©Sophie Delauw

Emiko Davies

Emiko Davies is an Australian-Japanese food writer, photographer and cookbook author based in Italy. She grew up between Canberra and Beijing and gained her BFA at Rhode Island School of Design. She landed in Florence in 2005 while studying art restoration and met her husband, a Tuscan sommelier, and has called Italy home since. They run a cooking school and wine bar, Enoteca Marilu, together in San Miniato, where they live.

She began her food writing career with a Tuscan food blog in 2010 and for four years wrote a recipe column for Food52 on Italian Regional Cuisine. She has contributed to publications such as Financial Times, Food and Wine, Conde Nast Traveler, Gourmet Traveller, and as a restaurant critic for the Good Food Guide (Australia). She currently has a recipe column in Cook Corriere, the food liftout of Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Emiko has written six cookbooks: Florentine (March 2016; second edition November 2020, won best Italian cuisine book at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2017 and Best Design Book at ABDA awards), Acquacotta (March 2017 and a new edition in February 2023, shortlisted for the Fortnum & Mason awards 2018 for Best Cookery Book), Tortellini at Midnight (March 2019), Torta della Nonna (March 2021), Cinnamon & Salt (April 2022, shortlisted for Best International Cookbook at the Guild of Food Writers Award 2023 and long listed for the Andre Simon Award), all published by Hardie Grant. Gohan was published by Smith Street Books in September 2023 and long listed for the Andre Simon Award 2024.

She has appeared on TV for Adam Liaw’s The Cook Up (a guest on 5 episodes, SBS Australia) and Clive Myrie’s Italian Road Trip (BBC) and was a consultant for Sarah Winman's novel Still Life.

Emiko is a member of the Guild of Food Writers, based in London.