I love that many elements of our cuisine haven’t changed from ancient times,” he says, “it’s delicious, it’s based on simple, seasonal and local ingredients and somehow these dishes are delicious.

It was Peter Minaki’s successful blog kalofagas.ca that exposed him to the masses of food lovers interested in Greek and Mediterranean cuisine. His knowledge on both subjects sparked over 70,000 views a month, offering readers a new and inventive way to create Greek and Mediterranean specialities by combining seasonal ingredients with new cooking methods, creating a culinary adventure for all.
Born and raised in Toronto (Canada), Peter’s parents emigrated to Canada from towns in Florina. It was a family holiday home in Halkidiki purchased in 1989 that they would visit in summer that sparked his initial journey with food.
“For a few summers my brother and I were left to fend for ourselves [in the holiday home in Halkidiki] when it came to food,” Peter explains to Neos Kosmos.
“The initial bachelor’s euphoria of take-out and delivery and daily grilling wore away and we craved home-cooked meals. That’s when I began to cook for myself.”
Peter would source ingredients from Greece to recreate home-cooked foods, but noticed that although he tends to cook Greek, most of his cooking was based on olive oil, sunshine and the Mediterranean diet.
“I enjoy adding my twists to some classics,” he says. “I love galaktoboureko, a lamb giouvetsi baked in a clay pot or the simple pleasure of grilling whole fish and dressing it with olive oil and lemon.” The simple stuff inspires this chef. But the rich history of the Mediterranean diet, and the health benefits, are what have given him his endless fans.
“I love that many elements of our cuisine haven’t changed from ancient times,” he says, “it’s delicious, it’s based on simple, seasonal and local ingredients and somehow these dishes are delicious.”
But there’s also the cultural aspect of eating Greek – the family and friends, the social gathering that accompanies eating Greek well. Talking politics, religion and the laughter that permeates throughout the table becomes the focus, not the food so much.
“We talk about what happened that day, listen to stories, argue and somehow live to still be friendly with each other,” he says.
Peter explains his approach to Greek cuisine and the Mediterranean diet is from the angle of the food lover.
“We have a delicious cuisine that also happens to be healthy – that’s my focus … the delicious side of Greek cuisine. I’ll allow the dieticians and doctors to espouse the health benefits.”
Having travelled the world, Peter has focused on spending time in all parts of Greece from Thrace to Messinia and Laconia to Epirus but also focusing on Mediterranean countries to compare and contrast the foods. From the knowledge he picked up, he has created Greek Supper Clubs, cooking for people from Buffalo to New York in the USA, and also Montreal in his country of birth, Canada.
From the popularity of these Greek Supper Clubs – that he says he wants to host in other cities around the world – and the popularity of his blog, it was only natural that he created a cookbook featuring some of his better known recipes. Many of the recipes were already on the blog kalofagas, that started in 2007. This year, he says, a publisher from America contacted him asking if would be the author of a second edition of the Everything Mediterranean Cookbook.
On a tight deadline, Peter culled, edited, and wrote his recipes, chose the photos and worked through the summer, working on a number of edits before the book was ready to published. When it was available for pre-order, he said there was already a backlog of people who wanted it.
“It wasn’t too hard to choose the recipes because there was some dishes that contained similar main ingredients,” he says.
“For example, I love mussels, but there was no need for ten mussel recipes in the book. I remained focused on providing a book that would be balanced and offer readers an array of dishes touching on fish, meat, vegetarian, desserts, lunch and light meals, beverages and even dessert items.”
And when asked what his top three dishes are he says simply: “Slow-roasted leg of lamb in the oven with potatoes, my unique but very Greek cauliflower stifado and for dessert, touloumbes.” He has provided the recipes so you can try them at home.
For more information on Peter Minaki and his Greek and Mediterranean cooking adventures visit www.kalofagas.ca