Elena Makhonko

Elena Makhanko was born in Leningrad/St Petersburg and learned to prepare Russian food from her grandmother who read cookery books to her, and her mother who was a skilled cook. Elena and her mother and grandmother still enjoy cooking together whenever they can. Lena moved to Sweden in the 1980s, and for her first 10 years there worked in the fashion industry before beginning a new career in Stockholm's biggest test kitchen. Elena has cooked food with celebrities including Roger More and Swedish president Goran Persson. Lena has more recently written for various food magazines and has also published several books about food. She cooks and styles food for photography and has also worked in Swedish television, and appears regularly on the popular program Good Evening.