Korean-Canadian Sarah Yu first landed in Greece twelve years ago while backpacking through Europe. She spent over a year in Crete , then, lured by the liveliness of Athens, decided to stay. She started out doing everything from fashion modelling for Greek designer Yiannis Parthenis , to editing for an English weekly newspaper. She is currently working as a maitre at Ginger restaurant.
How has Athens changed in the past ten years? How does the Athens restaurant scene compare to other European cities?
Athens has undergone significant changes. Going out, whether for a bite to eat or a drink at your favourite bar, used to happen on a daily basis. Although the economy was weaker, more money seemed to be floating around. Now, most people live for the weekends. Conservatively speaking, 60% of business is conducted on Fridays and Saturdays.
Athenian restaurants are progressive, up-market, beautifully designed, and are popping up across the city like wild flowers. A friend of mine who is a fashion designer in NYC was shocked to discover how refined and design-oriented many restaurants are in Athens. Most cuisines are excellent, with fusion all the rage; but prices, even for European standards are high (20.000 drachmas a head is about average).
As a maitre d' at an Athenian restaurant, do you take risks? Are Greeks open to trying new things?
Greeks who frequent restaurants in Athens are very open to different tastes, and in fact demand diversity. Meat and pasta are preferred, as well as traditional Greek taverna food. But Athens has a wide variety of ethnic restaurants. Unfortunately, the city lacks authentic ethnic places - Chinese food is still American Chinese toned-down for Greeks, there is not a decent Indian restaurant...
Why did you decide to stay in Greece?
This country understands me, yet continually fascinates and baffles me. Every day is a new discovery -- whether wonderful or horrible. Life flows with the depth of an ocean as opposed to the placid lake of Canadian life. I used to say people in Canada live life as if they were acting in a film. In Greece, life is a film.
Being a foreigner here brings its benefits. Beyond being constantly forgiven, as a Canadian-Korean, I never felt completely at home in either Canada or Korea, though not completely foreign to either. At least in Greece I am clearly a foreigner. Life is much easier that way.
Really, it's the Greek people that attracted me to this country.
How fulfilling is it for a maitre d' to work in an Athens restaurant? How does the restaurant-going public behave, especially towards foreigners?
Being a woman and a foreigner makes this job both more challenging and more fulfilling at the same time. I once asked a maitre-friend of mine for advice on how to maintain discipline among the staff, and he simply said it was impossible. Greek men don't like to take orders from women. Generally speaking, I have been able to establish some discipline and cooperation among the staff, and I do feel that I have their respect and love.
The public is astonished to see an Asian woman welcoming them at the door, but in a positive way. Men are definitely more responsive - probably because Asians are seen as being quite exotic here. There is definitely a cultural gap, though. Comments that Greeks take for granted, I often find racist or insulting. Sometimes I am put off by people's bluntness or lack of internationalism, or by behaviour that I consider rude or inconsiderate.
But I love their honesty, their love of life and their open hearts.
