You owe your surname to your Greek grandfather Ioannis, who moved to Malta from the picturesque island of Santorini when still a young man. How strong a role do you think your Greek heritage and origins have played in shaping your character?
I was brought up in a Greek environment. I was very close to my grandfather and my spinster aunts who lived with him and took care of him. There was also my uncle Peter who was the eldest and lived with them as well. My first spoken words were in Greek! My family was very proud of their Greek cultural heritage, way of life and traditions. Seeing that my family imported wine from Greece with our own schooners, the connection was close and constant. What was happening in Greece was practically more important than what was happening in Malta!
Your love for cooking commenced when, as a child, you used to help your mother in the kitchen, after spending Sundays at your grandfather’s house observing your aunts as they prepared Greek specialities. What can you recount from those early days?
My aunts were excellent cooks and when I visited them, I used to spend most of my time in their kitchen. Our schooners brought over many ingredients from Greece for their cooking and that is the food I was brought up eating. My mother, who was Maltese, made it a point to learn all the Greek culinary tricks and she was very well-known for her Greek cooking within the Greek community in Malta, which was flourishing at the time. As a child, I accompanied my family to many of the social and church functions held within the Greek community. Like all Greeks, my family and relatives were full of life, spontaneous and let’s say... loud! Therefore in Malta, with the strong British influence of restraint, I always knew and felt that we were different; I still feel this way today.
Your career started in quite a remarkable way. As a matter of fact, it was closely linked to pilgrimages in Lourdes. Could you tell us a little bit about this?
For many years I had been part of a voluntary association that organized pilgrimages to Lourdes. In 2000 we organized a pilgrimage for the 100 most sick children under12. We needed loads of funds to take these children all free of charge, and I had gone on all local TV stations where I was interviewed and made my appeal for funds. The presenter of a very popular lunchtime programme at the time, was a friend of mine. The funds came in like we had never imagined and the presenter realised my gift and charisma in grabbing the viewers’ attention. When we returned from a very successful and publicised pilgrimage, this presenter dedicated a 3-hour programme to us, where we spoke of our experience. As her programme included cookery, she asked me to cook a complete meal. From then on, my cookery career on TV has never stopped!
For ten years now you have been working for television programmes. Why did you choose this professional path, rather than starting a career in a restaurant or hotel?
Reason number one for not wanting to open a restaurant is that I am a perfectionist. I would need assistant chefs to run a restaurant. Probably I'd be throwing a chef out of a window if the dish he has just finished was not up to my expectations! Also, restaurants tie you down and require long work hours and I have a life to live! Though TV absorbs much of my time, I am accessible to a far larger amount of people.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I am fully aware that the TV programme I present, ‘Aroma Kitchen’, is very popular and faithfully followed. The reason for this is that my viewers know that I do it from my heart and are aware of my great enthusiasm in teaching people to eat well and healthily. My recipes are family recipes that make use of common, healthy ingredients, easily cooked and in a short period of time. I enjoy this job because of the love and respect I get back from my viewers and I know they love me!
You first book Cooking with Peter was published in 2006, followed by your second one a few months later, while in December 2007 your unveiled yet another book. What were the factors that lea you to publish these books?
I decided to publish my recipes after many years of being asked for a book. I always try to please my viewers in all ways possible. After my first book, which sold out within a record 6 weeks, they wanted another. After that they wanted a book in the Maltese language, that also sold out instantly. Next it was time for a different book, more health orientated. All my recipes are low in fat content, while I have included many recipes for Coeliacs and Diabetics.
What are the principal characteristics that define Maltese cuisine?
Maltese cuisine is Mediterranean. It does not use luxury ingredients, but ingredients grown and found on the Maltese islands, very much like Greek cuisine. Unfortunately most of the traditional dishes and methods are being lost or forgotten, due to modern ways of life and tourism; however, my TV show and books help in keeping our Maltese cuisine alive.
What differences can you pinpoint between Maltese and Greek gastronomy? Which cuisine do you prefer the most and why?
There are no great differences between Maltese and Greek cuisine. They both use Mediterranean ingredients. Greek cuisine uses a larger quantity of olive oil and also Greek sweets are sweeter, because of their greater sugar and honey content. Though I love Maltese cuisine and promote it, deep down I prefer Greek cuisine, maybe due to my childhood influence!
An important point worth making is the fact that you come from a family with strong roots in the winemaking business, the oldest wine producer in the Maltese Islands. What are your thoughts and opinions on Maltese wines?
Maltese wines are of a good quality and have become even better over the past few years. They are slightly 'rough' and strong-flavoured like most Greek wines!
You have said that you have been raised in an environment where food was simple, healthy and nutritious. In effect this is something very clearcut in your own recipes, which are also very easy to follow. Why have you given so much weight to this matter?
Both sides of my family had a fixation with healthy eating. My mother was a diabetic and so was my uncle Petros. My Greek aunts had blood pressure problems. However, at home we always had attractive and excellent food to eat. It was this background which taught me to prepare food that was healthy and varied, but far from boring. I also keep in mind that nowadays, people have less time and money to spend in the kitchen. This is why easy, traditional, Mediterranean cookery came to exist in my books.
Food is one of life’s greatest pleasures. What is your favourite Maltese and Greek dish? What do you enjoy eating the most?
Indeed, food is one of my greatest pleasures. It is extremely difficult to choose my favourite Greek dish. When I am in Greece, everything I eat, whether it’s in a good Athenian restaurant, a traditional meal in a taverna, a seafood restaurant by the sea, or even a pitta stuffed with lamb eaten quickly on the road, it’s just heavenly to me! As for my favourite Maltese dish, that’s our Timpana, a Maltese version of the Greek Pastitsio.
On a final note, what is your current relationship with Greece?
My relationship with Greece? When I'm there, I feel more Greek than the Greeks themselves!
