6 GREEKS IN CANADA

COMMUNITY

THE NATIONAL HERALD, JANUARY 11-17, 2014

Torontos Peter Minaki Now Deals with Stocksin a Pot

By Frances Themeliopoulos
TORONTO, Canada Happy 2014! Some of you may have big plans for the year ahead that involve achieving career goals or you may even be launching into a long-desired shift that takes you in an altogether different career direction. That is just what Torontos Peter Minaki did about three years ago. He left behind a successful career as a financial advisor to cultivate his budding secondary career self-trained chef and blogger. Minaki determined that the time was right to devote greater Manhattan, and most recently Chicago. His experimentation in the blogosphere, as he tells it began in 2007 and coincided with a purchase of a new digital camera. He began providing deliciously appealing photo evidence of the recipes he was cooking and his blogs popularity has been growing steadily ever since. Kalofagas readership currently generates approximately 70 000 page views per month. The inextricable link between food and Greek hospitality, the philoxenia that is difficult to define for our non-Greek friends, factors heavily into the

PHOTOS: TNH/COSTAS BEJ

The fans of Greeces most popular soccer team, Olympiacos, packed the red-themed clubhouse on 30th Avenue in Astoria

on Jan. 3 as they waited for the teams president, Evangelos Marinakis, and the cutting of the New Years Vasilopita.

Olympiacos Owner Marinakis Welcomed in Astoria

Continued from page 1 After brief remarks and a Q&A open to all, he chatted with his teams devotees in the club and as he walked through the streets of Astoria. The guests were first welcomed by fan club President Theodore Menis, who is from Syros and has been president of the chapter for 18 years. He said it is the biggest chapter in the Diaspora, but he thanked Marinakis and Olympiacos for the cooperation that enables it to thrive, and he said the members hearts beat for Olympiacos here as in Piraeus. In response, Marinakis he said was overwhelmed by the love he experiences when he visits clubs like that in Astoria. As devoted to winning as any Steinbrenner and has the championships to prove it, Marinakis is also proud of the organizations youth and philanthropic dimensions. The teams soccer academy benefits Greek youth in general and has provided the team with players through the years. Proceeds from his teams, as is the case with his shipping companies, are donated to charity, especially those helping Greek children during the economic crisis. Marinakis was proud to say the teams course is good, and he emphasized that his company, which owns other entities, including basketball teams, also goes against the current by fighting against corruption and behaviors that have ruined teams. He chose not to comment when he was asked by the media about his competitors, noting simply who is a crook and who is involved in illegal business practices those people know themselves, but the state must pay attention because he live in a society that is being tested every day, and it is wrong for certain people not to obey the law and for the law not to be enforced for them. All of us must pay our taxes and other charges. He used the English word fair to express the need for level legal and economic playing fields in Greece. In America you understand that a community moves forward when people work hard and when they see a man or a company progress, they consider it an example to be followed and we must do the same this in Greece so that things can get better, he said. He wished everyone a happy and healthy New Year and said the team is ready for the seasons 2nd round and is hopeful regarding the European championships, saying everything is possible with hard work and faith...when you work hard for what you want you have nothing to fear. He said the core of his mission will be to attract great Greek players, but is also proud of the teams ability to attract talent from all over the world. More and more Greek-Americans and their children are playing soccer and Marinakis reached out to them, urging them to develop their appreciation of soccer by following Olympiacos. They can be seen on cable through Antenna TV. The owner agreed with TNH that Olympiacos is The Yankees of Greece they own a record 40 Greek League titles and 26 Greek Cups . The clubs pleasant space is filled with tables where fans can enjoy coffee, drinks, and food from the kitchen in the rear just about every day. Volunteers like soccer lovers Maria Toubatzi and Maria Iliopoulos from Nafpaktos, along with Haralambos Adamides, a native of Kavalla, make sure the members enjoy themselves. Panagiotis Georgiou from Athens in New York for the holidays visiting his daughter Dionysia, who is studying ballet, attended. Pavlos Malonoukos, a biology major at Hofstra University who wants to be a dentist and whose family is from Rhodes, is a big fan. Inspired and encouraged by his father, Tsambikos, who is a member of the Clubs Board of Directors, also joined the board. The president wants more young people and our main focus is to bring people together. If you are an Olympiacos fan, you are part of our family, he said. John Kriaras, past president of the Cretans Association Omonia, told TNH he was overjoyed by Marinakis presence not only because he is a fan but because they are both from Heraklion, Crete. Fr. George Anstasiou, the pastor of the Church of the Transfiguration in Corona and a big Olympiacos fan, presided over the prayers for the blessing of the Vasilopita New Years cake, which was donated by the famous Lefkos Pirgos pastry and coffee shop.

