Greek patisserie Kalymnos Pastries has been awarded ‘Best Patisserie in Australia 2019’ at the Restaurant and Catering Business Awards, held in Brisbane earlier this the week.
“We feel honoured and proud and we still can’t believe that our small patisserie in Adelaide was recognised at a national level by industry experts,” says owner of Kalymnos Pastries, George Diakomichalis, who completed his pastry chef training in Kalymnos, Greece before returning to Australia and setting up his business in Adelaide in 1995.
“I was inspired and was taught the art of patisserie by my great grandfather, my grandfather and my two uncles who opened the first pastry shop in Kalymnos back in 1918. They were the ones that made me fall in love with the job and gave me the courage to set up my own business here in Australia and give people the opportunity to enjoy traditional Greek food and pastries on the other side of the world.”
George together with his wife Eleni and their family now run arguably one of the most successful Greek businesses in the country, employing around 20 people in their Torrensville premises, serving products that have become a staple amongst the locals.
“We are all a big happy family that tries hard to satisfy every single person that walks through the doors. We work hard, we party hard, and we always have our customers’ satisfaction and best experience in mind, using traditional ingredients and methods that offer a real Greek culinary experience,” says George, who also runs cooking classes around the country and overseas every summer in Kalymnos, where he conducts food hospitality tours.
READ MORE: A taste of Kalymnos in Adelaide
George with wife Eleni and daughters Kayla and Anna.
“I love what I do. For me and for our Kalymnos Pastries family, this award together with our customers’ love translates into us having more responsibility to deliver the best quality product, more hard work and continuous improvement. I am very conscious of the fact that through our little shop, we also represent Hellenism in Australia and I want to ensure I do my best to make every single Greek out there proud,” continues George, whose café-patisserie is one of Australia’s most iconic Greek dessert spots, famous for its delicious crème kataifi, galaktoboureko and baklava.
George was also the regular face of Channel 7’s popular TV series Out of The Blue, cooking traditional Greek desserts in the company of Greek Australian fish tycoon Michael Angelakis.
He also featured in his own show, It’s all Greek to Me, an eight-episode series where George would pay an impromptu visit to Greek Australian homes and ask the noikokires (women of the house) to share their own Greek recipes with the viewers.
“My goal is to keep traditional Greek recipes alive and to inspire younger people to keep our Hellenic culture alive in a country that has embraced us and allowed us to enjoy, maintain and celebrate our Greekness.”
Yiaourtopita (Traditional Yoghurt Cake)
INGREDIENTS
1 cup caster sugar
250 g unsalted butter (softened)
1 lemon (grated rind)
5 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cups self-raising flour (sifted)
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups Greek style yogurt
METHOD
- Using an electric mixer, place sugar and butter in a bowl and whisk until pale and creamy.
- Slowly add and combine grated rind, oil, baking powder, eggs (one by one) and the yoghurt.
- Add the flour and be sure to mix until well combined.
- Place batter into a buttered 10-inch round baking dish and bake at 175°C for 50 minutes.
- Remove cake from oven (checking with cake skewer) and allow to rest until cool enough to remove from tin.
Optional: If you like, you can sprinkle a little icing sugar over the top of the cake.