A pair of first cousins were baptized at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Worcester, Massachusetts using extra virgin olive oil farmed by their great-grandfather in Greece, a ceremony he had to miss to tend to his fields.
Alexandros Georgiadis, the 10-month-old son of Christos and Kim Georgiadis, and 7-month-old Theodora Leristis, daughter of Maria and Dimitris Leristis, received the precious and unique gift at the well-attended event, the Worcester Telegram reported.
The oil was sent by 85-year-old Dimitrios Tzanavaras of Corinth, Greece, who has been making it since he was nine years old with a dream of selling it in the United States, with his grandsons, Christos Demitris and Konstantinos Georgiadis now selling it under the brand name of Papou – grandfather in Greek.
The family said their roots are in Worcester: Christos was born in Worcester and Konstantinos graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The siblings have nearly 100 family members and numerous friends in Worcester.
In Worcester, the brothers sell their olive oil at Bahnan’s market, bakery, and cafe while two Greek restaurants, Meze Estiatorio on Shrewsbury Street and Zorba’s Taverna Restaurant also feature the olive oil in their cooking.