The Greek Cypriot Youth of Melbourne - Apostolos Andreas, have teamed up with food blogger Eleni Georges from ‘My Family's Food Diary' to host an unforgettable night filled with home-made traditional Cypriot food and an entertaining music program.
The Cyprus Greek Orthodox Community of Apostolos Andreas, based in Sunshine, Melbourne (Australia) was established in 1955, during the post World War II period when the influx of immigration in Australia was at its peak.
In 2019, a youth subcommittee was established (Greek Cypriot Youth of Melbourne - Apostolos Andreas) and in the short time have worked hard to promote their culture, history and heritage both in their online forums, being active in the wider Greek community, and by hosting events such as Cypriot cooking workshops, barbecues, youth nights, and more.
Together with popular food blogger Eleni Georges from ‘My Family's Food Diary’ on Saturday 22nd February 2020, the youth group will be preparing a buffet set up with some traditional Cypriot food, to celebrate #FEBulousCypriotFood the best way they know how.
"When Eleni approached our committee to collaborate on this event we were so excited and jumped at the opportunity to work together. We love supporting and working with others in our community, and celebrating and showcasing our cuisine with Eleni during her #FebulousCypriotFood campaign seemed like an ideal match. It has been so much fun planning the event so far and we are really looking forward to it, and also what it will mean for our group in the future and building on this event,” Stephanie Demetrios, Vice President of Greek Cypriot Youth of Melbourne - Apostolos Andreas stated.
Eleni is a Cypriot Australian who has lived close to half her life in Cyprus and the other half in Australia. “My passion and interest in cooking started from very early on watching my mum, grandmother and aunties cook. I was always quite curious about food and wanted to be involved. My mum would let me help her when she had catering jobs e.g. making koupes and I was always by her side in the kitchen. The blog www.myfamilysfooddiary.com came about after I started posting food images and recipes on Instagram and I felt the need to have a more formal space to keep my recipes. At the same time the blog is shaping to be a food journal for my daughters to read and follow when they grow up. The blog focuses on Greek Cypriot traditional recipes as well as other family food inspirations we like to enjoy,” Eleni continued.
Some people believe that Cypriot food is just Greek food with some differences, however that is not entirely true. Cyprus throughout history has been an island conquered by a lot of civilisations due to its strategic geographic position, which has also caused the cuisine to be influenced by these nations.
Cypriot cuisine has variations to the pastitsio (pasta bake), dolmades/koupepia (stuffed vine leaves, gemista (stuffed vegetables) etc., but it also has unique dishes. They include afelia (pork marinated in wine and coriander seeds), sheftalies (Cypriot pork sausages wrapped in caul fat), kolokasi (taro stew) and many more. Common spices and herbs used while Cypriot cooking are cinnamon, cumin, coriander parsley, coriander and mint (fresh and dry).
"I am very excited to collaborate with the Greek Cypriot Youth of Melbourne to present an event where we celebrate and cook traditional Cypriot food for the people attending. In effect I feel like we are contributing to the preservation of our culture, to the Cypriots abroad, especially our youth,” Eleni further added.
Details
What: Kopiaste - Cyprus on a plate
When: Saturday 22 February 2020
Where: Cyprus Community Centre (100 Forrest St, Ardeer VIC 3020)
Time: 6pm
Tickets: $50+bf for Adults and $35+bf for Children. To purchase tickets, please click here
Facebook: Greek Cypriot Youth of Melbourne - Apostolos Andreas and My Family's Food Diary
