Majlinda Brakaj, the chef of Albanian cuisine who emigrated to Greece many years ago, today counts 38 medals in her profession.
Brakaj left for Greece on foot like many other Albanians walking through the mountains despite his father warning him that if he left he would no longer be the family's daughter. In the interview for ABC she has shown that today she is married and lives in Luxembourg, after the divorce from the first marriage, where her ex-husband had cheated on her with the secretary.
"I fled the mountain to Greece. I had tried twice and my father tells me, if he leaves the house again you will no longer be the daughter of the family. I was with a group of friends from work. I even said to him: 'Dad, I will leave if I do not walk, I will jump from the mountain so that only you can be proud of me " , she says.
Brakaj also spoke about the difficulties he encountered upon arrival in Greece, due to racism . "It was very difficult then, because in the 90s racism was very sensitive. If you were not a Christian and you were a Muslim it was a problem for them. In fact, I barely took the girl to school because they did not accept that she was Albanian. They told him to leave the playground and let the Greek children play once, then you, because they are Albanians.
I went to enroll the girl for design school and they told me they have a place in the kitchen. I immediately admitted that my mom was a cook and I had it with passion. So I started school and was the oldest student in the class. "I have already won over 38 medals in the kitchen", said Majlinda, among others.