Manuela Darling-Gansser was born in the Italian speaking city of Lugano, Switzerland. She spent her early childhood living in Iran before returningto school in Zurich. Darling-Gansser has lived in Italy, the USA, Japan and currently lives with husband Michael Darling and three children Miranda, Jason and Daniel in Sydney, Australia. She is fluent in English, Italian, French, German and Swiss German, as well as being able to converse in Spanish and Persian.

Darling-Gansser is part of a long line of cooks beginning with her great grandfather who in 1882 opened Ristorante Biaggi in Lugano. Her grandfather Ettore Biaggi trained in hotels in London, Paris, and St Petersberg and had a weekly radio cooking show before taking over the family restaurant. Ristorante Biaggi's guests included the Aga Khan, Sir Austen Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini, General Guissan, Dolfuss, Mannerheim and King Farouk of Egypt. Professor Augusto Gansser-Biaggi, her father, is a renowned geologist whose book Geology of the Himalaya earned him the award of the Patron's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society London.

Manuela Darling-Gansser along with Australian photographer Simon Griffiths has produced three food and travel books published by Hardie Grant Books:Under The Olive Tree: Family and food in Lugano and the Costa Smeralda, Italy (2003)*^

''Autumn In Piemonte: Food and travels in Italy's northwest'' (2005)^
''Winter In The Alps: Food by the fireside'' (2007)

• *Winner of "The Ligare Book Printers Best Designed Cookbook" prize at the Australian Publishers Association 52nd Annual Book Design Awards, 2003.
• ^Has been translated into Dutch and published by Tirion