Looking for a bite to eat? Family-run Christine’s Delights is a finalist in the Notts Bites Awards as a standout in the local community, bringing “homely and traditional” foods to the plate with a little bit of Greek twist.
After coming to the UK from Greece eight years ago, the family used their knowledge with generations of baking expertise to open their cafe. One of our four finalists in the Notts best café category, Christine’s Delights, in High Road, Beeston, serves English breakfasts and a menu of baked goods such as baklava.
Sisters Athanasia Delimara, 23, and Raf Delimara, 21, both finished their university degrees in English Literature and Primary Education and now work full-time for the café. Raf said: ‘’Our family have been bakers all their lives. We did have a bakery in Greece but, because it was a small village, we moved here looking for something better. We have always been working as a family.’’
Up at the crack of dawn, the family are pre-heating ovens and trays, getting all the pastries and cakes ready for the day ahead with their parents Christina and Michail. The most popular item on the menu is their signature dish, a spinach and feta pie.
(Image: Nottingham Post)
Priding themselves on using the best local ingredients available, nearly everything they need to make their delicious breakfasts, pastries and baked goods is sourced locally from farmers. Ingredients don’t just come from the local area but from overseas, bringing a little bit of Greece to the plate sourcing olive oil from their home country.
Raf said: “We really like to bring in high quality items and I think that the people here just enjoy that, they value that. We are trying to keep the food tasting as good as it is but also keep the price as low as can be so people can eat on a budget. But that is not easy because we are trying for the best quality we can get but that comes at a cost.”
Beeston has a tight-knit community. As front of house, Athanasia believes the community is to thank for their recognition in the Notts Bites Award. She said: ‘’We have been accepted since day one in this community, before we even opened people were coming and asking what this place is going to be. They just support us. We wouldn’t even call them customers – they are our friends.
(Image: Nottinghamshire Live/Jack Rossiter)
‘’They come in every week on the same day on their own table and they get the same stuff, always. You don’t just build casual conversation anymore you can ask them how their day was, how they are, it’s really magical to be honest.’’
The success of Christine’s Delights all comes down to their ‘’homely vibe’’ as a family-run café with standout Greek food and a supportive community that keeps coming back. Athanasia said: ‘’You can eat a good breakfast in any café but here I feel like it you’re having breakfast from your mum. Everyone feels at home when they taste our food because we put love into what we do and I think that people can see that and that’s what we are trying to do.”
The other finalists in the running for the award are KC’s Cafe in Gedling, Forty Four Cosy Cafe in Mapperley, and the Toffee Hut in Mansfield. The winner will be decided by your votes, which must be cast by noon on July 31. Vote for your favourite in the poll below.
