Manolis Tsatsikiriakos: He left Lesbos, went to South Africa, opened a bakery and sells

Growing up in flour mills from a young age, he did not play with other children his age and stuck at his grandmother’s feet, watching her knead bread and pies in the oven, his grandfather told him. He was born a baker. !

“When you grow up, I will buy you your own oven in the center of the village (that is, Plomari of Mytilene Lesvos, where they lived)”, is a phrase that often emerges from his lips.

Years passed, little Manolis Hadzigriakos grew up, his love for flour and dough went on ice, he explained to the Athenian/Macedonian News Agency that he “didn’t see” a good life for him and his brothers. bakery, so he set up his own feed store. However, over the years, it became “impossible to escape fate” and from today, at the age of 48, he is now a baker, but not in his homeland, but several thousand kilometers away, in South Africa!

A baker from Lesbos, South Africa

For years, life on the beautiful island of Lesvos went quietly and without surprises. Manolis strongly supported his decision to invest in the cattle feed warehouse, and he, along with his brothers, made every effort to make it a success. Their concern is to “grow” their business, which ensures them a good income.

“I have loved bakery since I was a child, but I thought it could not be a family business that would ensure a good life for me and my brothers,” he explained to APE-MPE, though he admitted. He may have given up on his childhood dream of becoming a baker, but not a day did the smell of his grandmother’s freshly baked bread pierce his nose as it came out of their home’s traditional oven. At Plomari, “I pinched myself first”, as he usually says.

…a meeting that changed his life

In the center of Plomari, a restaurant called “7 Thalasses” is still operating today. The owner, Mytilene, is married to a South African woman who traditionally uses chaperones to look after her children, especially with heavy traffic on the busy island, where more hands are needed at the restaurant.

In May 2004, Sophia, a 21-year-old South African woman, took on the role of nanny as she was named after her baptism. “This is my wife,” Manolis tells us happily, in the summer of 2004, even before meeting Sofia on the island, who had already arranged to go on vacation to South Africa in October of that year. His friend. When he reached his destination, the 48-year-old visited Stellenbosch, where his girlfriend lived, where he says, “I was welcomed with open arms and her family insisted on hosting me. Their home.” In fact, as his visa was about to expire, he recalled that his (then) father-in-law called him and told him he could stay with them if he wanted to. With this advice, however, came the question of what would inspire his new life in South Africa. “From work, what are you going to do?”, she asked him, setting him on a quest for professional guidance that brought him to where he is today.

A childhood dream of a stove come to life

“Find a shop in the area. Old Mytilene found out what he would do in his new life, and it began for him.

From March 2005 to 2013 he ran a chicken slaughterhouse in George, meanwhile married Sophia (in 2008) and they have two children, 13-year-old Gabriela and 8-year-old Alexandros, who are learning Greek. From him but and his relatives, when they visit (every year) his beloved birthplace.

When he closed the steakhouse, he considered opening a cafe in Stellenbosch, South Africa, a tourist area with a vibrant and rich life and many students. At the time, he was looking for a new place to open a cafe when a friend of his informed him that he was selling his small business and leaving the country. Then 38-year-old Manolis’ eyes “sparkled” – as he puts it – as he realized his life was about to take a new turn.

So somehow he found himself baking bread in his own traditional wooden oven. His childhood dream became “flesh and bone”. It happened in 2014, and for three years, the 48-year-old Mytileneos had to sweat a lot and throw tons of dough, using his stubbornness as a weapon, he reached those recipes that satisfy him. With the valuable help of his colleagues from Greece.

As he “unveils” his story at APE-MPE, baker (now) Manolis, turns to the camera of his mobile phone and reveals to us the magical world of bread and pastries he makes in South Africa.

The central sign of his oven is inscribed “Manoulos Fornos”. And he himself is now called “Greek.” He introduced us online to his staff of “17 people, including seven women”. When asked if the 48-year-old is a good boss, Manolis’s face brightens when he answers in the affirmative with an enthusiastic voice and a smile. For a moment. “I take care of them and reward them with deeds, not words,” he says with love and pride.

His eyes light up as he talks about his traditional wood oven and the 50 varieties of bread he kneads exclusively by hand – 90% slow ripening.

Ciabatta, rustic, multi-seeded, bags for sandwiches, spinach bags, croissants and Easter buns, are some of the thousands of pastries he makes daily, available in five-star hotels, cafes, restaurants and vineyards in the south. Africa, etc

Soon, as he tells us, he will have to make a decision to expand his oven, “Because business is going well, my product is sold before I even bake it.

If I make it three times as much, I’ll sell it again. Of course, he is quick to note, “I’m running seven days a week, 17 hours every day. I take my pastries to customers by truck, and they’ve stopped asking me now why I’m there and not a waiter. They’ve reinforced what I said when they first asked me this question: ‘I came because you want to see me and I will not stop being happy with your smile, which reflects the trust you have in me as a baker,’ he insists. .

The 48-year-old is happy with the turn his life has taken, and although it’s already been more than 17 years since he wintered in Greece, he says, “For the last few years, we’ve been spending all the summers with the family in Mytilini.” However – after our own series of questions – he admits “… I miss going to my garden in Greece and picking olives or hunting with my friends. These little things sometimes make me miss my island life.”

• Photographs provided by Manolis Hatzikyriakos for use by APE-MPE