Niki is a Greek food designer based in Amsterdam. Driven by instinct, she uses sensory food experiences as a learning tool to drive sustainable and healthy lifestyles. When I first met Niki, it was evident that her background in flavour marketing and sensory science coupled with her experience in HoReCa would come together seamlessly, helping her find her footing in the Food Design World. Niki speaks about the sense of smell and her idea of nostalgia through sneezing and the Greek pea stew. Amusing, this one!

Food in Greece is definitely a thing. Coming from a country where people eat under any possible circumstances, it is not easy for me to choose one favourite food when recalling my well-hidden memories. Our sense of smell has strong memory recall. For me, nostalgia is a simple tomato Greek pea stew, called Arakas Latheros. I must confess that every time I go back home, I never resist a pita- gyros, a delicious street food wrap which is probably better-known than Greek philosophy.

Looking Back

Let’s start at the beginning. My mother is a great cook. Not because I am her greatest admirer, just because she really is. She treats her ingredients with respect, cooks fast, always with her unique style, always cleaning the kitchen in between cooking and she really has fun in the kitchen. I am blessed to grow up in a family that enjoyed great food but, in my head, I’m often confused: my mother seems absolutely happy watching other people enjoying her food at a family dinner; but she never takes the time to appreciate her food mostly because she is busy playing dinner host. I’ve always wondered, does she have a favourite food? Of course, everyone has. 

Tomato pea stew falls into a category of dishes known as lathera, where lathi means oil. Vegetables are cooked in an abundance of olive oil often with the addition of tomato and herbs. I always heard from my mother that she didn’t cook this dish often, because no one from the family found it interesting enough to eat with excitement. However, in the rare times I saw her eating a full plate of this stew (that she would prepare just for herself) something magical would happen. She would start sneezing. Yes, that’s right! A few members from my mother’s side of the family (including me) sneeze when we really enjoy their food. Weird, right? I was so happy to see her finally enjoying her food and still makes me purely happy. 

Years on, the pea stew has become my favourite dish as well. Among the kitchen utensils that my mother gave me as a present when I went to study out of the city, there was a medium-size silver pot “to make Arakas Latheros because it’s very easy and nutritious”. 

Looking Ahead

I took mom’s advice and I started to cook it as well, first with following her precious recipe and after with experimenting with my own variations. I started to add cardamon, cinnamon, cloves and anything else I thought would satisfy my taste buds. And preparing this food became my me-moment. You see, my mother was right. This dish is not so special compared to the abundance of Greek cuisine, so until now I mostly cook it for myself as my own guilty pleasure. From the simplicity of preparation to the feeling of satisfaction when I dip the crispy bread into the rich oily sauce and the sound of my sneezes (!), this is a dish that proudly brings nostalgia in my heart and reminds me that simple food can be great too. 

Written by Niki Karatza and edited by  Jashan Sippy.

‘Food, the Feeling of Home’: A series of stories exploring nostalgia, the power of food, our memories and stories of ‘home’. Want to share your story? Send it to us at info@sugarandspace.in