If there is a natural setting that could serve as the perfect backdrop for Angela Gerekou’s relationship with Tolis Voskopoulos, it is undoubtedly Corfu. There, in the place where she was born and raised, the beloved “blue-eyed witch” of the unforgettable singer, some of the happiest chapters of their shared life were written: their first summers as a couple, filled with love, colors, aromas, and unique flavors; their first Easter with their daughter; and many other moments etched indelibly into their memories and hearts.
Some of these moments are shared by Angela Gerekou in her book, Flavors and Memories – Thirty Corfu Recipes from Mom, which is circulating these days. She notes with meaningful emphasis that “it is a warm book, a personal, genuine testament, like a family album, made with love, to remind us that the flavors we grew up with are not just food—they are a way to remember who we are!”
Indeed, traditional Corfu recipes for sofrito, pastitsada, Corfiot magiritsa, and lemonato are accompanied by true stories involving loved ones, foremost among them her life partner, Tolis Voskopoulos.
Angela describes in her book, with vividness and nostalgic emotion, moments from their second summer together in Corfu, during which they composed songs for their shared album:
*”It’s summer, and Tolis and I are outside in the yard of the house in Kondo Kali. I am writing lyrics, and he is searching for a melody while strumming his guitar. We came to spend a few days at my parents’ house. It’s the second year of our relationship, and Tolis already declares he’s in love with Corfu. He has read some of my lyrics, liked one or two pieces, and told me, ‘Come, let’s try to make something together.’ We had no idea at the time that we would end up inspiring songs for an entire album. Our days go by like this—me erasing and writing on a piece of paper, creating lyrics, while he composes music on top of them. Sitting at a table under the olives, fig trees, and louts, we slowly give birth to our own songs,’” Angela recounts.
Until a wonderful aroma interrupts their creative process, giving way to gustatory delight:
“Hours pass without us noticing—time flows differently. We are intoxicated by creation and emotions, and only my mother’s voice calling that it’s time to take a break and eat our baked dish brings us back to reality. Years later, that dish would become one of our daughter’s favorites. ‘Bianko’ means ‘white’ in Italian,’ I tell Tolis, explaining why it’s called that—because of its white sauce.”
The bianko, which became one of Tolis Voskopoulos and their daughter Maria’s favorite dishes
Angela also reveals her deep admiration for Tolis Voskopoulos and his songs even before they met, dating back to her childhood:
“My mom serves the food, my dad is thinking about which record to play, and my mind travels back to the first time I heard Tolis’s voice on my dad’s turntable—on a 33 rpm record. My dad was the first to buy a record player in the village, and we still have it at our house in Kondo Kali. He loved music, as he loved caring for us by buying all those things he considered progress. I remember I was about twelve, and Tolis’s voice immediately touched my soul. I fell in love with it—so pure and clear that it enchanted me. From that moment, I began to ‘follow’ his life and career. I was happy with his joy and sad with his sorrows from afar—as if he were a close relative. Who would have thought that life would bring us to such a point—that one day, in our yard in Corfu, we would write our own songs side by side? And that’s how our CD, titled *The Night Filled with Light, was born in August 1999.”
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