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Brenda's
World Famous Toasted Sandwiches (Toasties) |
"Rarely in history has a culinary
innovation shown such potential to change the future...the impact on the day to
day lives of our grandchildren's children could be immeasurable..."
Phyllis Entwhistle, Bolton
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This is the story of an event unique to Lefkas. This
Island has seen and suffered much in it's tumultuous and embattled past; from
the epic ten year return home of it's Trojan-Trouncing King Ulysses, as told in
Homer's Epic 'The Odyssey', to it's release and reunification with modern Greece
by the Poet-Politician Valaoritis. It has harboured the fleets of Anthony
and Cleopatra before their disastrous sea battle with the navy of Octavius
Caesar; a defeat which led to their flight to Egypt and ultimately their
tragic suicide.
It has suffered occupation under Ali
Pasha, a former carpet salesman from Istanbul; and Adolf Hitler, a former
housepainter from Austria.
It has been 'befriended' by the
Venetians, Russians, French, British and Turks. All of them added their
own particular culinary delights to the Islands' 'repertoire'. Viennetta
Ice Cream, Russian Salad, French Dressing, Fish and Chips and Camel Cigarettes
to name but a few. But none have had the impact of one lady with a
dream; a dream which reached fruition in the mountain village of Karia in
1997...
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Karya - a village steeped in history and
tradition. Former capital of the Island, it still retains many
of it's links with it's history. Many of the older folk still
stick to the ways of the past; the ladies still dress in black and the
men still meet for an Ouzo and a game of cards in the local kafeneon. But side by side with this fond attachment to earlier
days you will find an almost urgent embrace of the future; only in the
last 12 months have we seen the arrival of cable TV in Karia.
But progress has more subtle ways of making itself felt, and this is
the story of Brenda... |
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Driven from the lowland village of Syvros in
1997 by the purges of the Lancastrians, Brenda arrived in Karia with
nothing but a quarter of a kilo of margarine and her beloved electric
sandwich toaster. "Those were hard times", she says,
"but the villagers took me in and treated me like one of their
own. I often like to joke that when I arrived all I had was what
I held in my hands - I didn't even have a Karia bag. Ha
Ha!"
But not being one to cry over spilt Nu Nu (a
variety of Greek condensed tinned cream), she and Christos (pictured
left under the new umbrella) soon started pursuing their dreams. |
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"I had always known in my heart of hearts
that the Greeks didn't have a clue how to make a toasted
sandwich. I love Greek cooking - that's why I came here in the
first place. But toasties just aren't part of their culinary
tradition. I felt I had to do something about that.".
From childhood Brenda had watched family
members and friends making toasties, and she set about putting all
this acquired knowledge to practical use. She begins with
"the spreading"...shown right. |
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"This to me is the crucial stage of the
whole operation", she confides. "My secret, and don't
tell anyone else, is that I butter BOTH sides of the bread. And
I make sure I butter in all the corners as well. It makes a big
difference".
The next stage is the toasting process
itself. Her preferred toaster is still her old Moulinex
ToastMaid (pictured left), bought from Woolworth's in 1982.
We've been through a lot together. It was the only thing they
let me bring with me during the purges, because it still had it's old
square pin plug and they thought it would bring them bad luck". |
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Nowadays she finds herself using her new Black
and Decker ToastKing more often though, especially when a coach party
arrives. "Speed can be all in these situations", she
says. "I'm a perfectionist, but people have got to
eat".
Brenda offers three varieties of toastie;
cheese, ham, or cheese and ham. "I've considered
experimenting with other varieties. I had a jar of Masala sauce
at the start of the summer, but I ended up making a curry out of that
instead". |
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The final, and most important, part of the procedure
is the presentation and service. As Brenda says "Most restaurants
these days just don't know how to serve a toastie properly. I like to
spend time with people first, get to know their preferences, do they like
salted or unsalted butter, what is their attitude towards crust, and so
on. This is what puts us ahead of the rest". |
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"I bring the toastie to the table myself, served
on a fresh paper napkin on a silver platter. I'll even sometimes put a
piece of tomato and a piece of cucumber on the side on a wooden cocktail
stick, if we're not too busy". |
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So there you have it. Rarely these days do you
find someone who is prepared to take a risk, step outside the bounds of what
is accepted as normal, and introduce a new concept to a fairly traditional
society. As we stand today at the beginning of a New Millennium, we at www.lefkas,net
congratulate Brenda on her vision and wish her success in the future.
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'Brenda's World Famous Toasted Sandwiches' can be
experienced at the Cafe Bar Pierros (the round marble tables and blue chairs!) in Karia Village Square. Served with a variety of
hot and cold drinks, including ice cold Amstel in frosted glasses and real
Tetley's Tea in mugs.
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You can SMS Text Brenda with your questions, comments
or favourite toastie recipies and stories at: +30 6938 605898 She also accepts table reservations at the same
number.
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