Descendant of Karitsa awarded Pastry Chef of the Year in Australia

“My dream is to open my own pastry shop in Australia, reminiscent of the Greek zacharoplasteía”

- Zak Antoniou

When Zacharias (Zak) Antoniou decided to quit his high-profile marketing and advertising job in Melbourne in 2019 and move to his hometown in Adelaide to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a pastry chef, he never anticipated that in less than two years from launching his online dessert business, he would be named Pastry Chef of the Year at the ACADA Awards.

The ACADA Australasian Cake Oscar Awards were held at The Brisbane Showgrounds in Queensland from 14-16 May.

“I still don’t know who nominated me for the award, but I am forever grateful to the person that did. I didn’t expect to win as the competition was fierce, but I was thrilled when they announced me as the winner. I guess the hard work is starting to slowly pay off,” Mr. Antoniou told Neos Kosmos.

The son of Ntinos Antoniou and Syrmatenia Mavridis, who migrated to Australia from Karitsa in Lakonia and Thessaloniki respectively in the 1960s, said his passion for the sweeter things in life was passed down to him from his big Greek family who all love creating magic in the kitchen.

“I was always surrounded by the aromas of Greek sweets. I remember I loved watching my giagiá and my mum in the kitchen making Greek food and desserts, and I would always offer to help them bake.”

The Μáti cake is Zachary Antoniou’s signature cake

made of milk, chocolate mousse with chocolate crisp pearls.

and a hazelnut biscuit base

Mr. Antoniou is known for his unforgettable, unique custom-made glazed cakes, including signature cake ‘The Μáti’ which pays homage to the chef’s Greek heritage.

Interestingly, the idea of the ‘Μáti Cake’ was conceived after a good friend of Zak’s offered to xematiásei (undo the evil eye from) him following his appearance as a contestant on Zumbo’s Just Desserts, Season 2 television series on Netflix; a dessert cooking competition, co-hosted by the master of sweets himself, Adriano Zumbo, and acclaimed chef Rachel Khoo.

“I thought I’d make my friend who ‘xematiásei me’ a cake in the shape of ‘the evil eye’ to say thank you; little did I know that the máti cake would turn out to be so extremely popular amongst Greek Australians. It is now my trademark cake,” said the 41-year-old pastry chef whose creations require days of preparation, high-quality ingredients, a ton of talent, and a lot of patience.

The máti cake is Zak Antoniou’s signature cake made of milk, chocolate mousse with chocolate crisp pearls, and a hazelnut biscuit base.

“For me, seeing the end result and my customers happy is the greatest reward,” Mr. Antoniou said.

His name, Zacharias, literally translates to sugar (záchari) in Greek, and true to his name the talented chef, inspired by his first travels to Greece, has been thinking of opening a zacharoplasteío (pastry shop/sweet cafe) of his own in Australia, but with a modern twist.

“My dream is to open my own pastry shop in Australia, reminiscent of the Greek zacharoplasteía shops where everyone comes together to enjoy all traditional Greek sweets and creations inspired by the country of our ancestors, Greece," Zak vows.

Adapted from:

Theodora Maios

31 May 2021

neoskosmos.com