What's in Store with Marissa Papakonstantinou : Krinos Twister's Production Facility
2024-01-30
Hey everyone, it’s Paralympic medalist sprinter and Canadian record holder Marissa Papaconstantinou! I’m proud to continue exploring my Greek heritage in partnership with Krinos Canada by visiting some amazing spots around the country.
As someone whose always on the go, from training, to charitable events, to speaking engagements, it can be tough to squeeze in the time to fuel my body the right way. I often put a quick crumble of Krinos Feta over salads to add a Mediterranean boost to my day, but when I’m craving something a little more, Krinos Fillo Twisters are my go-to!
To learn how the golden, flaky goodness is made, I met up with Peter Gekas, who along with his brother Bill, own and operate the Krinos Fillo Twister Production Facility. What is now a 26,000 square foot facility just off Toronto’s Highway 7 had humble beginnings, when Peter’s parents opened a small bakery on the Danforth in 1979.
At the time, the local market wasn’t familiar with Mediterranean flavours like bougatsa (custard) or spanakopita (spinach and feta cheese pies), so Peter’s parents started out by making and selling apple pies. As a way to introduce customers to the traditional Greek pastries, they gave them away as free samples to their apple pie customers. Customers quickly fell in love with both the new and traditional flavours and the business took off from there!
Even though they are feeding mouths across the country now, the recipes and techniques used in the facility will always be rooted in his mother’s homemade methods.
“When we opened our first bakery, we were able to share our family staple with not just other Greek people, not just other Mediterranean people, but with a diverse group of individuals and cultures in Canada.” said Peter.
On the production line today were the vegetarian-friendly Spinach and Feta Cheese Snack Size Twisters…it smelled as good as you think in there! It was amazing to see the process starting out from a 100kg block of fillo dough, to thin sheets of fillo, ready to be hand-rolled and hand-packed to perfection.
Over the years, they’ve introduced new fillings to the mix like Blueberry Pomegranate and Sautéed Ground Beef, taking inspiration from Canadian food culture and adding their own twist to it.
That’s all from me for now! Make sure to stay tuned for my next visit on the Krinos Canada Kitchen Blog.
