It was a New Year’s Eve party where the journey of my culinary life changed forever. That night, I met Kosta. Marrying a Greek-Australian whose love of home-style Greek food runs deep has bought a rich vein of lemons, garlic, olive oil and oregano running through my life – and my kitchen.
Not long after I meet Kosta, I was introduced to his beautiful and generous parents, Sofia and Athanasios (Athur). Sofia’s kitchen hums with the warmth of her home island Zakynthos and Arthur’s garden is a like a slice of Peloponnesian paradise, abundant with pomegranate, olive, almond and mulberry trees. Like many Greek migrants to Australia, Sofia and Arthur bought their recipes and food traditions with them. They provided a tangible link to home, not only for themselves, but also their four children.
Whenever we visit Sofia and Arthur, Kosta and I remark that their piece of Sydney’s inner west is just like a Greek village. Sofia’s kitchen is the heart of family life. A constant stream of aromatic Greek coffees run out from the kitchen to the garden table for family and friends that have dropped by. The kitchen table itself is always abundant with produce from Arthur’s garden.
Our beloved Sofia is very much the inspiration for this blog. When I met Sofia, I found a soulmate who lived and loved cooking as much as I did. We could spend hours talking in ‘Greek-lish’ about food and family. Very generously, Sofia shared with me her own recipes, crafted over decades and stories of her much loved island Zakynthos. This blog is my way of sharing Sofia’s kitchen legacy with you.
