA in Design Studies.

Upon her return to Greece in 2006, she formed together with her partner Thanos Karampatsos “Greece is for Lovers,” a product design studio specializing in exploring cultural identity and designing kind of absurd objects inspired by their heritage. Together they have taken part in various international design fairs and exhibitions and continue their practice from their studio in Athens.

In 2015 and in a turn of events, following a passion for cooking Christina attended a raw vegan culinary academy in California (Matthew Kenney Culinary Academy). Continuing in the field she also attended a more advanced course in Barcelona (PlantLab) in 2017.

Since then, along with product design, she has been working with food in various ways. Never employed full-time in the restaurant business, mainly because of the fear of stress and monotony, she prefers to work by project and have a more thoughtful approach to cooking. Creating menus for vegetarian and vegan restaurants as well as doing pop-up events in various spaces, and orchestrating sensory gastronomic experiences that engage the participants have been some of the areas explored. A continuing thread in her involvement with food and nutrition has been the respect and concern for the ingredients, the environment and the human body. After all, eating is always a political act, and she strongly believes that one should be mindful of where one’s food comes from. Questions about food production and distribution, sustainability and environmental ethics are always critical.

Christina has traveled in various countries for cooking and exploring food practices and traditions, while her current interest has been foraging whether in the wild or in urban environments. Happily combining both creative fields, design and cooking, she currently resides in Athens, Greece.

Christina Kotsilelou is a chef-in-residence of The School of Infinite Rehearsals of Οnassis AiR 2020-21 and a participant of the Tailor-made Fellowships program 2022-23.