Meriko grew up in Kutaisi, a small village in Western Georgia. From a traditional Georgian family, with a rich culinary history, cooking process did not excite her much in her youth but being part of a large family, preparing big feasts & family dinners were frequent & ‘I finally succumbed to the taste of good food’.
She graduated from Tbilisi State University, in 1995 & left for the USA almost right away to get away from the darkness of post soviet times. She worked in numerous restaurants in NYC, experiencing tastes, techniques, cuisines of the world. Back home determined to use NYC experience the dream became real & she opened ’Shavi Lomi’ (black lion) in 2010 & now also Ninia’s Garden, Café leila & Kaklebi. The concept of the restaurants is very simple: honest cooking, honest hospitality & honest treatment of employees surrounding you, something I’ve learned many years ago when I was growing up in Western Georgia.