It’s all Greek to me.

As some of our followers already know this blog is dedicated to the memory of Bruce Kirkpatrick Hill, whose passing away over two years ago, became the unlikely catalyst of Monday Night Dining and now this blog. As Bruce was a major influence in my musical pedagogy and  development,  I had another influence in my culinary and gastronomic journey. Over twenty years ago I worked in a family run Greek restaurant, which was the genesis of my fascination with food and its preparation. I witnessed first hand the importance of quality ingredients and the respectful ritual of turning them into a simple and delicious meal.

I watched as everything was made from scratch: Caesar  dressing, spanikopita, moussaka, souvlaki, rice pilaf and baklava – there was nothing in bottles or anything pre-packaged. I was always curious to learn how everything was made and under the boss’s wife’s gentle guidance, was taught how to take care with every preparation. I was fascinated that everything she made was by rote; there was not a recipe book or a piece of paper outlining a step by step preparation.

I am not a chef but a home cook and like all young chefs learn early in their career: I have learnt  to have an appreciation for a dish that has been the same way for generations, and then taking pride in executing that same dish with the freshest and finest ingredients at one’s disposal. So, it is only fitting that I honour my culinary journey to a culture that has inspired mathematicians, architects, philosophers, artists, artisans, musicians……. and chefs – Greece.

This Monday night dinner also included a few more guests who were mentored by Bruce, Andrew and Simon, and someone Dave and I had not met, but who has lately been mentored by Steph,  Stephanie A – no pressure as we learn that she is part Greek. Being up at the cottage for the weekend, in the heat, let us get into the mood for Greek food.  This also allowed us the space to prep for our Monday Night feast.  We started the evening with Tiropitakia, which I think translates roughly to Little Cheese Pies – consisting of feta, egg, nutmeg and pepper.

Tiropitakia

Filling

Folding Tiropitakia

This was served with home-made Tzatziki, flaming Saganaki and our first attempt at Greek Pitas.

OPA!!!

Greek PItas

Grilling Greek Pitas

Tzatziki

The main dish was Kontosouvli  with a Mustard Sauce, Greek Village Salad and a rice pilaf. The colours on the plate were spectacular. Stephanie A. gave us what we took as a great compliment…  The rice tasted like what her Yaya used to make.

Kontosouvli

Greek Village Salad

For dessert (I almost forgot to mention the dessert) we made Baklava.  36 layers of Pyllo pastry, pecans and almonds and fresh clover honey, from a friend at work’s beehives.

Ingredients

Layering

Nuts, sugar and cinamon

Baklava

After a lovely evening of eating in Steph’s garden, we retired to the house to have some musical selections.  We swapped instruments several times and Andrew retuned the ukulele to C major.  At one point Stephanie A. had a violin, but was more used to cello, so she invented the “lap cello.”  We had selections of English Country Dancing, Anglican Hymns and sections of Dream of Gerontius for piano and violin, and finally Simon played some selections from Thompson’s The Peaceable Kingdom.

We ended the evening by lighting some sparklers that Steph had found while Spring cleaning and we took great delight in twirling our “étincelles” whilst singing ” O Canada” in English and then in French….. then both.

Although this entry is titled “It’s all Greek to me”, which is an idiom for something that is not understandable, what we do understand is the importance of passing on traditions, knowledge and stories, and mentoring the next generation of academics, chefs, and musicians. Embrace your heritage, your knowledge, your skills and talents, and share them: this is what connects us and may change the world, one tiny piece at a time.