The Restaurant and Catering Industry Association of Australia has unveiled the winners of this year’s SA Awards for Excellence.
Greek businesses in South Australia were among the winners of the awards.
Estia restaurant in Henley Beach won the award for best Greek restaurant, led by nominees Ellinika Ocean Grill in Marina Pier and Eleni’s at Mallee Estate Wines in Renmark South.
Kalymnos Pastries in Torrensville took home the award in the patisserie, bakery, and dessert bar category.
“We love what we do and what we stand for,” Kalymnos Pastries owner and pastry chef George Diakomichalis told The Greek Herald.
“Following on from being judged [as the] number one patisserie in Australia, Kalymnos Pastries once again earned the opportunity to represent South Australia in the National Restaurant and Catering business awards.
“So humbled and proud to represent our Greek culture and family as proud South Australians and do it consistently well over so many years. Being recognized and appreciated by your customers and peers at the Restaurant and Catering Business Awards is the ultimate.”
The Greek Herald has also requested a comment from Estia Restaurant
Katie Vandorou is a PhD candidate at the University of Tasmania who uses a rather uncommon technique to detect planets outside of our solar system, or ‘exoplanets’.
“They’re quite mysterious because they’re difficult to detect, they don’t emit their own light,” Vandorou tells ABC News.
“Some of these planets are all the way at the center of our galaxy … which is about 25,000 light-years away.”
Vandorou is using the gravitational microlensing technique to look at three exoplanet systems in particular.
“One of the planetary systems that I’ve confirmed is called MOA 2013 BLG-220L and it’s a super-Jupiter, so it’s three times the size of Jupiter, and orbits a star similar to our sun,” she said.
Exoplanets are notoriously difficult to find because, unlike stars, they don’t emit their own light (Photo: ABC News/Alexandra Alvaro)
She compiles her research into an exoplanet archive, an open-source website assessed by scientists all over the world.
Vandorou has been accepted to work at NASA later in the year where she will continue her gravitational microlensing research work.
“I’ll be doing more follow-up observations on these systems and there will also be room to work on some other things and collaborate with some new people,” she says.
“It’s definitely a very good opportunity and opens lots of doors and the US has a lot of research around exoplanets so it means I get a lot of exposure to a lot of other scientists, which will be cool.”
“By sharing my story I hope to inspire other women to enter the industry, support them overcome the challenges I have faced and educate male colleagues about the current gender gap issues,” says South Australia’s first female building inspector, Litsa Adamou.
The number of women succeeding in male-dominated fields across Australia has increased greatly in the past five decades and although between 2010 – 2020 the percentage of female construction apprentices has doubled high attrition rates maintain the deficit.
But Litsa Adamou is optimistic.
“If I can do it anyone can,” she says, as she explains how from senior leadership roles she found her passion in building and construction.
A leap of faith
Born on the Greek island of Samos, Litsa Adamou lived most of her childhood in Adelaide and the best part of her teen years in Greece where her parents moved back to in the mid 90s.
She returned to Adelaide in 2001 where she pursued her studies and five years later began her career as a public servant.
“In 2019 I was promoted to Assistant Director in the Federal Government. I had achieved my career goal 10 years earlier than I expected but I was not professionally fulfilled.
“The same year with this promotion, I had a day off work and I was of trying to work out what I wanted to do for the next 30 years of my career. My husband Barney said he had an inspection to do in the Barossa Valley that day and that I should join him,” says Adamou.
“I remember the feeling of walking into this new home and helping with the inspection and Barney turning around and telling me that he had not seen me this happy for a long time. At that moment I had my answer… I could do this!”
“That is when in late 2019 I took my leap of faith to join my husband in the building inspection industry.”
‘I see the challenges as an opportunity’
Litsa Adamou has been in the industry for two years now. She has completed her building and construction as well as project management qualifications and is also a holder of a General Builders License.
“I love the diversity of my job. Every home I inspect is different and every home has a story. However, as a female building inspector I have faced many challenges.
“On site, I have been asked countless times about my qualifications and background; almost as a way of validating my ability to do my job.
“My findings have been questioned and I have been told that I am wrong many times by males threatened by my confidence and leadership,” Adamou says.
