Silvena Rowe was born and raised in the ancient city of Plovdiv, just five hundred kilometres from the Ottoman capital of Constantinople, a place that fell under their rule as early as 1365, becoming the cultural centre of the Ottoman district of Rumelia, and remaining as part of the Empire for five hundred years. Over those centuries many Turks came to live in Plovdiv, giving the city its rich ethnicity. Her Turkish father instilled in her a love of cooking, and he passed down, as generations had before him, the traditions of the Ottoman cuising. Silvena's familial and professional backgrounds place her in a unique position to share with others the Eastern Mediterranean cuisine of the Ottoman Empire. Silvena is the executive chef at the Baltic Group restaurants, which includes the London restaurants of Baltic, Chez Kristoff and Wodka. She regularly appears on Saturday Kitchen (BBC1) where she is the highest profile female chef. In the past she has appeared on ITV's Saturday Cook and Great Food Live (UKTV Food Nerwork) where she cooked on a weekly basis. Her diverse experience in the food world ranges from everything to working in conjunction with major brands such as Waitrose's Delicatezze range which was launched under her name earlier this year, to writing for the Guardian and Love It magazine, to working on David Cronenberg's new film, Eastern Promises .