Paris Demetriades
On Omirou Street in Kolonaki, just a short walk from Syntagma Square, Mrs. Maria Artimati smiles as she cooks nearly every day. She has been doing this for exactly thirty years, since opening her shop in May 1996. She prepares all kinds of traditional dishes, from Northern Greek, Asia Minor, and Cretan recipes to Cypriot ones she learned from her mother and grandmother. Because of her roots, Cypriot flavors stand at the center of her cooking.
Years ago, she recalls with a bit of humor, someone told her her salad was not washed well and smelled like AVA detergent. “I said, come on, that’s not it. It’s the coriander in it. They told me not to use it again because they didn’t like it. But little by little I made coriander part of the menu, and now everyone likes it. I’ve basically taught people to eat coriander and celery, just like my mom and grandmother did.”
“I cook everything, my dear,” she says. “From Cypriot dishes, I make afelia, koupes, sheftalies, kolokotes, flaounes, Christmas ‘fingers,’ and halloumi pies. In many dishes, like my smashed potatoes, we add coriander, and I also make stewed cauliflower.”
She also introduced kolokotes, a traditional Cypriot pumpkin pie, to Athens. “At first no one knew them, but now people come in asking for them. I also cook a lot of Cretan food. I really love Crete.” She sees many similarities between Cypriot and Cretan cuisine. “Our food and our people have a lot in common.”
When it comes to colocasia, she prepares it in two ways. “One is red, cooked with celery, wine, and coriander. I learned all this from my mother and my grandmother. My grandmother had a special gift. She could have nothing at home and still make a full meal out of nowhere. Luckily, I have that same ability.”
She keeps her portions modest. “I cook the way we do at home, about five or six portions, maybe seven per dish. I don’t make more because I don’t like serving food the next day. I want everything fresh. Everyone eats from here, including my children. We all eat here every day. The way customers eat is the way we eat too. Or really, customers should eat the way we eat. Oh, and I forgot, I also make koupepia. I make them in three versions: one that tastes like stuffed vegetables, one in the Cypriot style, and one with dill, the version we call yialantzi here in Athens.”
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