“If anything, I saw the challenges I faced as an opportunity to showcase my skills and to carve the pathway for other women in the industry Every little bit we do, helps.”
“I strongly believe that a person’s ability to do a job should be based on skillset and passion and not gender.
“One of the most important lessons I have learnt through this journey is to persevere and never give up. One cannot inspire change otherwise,” she says.
Despite the hurdles she’s faced the fact that Litsa Adamou has clocked up thousands of building inspections so far speaks to the professional rewards within Australia’s fastest booming industries.
“Back yourself with all the knowledge and skill to succeed in a profession that is largely unregulated with no minimum requirements or qualifications to become a building Inspector,” she advises her future colleagues.
“It is not an easy profession, it’s one that you are constantly learning but it’s rewarding helping people achieve their dream of home or investment ownership.”
Asked which are the values that she grew up with and applies to her work Adamou taps into her Greek roots.
“Respect (sevasmos), Filotimo and looking out for each other.”
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Athens Exchange Group (ATHEX Group), Socrates Lazaridis, addressed Greek Australians online on Tuesday, September 14 as part of the Greek Australian Dialogue Series.
The online conference was organised by Katia Gkikiza, the Trade Commissioner of Greece in Australia, and Paul Nicolaou, Director of the Business Leaders Council, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Mr Nicolaou began the conference with a video tribute to renowned Greek composer, Mikis Theodorakis, who passed away on September 2. This was followed by Ms Gkikiza giving a small speech about the Greek economy and the recent bid by Australian infrastructure giant, Macquarie, for a stake in Greece’s national grid operator.
“This is a major investment from Australia. It is 2.1 billion euros. It is bound to draw the attention of more Australian investors to Greece,” the Trade Commissioner said.
“We have also all heard by now that the double taxation agreement between Greece and Australia is on the agenda of our two countries and we hope that this will facilitate cooperation even further.”
Over 50 people attended the conference with Mr Lazaridis. Photos: The Greek Herald / Andriana Simos.
‘Great period for investment in Greece’:
Mr Lazaridis picked up on this point made by the Trade Commissioner and stressed that it is a “great period for investment in Greece” particularly in the sectors of technology, industrial products and telecommunications.
“Australian investors are the most welcome investors in Greece due to the Macquarie bid… which was a strong signal of interest for big investments in infrastructure,” Mr Lazaridis said.
“Investment participation in ATHEX is driven by foreigners. We hope that one of the reasons for this is that Greece has a huge diaspora so the market is well known all over the world.”
The CEO then went on to give statistics showcasing how Greece’s economy is rebounding as it emerges from the recent economic crisis and stressed that GDP growth will continue to be “leveraged and sped up by EU funds reserved for the recovery of the Greek economy.”
“The macro and micro environment of our companies are promising. We see the future in a very optimistic way,” Mr Lazaridis stressed.
“From our point of view as a stock exchange, the most important issue in the next few years is to help companies raise equities in order to keep the balance of debt to equity ratios at a stable level. This is the most important target.”
Mr Lazaridis. Photos: The Greek Herald / Andriana Simos.
Creating a ‘green bond’ market:
Mr Lazaridis later branched off into a number of other topics including cryptocurrency and the prevalence of ‘green bonds’ in Europe at the moment.
The CEO said ATHEX Group is currently “working on creating a green bond market by copying best practices from Europe,” but there are still “many things to be done to protect investors from ‘greenwashing’.”
“We are applying ESG culture to all of our Greek companies… because sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles are the most important criteria right now [for the market],” Mr Lazaridis said.
“We have also created a new ESG index… with guidelines for companies on how to disclose their ESG activities.”
Mr Lazaridis concluded by saying that the ESG index is likely to replace the general index of ATHEX in the future, highlighting the importance of sustainability to the Greek economy and investment.
The Olympic Games kicked off its opening ceremony to a 110,000-seat stadium on September 15, 2000.
Sydney 2000 not only marked the turn of the millennium but the turn of several world records.
For this reason, the Greek Herald has a few key figures and statistics which capture the scale of what then-IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch called the “best games ever”.
A global Australia:
The Olympic Games remains fond in the hearts of the 45 thousand volunteers and more than 12 thousand performers who made it happen.
