My big fat Greek taverna: From diplomacy to ouzo by Costa Ayiotis (Melinda Ferguson Books)
Title: My big fat Greek taverna: From diplomacy to ouzo
Author: Costa Ayiotis
Publisher: Melinda Ferguson Books (October, 2023)
ISBN: 9781990973765
Summary
South Africans who grew up in the 1970s might have a certain stereotype in mind when thinking of the Greek café on the corner: a place that was successful because it was manned by the boss himself – a Greek man with an ever-ready fiery temper and a penchant for logistics. Decades and a democracy later, Costa Ayiotis tells the story of how he opened a Greek taverna in Hout Bay; it is a story of how to advance from surviving to thriving.
The author is a lawyer who does not relish his career, so he becomes a diplomat and lives in New York for a few years. He decides he doesn’t want to be a diplomat and comes back to South Africa. Clearly a people person, he then helps people emigrate from South Africa to Australia. After a few years, he changes his mind and opens a restaurant in Hout Bay. The bulk of the book explains his interactions with customers and life as a restaurateur.
Evaluation
The book starts out as a journey of self-discovery for the author, but at around page 150 it quickly devolves into the day-to-day life at the restaurant with some occasional milestones mixed in. The author seems to be incredibly fond of using strange similes, for example: “And immaculate white picket fences preserved like the intact hymens of the seventy-two virgins awaiting martyrs in heaven.”
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Admittedly, it is tricky to write about a journey with food. Unless you are writing a recipe book, how do you go about it?
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Admittedly, it is tricky to write about a journey with food. Unless you are writing a recipe book, how do you go about it? The book is a blend between autobiography and narrative novel. Whereas a novel would use dialogue to bring characters to life and indicate character development, this story has almost zero dialogue. Yet, it still manages to push the story forward with lengthy explanations. The theme is food. Even when the author is a lawyer, he still manages to make food, and when he is overseas as a diplomat, he makes biltong with his coworkers. This gives the impression that no matter what he does, he will never get rid of his Greek and South African roots, which is heart-warming. The book manages to drag itself out very successfully, such as with the description of Hout Bay, which evolves over five pages.
The story promises to be interesting, but after the first 150 pages, that hope quickly fades. The author uses a limited arrangement of writing devices. His use of similes for every situation quickly becomes tiresome and annoying.
It is likely that the author has a fine personality and would be wonderful company at a dinner party, regaling us with his stories of restaurant life. However, those stories compiled in a book might appeal only to other restaurateurs or the staff of the taverna.
How could it have been better? Perhaps with the addition of some of the recipes from the taverna, the book could have been enjoyable. When writing about a food journey, it is important to think carefully about the target audience. To compare, look at the work of Mireille Guiliano, who wrote French women don’t get fat and French women for all seasons. This author captivates the reader with her distinct and well-researched awareness of the two world orders of food: the slow-food eaters versus the fast-food eaters. Another comparison might be with the work of Tony Jackman, Foodstuff: Reflections and recipes from a celebrated foodie. In the latter publication, the photography clinches the sale, and the enjoyment in reading comes from the lateral connections that Jackman makes. He intersperses commentary on politics and social ills between writing about food (for instance, he suggests bacon as the ideal comfort food at times when one feels bullied – a quirky suggestion, indeed). Jackman and Guiliano also use diction that surmounts the everyday, and thereby provide stimulating reading from which one can garner choice phrases. So, you leave with recipes and improved vocabulary.
It would be good to get another book from Costa with recipes.
Star rating: 2/5
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