Maria Borg

I grew up in Marsaxlokk, where the painted luzzu fishing boats are, and my dad still goes out for lampuki every autumn. I trained as a chef at the tourism institute and cooked in hotels in St Julian's for eight years, until I got tired of making the same buffet for visitors who never tasted real Maltese food. Now I show them. My Valletta food walk starts with pastizzi from a hole in the wall that opens at five in the morning, then ftira with tuna, capers and tomato paste, bigilla, the little cheeselets we call gbejniet, and a glass of Kinnie, which you will either love or hate. Rabbit stew is our national dish, and I will tell you where my nanna would eat it. I talk a lot and I laugh loudly. You have been warned. From Valletta, I now guide on live video with my phone, and the chat stays open for your questions the whole time.