It may be a small shop in on a quiet Keilor Park street in Melbourne’s north west but Theo’s Greek Cakes has long been a beacon for anyone with a sweet tooth, particularly for those with a hankering for unique Greek confectionaries.
The Theo who lends his name to the shop at 11A Foster’s Road, is Theologos Karanikolas and he draws on a century-long family tradition in the confectionary business on Leros in the Dodecanesse, starting with his grandfather who passed on that knowledge to Mr Karanikolas’ father who, in turn, passed on what he knew to his son.
Mr Karanikolas is hard at it in the midst of the busiest time in his calendar, the Greek Easter. Last year, thanks to COVID-19, Easter was a quiet one, but he has been more than making up for it in 2021.
The build-up to Greek Easter began for Mr Karanikolas four weeks ago and he has been at it non-stop since then. His days begin at 6am and are full tilt until 7pm in the evening.
The tsourekia from Theo’s have earned a big reputation and are in plentiful evidence of the bread at the shop entrance. The Galaktobouriko is also very popular and those are but two products on offer. With the Easter rush in full swing the focus is on preparing up to 25 different varieties of sweets each day at the shop.
READ MORE: The third generation pâtissier from Leros making authentic Greek sweets in Melbourne
Once Easter is over Mr Karanikolas says he will be upping the menu to close on 40 products.
He moves from preparing the one dish to the other within about 30 minutes. It takes him about half an hour to prepare two large trays of Galaktoboureko and that is, he says, because the milk takes most of the time to heat the milk to the right temperature.
Mr Karanikolas worked at this father’s zaharoplasteio on Leros from the age of 14. He studied confectionary for two years at Limoni in Athens before moving on to complete his national service. He returned to Leros to work at his father’s confectionary shop. He then branched out on his own.
“My teacher gave me a lot of recipes and many came from my family,” Mr Karanikolas said.
When he came to Australia in 2012, it was because he wanted a better future for his two children Alexandra, his eldest at 12 years old, and Dimitri, aged nine.
“My daughter can do a good baklava but my son is just not interested,” he said.
“I worked for a few restaurants in Melbourne before deciding to go out on my own. I saw there was no confectionary shop in Keilor so I set up here three years ago.”
The shop with chairs and tables inside and out of the shop is a popular gathering point for the neighbourhood. The Baldounis brothers, Sotirios and Evangelos, congregate to Theos once a week to catch up.
“We stay close and have been coming every week since it opened. The service is good and galaktoboureko and tiropita are really good quality,” said Sotirios.
Dimitrios Tsabatsidis and Andonios Kasimiotis, a former typesetter for Neos Kosmos, come every day for a coffee and something to eat.
“A lot of Italians in the area like to come here to taste our confectionaries,” Mr Karanikolas said. “Australians are also regular customers here.”
While he strived to replicate the flavours of Greece it was a challenge because the basic ingredients differed with what is available in Australia.
“The quality of the flour in Australia is good but there is not the variety that you have in Greece where there are over 40 different types of flour.
“The butter and milk are different. Australian milk is lighter and less fatty. The differences make it difficult, but you always find a way to make it work,” he said.
As he prepared for the next batch of goodies he wished everyone Good Health and a Happy Easter.
“May this year end well for us all.”
