Med.kitchen is a food culture publication rooted in Gozo, at the geographical and culinary heart of the Mediterranean. We write about where dishes come from, how they travelled, what they reveal about the people who made them, and why the arguments about ownership and authenticity still matter.
We are not a recipe database or a cooking school. We are a running conversation about one of the world's most complex and contested food cultures, written from the inside, by people who live and eat here.
What We Believe
Mediterranean food did not begin with a celebrity chef or a wellness trend. It began with fishermen, farmers, traders and migrants moving around a shared sea for thousands of years, borrowing from each other and arguing about it ever since.
We think that history matters. We think contested origins are more interesting than settled ones. And we think Gozo -- small, stubborn, and sitting at the centre of it all -- is as good a place as any to write from.
Food has a way of finding you. For Shaun Smith-Roberts, it started in the Royal Air Force, where an apprenticeship led to something nobody quite plans for: cooking for the British Royal Family, foreign heads of state, and dignitaries, including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, HRH Princess Diana, HRH Prince Charles, and HRH King Hussein of Jordan.
As a young member of the Queens Colour Squadron, constant travel did what travel always does: it opened doors into other people's kitchens. Each posting brought new ingredients, new techniques, and new arguments about how things should be done. The obsession took hold early and never really let go.
After leaving the military, Shaun worked as a sous chef at the renowned Ménage à Trois in Knightsbridge before moving to a Michelin-starred kitchen in London -- enough time in serious professional cooking to understand both the discipline it demands and the creative freedom it eventually rewards.
The turn that would define everything came through two encounters. The first was working alongside culinary idol Ian McAndrew, contributing to his book A Feast of Fish 2. The second was Keith Floyd, television's most gloriously opinionated food communicator, who brought Shaun into the production of Floyd Around the Med and several other series. It was Floyd, more than anyone, who demonstrated that food writing and food television could be genuinely curious about the world rather than simply instructional about the kitchen.
That curiosity, combined with a growing pull towards his Maltese heritage, led Shaun to the Maltese archipelago and eventually to Gozo -- a small island with a fierce culinary identity, sitting at the geographical heart of the Mediterranean. Med.kitchen grew from that decision: a publication written from the inside, by someone who has eaten, cooked and argued about this food culture for the better part of four decades.
At Med.kitchen, our passion lies in crafting exceptional culinary experiences through our online platform. We specialise in sharing a wealth of knowledge via articles, recipes, courses, and online mentoring, aiming to inspire both novice and seasoned chefs alike. Our focus has shifted from private dining to being an online source of gastronomic inspiration, allowing you to explore and refine your culinary skills from the comfort of your home..