More than 10 thousand athletes – 140 from Greece – traveled to Australia from an unprecedented 199 countries and territories to compete in a record 28 sports.
More than 4.5 million fans passed through the gates at Sydney Olympic Park and billions more were watching on from the comfort of their own couches because, luckily enough for them, the Games had the largest press gathering and broadcast feed ever.
Precisely 3.7 billion people tuned in – a 20% increase from the previous Games – and stayed tuned in: the average Australian viewing exceeded 49 hours per person.
Sydney 2000 set a record 92.4% of available tickets sold by selling a total of 6.7 million tickets.
The Games even brought the unlikeliest of rivals together: North and South Korea who, together, marched under the flag of the Korean Peninsula in the opening ceremony.
Closer to home, the Games had a transformative impact on Australia’s Indigenous communities and no more so than when Cathy Freeman lit the Olympic cauldron and won the women’s 400 meters.
It earned Australia one of its 16 gold medals, along with its 25 silver and 17 bronze, and helped the country rank 4th in its Games.
Greece ranked 17th with 4 gold, 6 silver, and 3 bronze medals in tow.
Christos Tsiolkas has been named a finalist of the Melbourne Prize.
Tsiolkas is in the running for the $60,000 award alongside authors Jordie Albiston, Maxine Beneba Clarke, and Pi O.
The triennial prize awards “a Victorian author whose body of published work has made an outstanding contribution to Australian literature and to cultural and intellectual life”.
Tsiolkas’ latest novel 7 1/2 will be published in November. It will succeed his acclaimed 2019 book Damascus.
Damascus won the fictional category of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award last year.
Tsiolkas is the author of nine published works, including The Slap, Barracuda, and Loaded.
The winners of the Melbourne Prize for Literature will be announced on 10 November.
Mayors from Sydney’s twelve COVID-19 hotspot local government areas met with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian over three split Zoom sessions.
Cumberland’s Steve Christou, Canterbury-Bankstown’s Khal Asfour, and Burwood’s John Faker attended one of the meetings on Tuesday.
The meetings were scheduled to discuss current restrictions and the vaccine rollout, in light of the state’s recently unveiled roadmap out of lockdown.
Cumberland mayor Steve Christou has been highly critical of his community’s restrictions and labeled the meeting a “PR stunt just paying us lip service”.
“I would warmly support any leader willing to take over who is more sympathetic to the plight of western Sydney residents because we should all be living under the same circumstances and constraints,” he said.
Mr. Christou says he told the Premier that his community was working-class and most could not work from home.
“The Premier got some long overdue realities of what’s happening out here and the harsh circumstances of what people are now experiencing,” he said.
“Our people are hurting, we’ve got families that are not going to recover, that can no longer afford to pay their mortgage, their rent, their bills or put food on the table for their children.”
“Many businesses are not going to reopen, come opening uptime – they’ve been devastated.”
Christou says if he was approached by a law firm over a possible legal challenge to the current lockdown orders, he would consider it.
Nineteen members of the US Congress have signed a joint letter to the UN to halt Turkey’s plans for the reopening of Varosha.
The US’ congressional caucus for Hellenic issues called on UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres on Monday to “administer and prevent the resettlement” of the ghost town in Cyprus.
US Congress members have signed a joint letter against Turkey’s plans for Varosha (Courtesy: Shutterstock/Orhan Cam)
The letter urges the UN to “pursue the immediate and full implementation” of UN security resolutions and “examine sanctions against Turkish and Turkish Cypriot attempts to illegally and unilaterally reopen and resettle” the area.
Carolyn Maloney, Gus Bilirakis, and Chris Pappas spearheaded the letter on Monday.
Other signatories include New York representative Nicole Malliotakis, Maryland’s John Sarbanes, and Nevada’s Dina Titus, as well as 10 others.
“We echo the Biden Administration’s condemnation of the Turkish/Turkish-Cypriot provocations and illegal actions on Varosha…,” the letter reads.
“We join our Senate colleagues in calling for multilateral sanctions given this violation of UN security council resolutions and defiance of the international community.”
In June, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a ‘two-state solution’ in Cyprus.
