by Dimitris Polymeros.

Amalia Blukidi is the owner of the agrotourism unit ”Vateri”. She is a woman full of dynamism, enthusiasm and passion, who in spite of the difficult times managed to win the award for the third best jam in the world, thus highlighting the potential of Greek domestic products.

She herself – who was extremely eloquent – told us her story of her journey to success:

”At its beginning – 22 years ago – the guesthouse “Vateri” aimed to be a holiday home and not a common hotel/accommodation. My parents wanted to take care of the guests as if they were ‘the uncles’ in the village welcoming ‘the nephews’ and so everything was driven by this way of thinking and put into practice. ‘Mummy mornings, chatting on the verandas, treats and love, lots of love.’

“Children passed by here with their parents, who came back with their children, and came back with their children and still remember the jams they ate here.

“I wanted to continue and improve this tradition, so I took up pots and pans and spoons and followed in my mother’s footsteps.

Knowing that for the English, citrus fruits are a cult and they have made a science of making this jam, I laughed, thinking that my jam would go unnoticed in an international competition.

”Citrus jam was always on the buffet in our guesthouse – and it was one of our guests’ favourites. My orchard is full of orange trees and almost all citrus, all old, original varieties and the farming is organic. The next thing was that all these fruits would end up in the kitchen of Vateris and become jams, spoon sweets and liqueurs. ”
“Last year, some English visitors who tasted the jam and sweets told me about the international citrus jam competition that Dalemain Mansion, in the North of England, has been running for 15 years and urged me to enter, confident of some distinction. Knowing that for the English, citrus fruit is a cult and they have made a science of making this jam, I laughed, thinking that my jam would go unnoticed in an international competition.

”They were persistent, though, and it got me thinking for a while. By the time winter came I had almost forgotten about it, until I saw my first ripe oranges. And then I thought “why not? I have fresh, fragrant fruit, whereas in England they import it. Mine will travel from the orchard to the kitchen while theirs travel for days in refrigerators losing much of their flavour.”

I searched the internet to see if the combination I’ve been making for years, with 6 different citrus fruits, is “in circulation” and found nothing. Thus began the “perfume journey” and my jar (one and only) made its way to England.

It travelled alone, arrived, met about 6,000 other jars from 43 countries and managed to convince the tasters – tasters of its uniqueness, to get the third prize and honour Vateri, putting it on the international map of flavours”.

”It is worth noting that in the guesthouse, apart from the truly beautiful nature, in our area there are the Monastery of St. Nicholas (Galataki), the Monastery of Saint David, two wonderful monasteries, the hermitage of Saint Irene of Chrysovalantou, as well as the Holy Church of St. John the Russian, in Prokopi.

Well-known pilgrimages of great historical and religious interest, all very close to us so you can combine your excursion with a visit to them.”