When I spoke with catering entrepreneur Savva Savas, host of the Three Food Memories podcast, I didn’t expect to dive into my own food memories, and that’s exactly what we did.
On the podcast, Savva literally breaks bread with his guests to discuss memories that reveal far more about themselves than simply the food they’ve tasted, and while I didn’t physically sit down with him, rather spoke on the phone, we still discussed food memories.
The first thing that came to mind was my yiayia and papou, be it going over to theirs for BBQ or the times spent there when my yiayia would make my sisters and I toast (which is a comfort food now because of her) or her always giving us lollies and treats.
“I love that straight away that your first food memories go to your grandparents because a lot of them do,” Savva said.
“Grandparenting is a really important in our tribe because it tells me and it reminds me that grandparenting is a second chance at parenting.
“I’m a shit parent on the best of days but it’s because I’m a full-time working dad… but when it comes time for me to look after my grandkids, I’ll have more time for them.
“Grandparents, they relish that time even though they’re exhausted because it gives them a chance to go back and fix things up.”
While I myself do have memories of Greek and Cypriot dishes, most food memories I recalled were the ones I mentioned earlier.
I remember yiayia letting us have ice-cream not too long after dinner, or her having no issues if we wanted snacks.
She would walk with my cousin, sisters and I to the milk bar to let us pick out lollies, chocolates or icy poles and ice-cream.
This brought back a memory for Savva, or rather a memory of a story he was told about his own grandfather, which he correlates to grandparents being happy to go out of their way to treat their grandkids.
“My uncle tells this story. He would actually go to Lefkosia (Nicosia) and there would be the bazaars. There’d be all these boiled lollies… made out of pure ingredients back then and all handmade.
“But it wasn’t necessarily the treat itself. It was what went into getting that treat.”
He said his grandfather would have to pack the lollies with the items he went to town for and without a car, travel back to the village with them.
“So when our grandparents gave us that sort of stuff, I never thought about it like you at the time, but it’s the intent and where it came from.”
Connecting with the Hellenic diaspora
In the latest episode of Three Food Memories, the first of series seven, Savva is joined by fellow Greek Cypriot Australian Ada Nicodemou.
Best know for her role as Leah Patterson on Home and Away, Ada is not just a TV icon to Savva, she’s basically family descending from the same Cypriot village Fasoula.
In their conversation the two dive deep into the culture of Cyprus; “the food, the crazy driving, the chaos and swearing”.
Ada also talks about what it means to be a “good Greek girl” and how growing up as a first generation Australian with a Greek mum gives you skills you never knew you needed.
“I always joke that my Mum must have a Greek book of rules,” Ada said on the podcast.
Her food memories are unlocked with halloumi, ravioli, souvla and birthday cake. They also discuss the importance of cooking with Bessemer.
Ada is the first Hellenic guest on the podcast which began in October 2021 and sometimes features episodes in front a live audience.
Savva’s catering and hospitality training comes into play with that as every person is looked after too, not just the guest.
In June, Savva heads to Athens for live show with Greek chef and cookbook writer Carolina Doriti where they’ll walk through the streets of Athens for her three food memories.
And later this year he teased a big event here in Australia celebrating Hellenic diaspora that he can’t reveal more about at this stage.
Three Food Memories is on all major podcast platforms and more information can be found on its website and social media.
