Popi Terzi is a native of Athens. Although her post-secondary studies were in architectural design at the Doxiades School in Greece, she began cooking at an early age. She came to the U.S. in 1964 and raised her family in Upstate New York. Twenty years later, she started her own cooking school, and in 1987, she published her first cookbook, Athenian Cuisine. In 1991, Popi moved to Southern California to be closer to her children. She continues to write and teach her cooking classes. Her family has now flourished, and she has five beautiful grandchildren.