Stella Zakian, left, and Rhonda Conley attend to a batch of kourambiethes, fresh from the oven and dusted in confectioners’ sugar. The cookies, Greek pastries and other tasty items will be available for preorder starting June 1, to be picked up at the Greek Fest Express at St. Demetrios Church in Saco on July 10. Tammy Wells Photo
SACO — If you love Greek food — from an array of light-as-air pastries to that tasty marriage of pasta, ground beef, spices and bechamel sauce called pastitsio — get ready. You can have some, by preordering and then picking up on July 10 at the St. Demetrios Greek Fest Express.
Preorder and pre-pay for the one-day-only carryout event is from June 1 to June 30.
Carol Xanthopoulos mixes dough for kourambiethes, a buttery shortbread cookie at St. Demetrios Church in Saco on a recent day. The cookies are among an array of tasty delights on offer at the Greek Fest Express on July 1. Folks can order through the St. Demetrios Church website starting June 1. Tammy Wells Photo
It’s as simple as one, two, three. Choose your selection from the online menu, which will become available June 1, pre-pay when you order and then pick up from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on July 10, at St. Demetrios Church, 186 Bradley St. in Saco. Organizers say there will be a limited number of order forms available for those without online access.
The Greek Fest Express replaces the traditional days-long St. Demetrios Greek Festival, which includes sit-down meals, a bazaar, music and dancing and tours of the church and its striking icons. The event was cancelled in 2020 and with the coronavirus pandemic lingering into 2021, church officials felt it was best to offer a one day, takeout version this year, said Carol Xanthopoulos.
It is a win-win for everyone — proceeds are income for the church, and those who buy get to enjoy tasty pastries and other flavorful Greek foods.
A similar event, held in the fall of 2020, proved to be a success.
“We sold out of everything,” recalled Cindy Carr, in the church kitchen on a recent day, along with half a dozen others, baking kourambiethes, those delicate, tasty buttery cookies dredged in confectioners’ sugar.
Anna Tompkins and Daphne Rioux shape dough into cookies ahead of Greek Fest Express, a preorder and pick-up event at St. Demetrios Church in Saco July 10. Ordering, available on their website, commences June 1. Tammy Wells Photo
So, what will be on offer? An array of pastries, said the ladies as they prepared the baking sheets, shaped the cookies, and slid them into the hot ovens. And there will be a main meal as well, along with some other mouthwatering items.
The full meal will be Greek roast chicken, rice and green beans, while items like pastitsio and spanakopita will be offered a la carte. All dinners will be fully cooked — ready to take home and enjoy.
For the menu and ordering protocols, available June 1, go to: http://www.stdemetriosofmaine.com/
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