The Takeaway Heritage series talks to Theo from Nick Cave’s favourite Greek restaurant, Archipelagos.
Takeaway Heritage documented 35 stories which reveal the hidden history of restaurants, cafes and takeaways run by migrants in Brighton and Hove. It is about the life stories of the workers, the owners and the customers and what these stories can tell us about migration and integration in the UK today. You can read all the stories in the book.
“I tell you something: I married thirty years with a British woman so what I done is I decided to come over here to follow my wife because she is from England. I sold my last business in Greece and I came here to be closer to my children. That’s the reason I came to UK.” – Theo
Some customers ask Theo about the recipes to find out if they can cook them at home. Other customers ask Theo about holidaying in Greece. Increasingly, people are also asking about Greece’s financial problems, as well as the refugee crisis and the impact it is having on the beleaguered country. Theo finds the customers well-informed about Greece and about the issues it faces. He says that he does not find himself struggling with stereotyping, as so many British people have travelled to Greece and have a decent knowledge of the Mediterranean in general.
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