Erdogan is persisting with plans to reopen the town in Famagusta for the first time since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.
Greece’s Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Board (AAIASB) say they are investigating the cause of the crash which killed a witness in the pending corruption trial of Israel’s former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The plane crashed near Samos Airport (Photo via C Aviation)
“We recovered two bodies from the spot,” a coast guard official told Reuters yesterday. “The aircraft crashed about a mile south from [Samos] airport,” a second official said.
“Shortly before landing, communication with the control tower on Samos was lost and the Civil Aviation Authority informed the search and rescue center about the loss of communication,” the AAIASB says in a statement.
Haim Geron was a former senior official at Israel’s ministry of communications and was one of more than 300 witnesses listed in the trial.
Geron was on board with his wife when the Cessna 182 took off from Haifa and crashed near Samos airport.
Witnesses on the island interviewed by local news media said the crash occurred as the plane made an unsuccessful approach to land at Aristarchos International Airport.
Mr. Netanyahu is Israel’s opposition leader and is under trial for allegedly accepting gifts from wealthy associates. Netanyahu denies the claims.
Israeli authorities have officially identified the victims and are working to return the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Geron.
When you ask Nick Gnafakis what’s needed for the perfect spring garden filled with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplants, he says: ‘love, patience and dedication.’ How would he know the answer? As the owner of Niko’s Garden, he knows a thing or two about gardening.
“I love it. A lot of my garden is based around food. I only grow what I like to eat or drink… I really have a passion for authentic Greek cooking and the self-sufficient lifestyle, living off the land,” Nick, who is also a full-time chef, tells The Greek Herald exclusively.
This passion for gardening and cooking all started when Nick first visited Greece and the island of Crete, where his dad’s side of the family is from.
Nick with his uncle and auntie in Greece.
Cretan dittany.
“Going to Greece for the first time kind of changed my life. I was spending time in the horio with my uncles and aunties, and they were showing me the food. This was before I became a chef as well. My life took a real big U-turn at that point,” the 25-year-old says.
Nick ended up completing his cooking apprenticeship and started his own herb and vegetable garden in the backyard of his home in Melbourne. He later decided to launch his small business, Niko’s Garden, and he’s never looked back.
“I was over at my pappou’s house one day and I was looking at all these herbs and I didn’t really take note of them after all these years. But you know, once I started working in the kitchen, I started seeing some familiar herbs and some that were not so familiar,” Nick explains.
Other herbs by Niko’s Garden
“So I was like, ‘Why not grow my own herbs? Why am I paying five bucks to get old dead herbs… when I can just grow them all?’ [My pappou] had all this beautiful Cretan stuff as well so I just started planting all this stuff. It started with herbs then I got into teas. I just started discovering all these different mountain and village herbs, all the delicacies from Crete.
“I was occasionally selling some extra things on [Facebook] Marketplace because I had so much I kind of took over my dad’s garden. But yeah, I’ve always thought about [starting a business] but didn’t do it officially until we had our first lockdown. I had no excuse so I thought, ‘I’m just going to start a private business and start sharing the love’.”
And that’s exactly what he’s been doing ever since. Niko’s Garden is so successful that Nick now sells and distributes his unique range of Greek and Mediterranean mountain herbs, medicinal teas and heirloom vegetables to customers across Melbourne and Australia.
“I have some of the most amazing herbs and teas that don’t exist anywhere. That’s really the main thing. I’ve got all these beauties in my garden and I’m one of the only people in Melbourne who actually gets to enjoy it,” Nick says.
“I want to share the vegetables and the mountain herbs with other passionate people like me… and it makes me happy. It makes me happy to see other people enjoying it because I know how beautiful they are.”
Tomatoes from Niko’s Garden.
This clear pride for his garden and products is something Nick hopes will inspire others to get into the garden this spring as well.
“Just do it. Everyone should be growing all the stuff I have. A lot of it is just stuff you should have in your garden like your summer vegetables, your cooking herbs. They’re perennial. They’re going to stay there with you forever,” Nick says.
“Times like these remind us why it is so important to live life self-sufficiently and from the land.”
You can purchase some herbs or veggies from Niko’s Garden at nikosgarden.com.au.
