Know Your Neighbour: Nicholas Arvanitis

With September coming to an end, a local fishmonger shared his Greek heritage and the dishes people could make with the fish he supplies to them.

South African-born Nicholas Arvanitis has run the Pescador Superior Seafood shop at Leaping Frog Shopping Centre for just under two years. “The name Pescador means fisherman in Portuguese and we chose it because of our strong link with Mozambique – from where we directly import our LM prawns, lobster, langoustine, crab and fish.”

He may have been born in South Africa, but his Mediterranean roots can be seen in his favourite dishes. Arvanitis spoke about the dishes he enjoyed when growing up, and still enjoys making to this day for his family and friends.
“My wife is from Cyprus and my parents are from Greece and Cyprus. When it comes to food, apart from the various Greek dishes, the favourite was and is kleftiko, roast lamb that is slow-cooked. Another dish is ‘souvla’ lamb which is cut into thick pieces and put on steel skewers. The skewers are driven by an electric motor so that the skewers all turn evenly.”

While these dishes may be meat dishes, he said a fish recipe he indulged in was putting line fish on medium heat coals on the braai with a basting of butter, olive oil, oregano, lemon, garlic and a variety of spices. He is always willing to share various fish recipes with his customers.

His Greek background has had a big impact on his life’s values, not just food. Arvanitis shared some of the traditions he had while growing up that he holds dear to his heart. “With a strict Greek background, family, culture and religion are paramount. Easter, Christmas and birthdays are very important in bringing family and good friends together to enjoy Greek hospitality and food.”

Adding to the values, Arvanitis said there were three very important things people should know about Greek culture. “These values are family values, good food and ‘filotimo’ which is unconditional love, kindness, generosity and hospitality. A Greek is not Greek without filotimo.”

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