Now His Stocks are Cooked in a Pot. Peter Minaki left a successful career as a financial advisor to do what he loves best: cook, and write about it. His first cookbook, recently published, is titled: The Everything Mediterranean Cookbook. attention to his Kalofagas.ca blog and expand the scope of his monthly Greek Supper Club events. His accomplishments have been mounting ever since but one distinct highlight is the publication of his first cookbook, the recently published, The Everything Mediterranean Cookbook. You will be treated to a wonderful collection of healthy, flavour-filled Mediterranean recipes, including family recipes that Minaki trusts anyone can perfect with a bit of practice. His interest in cooking began years ago and it was for purely practical purposes. He pinpoints it to the earliest of what would become his parents annual visits to their summer home in Halkidiki, Greece. The year was 1989. Minaki and his brother initially enjoyed bachelor-ish cuisine heavy on grilled meals and takeout but his palette was soon craving some of the fine Greek dishes to which he was accustomed. It was inevitable, he explains, in light of the fabulous Greek cuisine (and particularly to dishes from Northern Greece since both of his parents are originally from towns in Nomo Florinis) that he enjoyed courtesy of his mentors. He praises his mother, father, maternal grandmother, and great aunts for teaching him many traditional recipes and the techniques he has been cultivating over the years. Minakis transition from blogger to cookbook author was seamless since he has been amassing and refining the recipes on his Kalofagas site for the past several years and the prospects just keep on coming. Opportunities for some crossborder culinary adventure arose in recent years, with events in cities ranging from Buffalo to experience Minaki offers the attendees at his events. He enjoys providing fun, informative, shared cooking/dining experiences. So, what is he currently juggling? In addition to his blog, he hosts the aforementioned Greek Supper Clubs, provides personalized catering services, does pop-up dinners upon special request, and has even begun hosting culinary food tours. He has travelled to almost every part of Greece, from Thrace to Messinia and Laconia to Epirus and parts in between. His visits to Mediterranean countries include trips to Italy and Turkey. What of Minakis career related goals for 2014? More freelance culinary endeavours! He looks forward to further experimentation and opportunities to incorporate his own personal flair into yet more recipes as he works toward a collection for his second cookbook. Dont be surprised to hear of a Kalofagas Supper Club event happening near you as Minaki will be traveling to more destinations. Januarys travels took him to some stops in Quebec as well as Chicago for two very successful events at the National Hellenic Museum and Avli restaurant. He enjoys the opportunity to plan theme-specific events such as the upcoming TsiknopemptiGreek Carnival season Supper Club event in Toronto on February 20th. He has already booked three 2014 culinary tours in Greece so far and plans to explore another medium by filming some cooking demo segments during his tours. For more information about how to purchase Peter Minakis Everything Mediterranean cookbook, his Greek Supper Clubs, and his Culinary Tours visit: www.kalofagas.ca

Olympiakos owner/president, flanked by Fr. George Anastasiou and Theodore Menis, wishes fans a happy New Year. He was accompanied by his son, seated to the left of Menis.

Gangland-Style Slayer of Gus Boulis Gets Jail for Life

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. A mob figure prosecutors said directly the gangland-style killing of Miami Subs founder Konstantinos Gus Boulis, is now serving a life sentence for a murder described as unusually cruel and callous. Anthony Little Tony Ferrari, 56, was convicted in the killing of Boulis on Feb. 6, 2001 but escaped the death penalty sought by prosecutor Gregg Rossman although parole has been ruled out. The justice system wins and families dont ever get their loved one back we cant bring those back but we can give them some semblance of solace, Rossman said after the Dec. 17 sentencing, the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reported. Ferrari was also sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder. During Ferraris sentencing, Boulis sister, Mersina Koumoulidid, sat in court while Rossman read a handwritten letter on her behalf in court. We still need prayers, faith and support to overcome the next trial, Moscatiello, in order to start healing from this tragic loss, Rossman read. Taking Mr. Gus Boulis away in that manner, that great man, is not easy to overcome. He was and is the example of the American dream, he said. May his memory be eternal. The state offered only two witnesses in the penalty phase of the case, relying instead on evidence presented during a nearly month-long trial that also centered on Boulis role as former owner of the SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet. Rossman said Ferrari was motivated by money a power struggle over the lucrative SunCruz ships. The facts you need to determine this youve already heard, Rossman told jurors. Is there any pretense, any imagined moral justification in the mind of the person who committed this crime? I submit there is none. Trial evidence showed that Boulis, 51, was shot to death by a mob hit man as he sat in his car on a downtown Fort Lauderdale street. Witnesses testified the killing was orchestrated by Ferrari and Anthony Big Tony Moscatiello, a reputed member of New Yorks Gambino crime family. Both had well-paying contracts with SunCruz under its new owners that were threatened by Boulis, witnesses said. A few months earlier, Boulis had sold the fleet to New York businessman Adam Kidan who knew Moscatiello and sought him out for his purported mob ties and thenpowerhouse Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Kidan and Abramoff later pleaded guilty to fraud in the $147.5 million SunCruz deal and served federal prison time. Moscatiello, 75, is also charged with murder and was on trial with Ferrari until his attorney became ill. Moscatiello, who has pleaded not guilty, will be retried later. The alleged hit man was later killed himself in a dispute with a Boca Raton delicatessen owner. Prosecutors say that Moscatiello ordered the hit and Ferrari conspired to carry out the murder plot in an attempt to control the SunCruz Casino boat fleet. Boulis was shot to death in his car as he left his Fort Lauderdale office. James Pudgy Fiorillo was the third man implicated in the murder and pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2012. He testified that he served as a lookout on the night that Boulis was murdered. He will be sentenced after Moscatiellos trial. Prosecutors believe the gunman who shot Boulis four times was John Gurino, who was later killed in a dispute two years after Boulis was slain. Testifying in his own defense, Ferrari claimed that another conspirator committed the murder and that Kidan was behind the plot. Kidan, however, testified that both Ferrari and Moscatiello had confessed the crime to him. The other conspirator, James Pudgy Fiorillo, admitted conducting surveillance of Boulis and getting rid of the murder weapon, but said he did not shoot Boulis. The main state witness was Spiro Naos, one of Boulis nephews, who said that Boulis a Greek immigrant who built his businesses from scratch frequently hired new immigrants, helped them find housing and offered other assistance. Gus was the best living example of the American dream and he was willing to share it, Naos said. There will never be another Gus Boulis.
(Material from the Associated Press was used in this report)

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Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari in court in Florida before being found guilty in the mob-style murder of Gus Boulis in 2001