Gianniotiki bougatsa: Mrs. Vasiliki reveals her secrets

Sweet or salty snack with her “signature”. Vasiliki Kaskanis. In the same shop – in the central square of Ioannina– the same recipe, the same people at their post for 61 years, define the “identity” of Ioannina’s Bougatsa. Tireless since the age of 17, Mrs. Vasiliki made the bougatsa, which the people of Ioannina and the visitors of the city enjoy every day, an “art”.

The name of the store is “Select”, rather advanced for 1963 when it started its operation. But how was ‘Select’ chosen? Mrs. Vasiliki will tell APE-MPE: “It was my husband’s friend, Gianniotis composer and lyricist Takis Mousafiris. He was the one who proposed the name of the new store. We are young then. We had just gotten married, I was 17 years old and he was 24. That’s where we supported our hope and our future and we succeeded.” Her origin is from the village of Loggades and her husband Giorgos from Polygyros Dodonis, but when they got married they decided to live in the city of Ioannina.

The store has not changed at all from its first day of operation. It has a mosaic floor, wooden tables with marble and a showcase for two pans. As he states the secret of success is the pure ingredients which she uses to prepare the bougatsa and of course everything goes through her hands: “I make everything myself. I used to have help from my husband. I start early in the morning, at 5:30. I knead first. Then I make the foil, I will boil milk for the cream, I make the filling for the bougatsa… If you ask me how many pans I make… I don’t know… I don’t count, I don’t deal with the quantity, but with the quality”.

The workshop is located behind the shop and after Mrs. Vasiliki prepares the pans, she gives them to the oven located in an adjacent area, where her assistants take care of the baking. He’s been using the same ones since he started copper pans, as “everything has its meaning”. As he explains, in the copper pans, the bougatsa are cooked successfully: “No bougatsa, nor delicious food, without the copper pan” and this is one of the secrets of the deliciousness. “As for the recipe”, he continues, “when we say sweet bagatsa it is the one that has semolina, sugar and milk, while in the salty one you only put cheese and milk”.

In addition to the bougatsa, “Select” also serves a type of bun, the bougatsokoulouro. “For the locals, this bun is a tradition. We can’t eat a baguette without a bun. From the past until today, many local people come for breakfast in the shop, even school children”, says Mrs. Vasiliki and answers the next question about the personalities who tried her own sweet or salty bagatsa: “There is no politician, who passed through the Even if Iannena has not tried our bagatsa. At the big tables, in the Officers’ Club, they ordered from here, from the store. What to say; And who didn’t get a kick…”

Once again, Vasili Kaskani will highlight the value of the quality of the materials: “We take care of the materials and work day and night.” In order to preserve the tradition, she educates her daughter and her son-in-law. It teaches them the value of handmade work, original materials and patience. “You must always be kind and patient with people,” is her advice.

RES-EMP

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