Eleni’s passion for cooking was ignited as a young girl watching her mother and her nine aunts, all sisters, cooking together and preparing family feasts. Eleni witnessed the joy of cooking, companionship and collective creativity, as she watched these women working together. The food they then shared was infused with all these memories; memories that remain indelible for Eleni.

Eleni learned her sheftalies recipe in the same way. She became friends with Vasiliki when Vasiliki came to Melbourne for post-graduate studies. Vasiliki and Eleni bonded instantly over their shared Cypriot heritage and their love of cooking. They would often cook all day and then invite their friends over to feast on the food they had prepared and celebrate their friendship, well into the night, with music and dance.

Vasiliki taught Eleni her family’s sheftalies recipe and now Eleni has made this recipe so many times, it has become her signature recipe too. Eleni’s Sheftalies are made with cinnamon-spiced pork mince; a generous amount of fresh parsley; brown onions; dried mint and seasoning, and then wrapped in caul fat, before being barbecued over hot charcoals. The fat in the caul fat renders out, making the sheftalies juicy and delicious. They are usually made for special celebrations and get togethers. They take a little preparation to make, but if the effort of making them is shared, then the family, friendship and feasting rewards are enormous!