{"id":28136,"date":"2025-05-05T17:35:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T14:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisegreece.com\/?p=28136"},"modified":"2025-07-09T13:35:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T10:35:10","slug":"meet-makis-from-isle-deli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wisegreece.com\/en\/blog-en\/meet-makis-from-isle-deli\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Makis from Isle Deli"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you start? What inspired you to get into food?<\/strong>
To be honest, I never imagined myself getting involved with a workshop, food production, and especially syrup-based desserts. I\u2019ve always loved syrupy sweets, but since I consume very little sugar in my daily life, I never thought I\u2019d end up working with desserts. I\u2019m passionate about healthy eating, particularly vegetables. I originally wanted to pursue a career in economics, and I studied economics, but I didn\u2019t continue in that field.<\/p>\n

Tell us about the brand. What does it represent? What was your purpose in creating it?<\/strong>
The business is built around Isli<\/em>, a traditional delicacy of the Greeks from Asia Minor and Pontus. I remember it always being on the Christmas table, made with great effort by my grandmother. Since we already have the traditional version, I thought\u2014why not innovate and create new fillings with different flavors?<\/p>\n

How did it all begin? What challenges did you face?<\/strong>
I can honestly say that everything started almost from scratch. Apart from the recipe, everything else was new to me. There\u2019s no manual, no standard path to follow. Every day is challenging, and you constantly strive for improvement. Growth is hard because it demands that you never become complacent, not even during times of success.<\/p>\n

Tell us about your products. What makes them different?<\/strong>
I would say the balance\u2014without a doubt. I personally find the taste balanced, and people trying it for the first time have the same reaction. I love balance, and we managed to achieve that. Secondly, the rich flavor of the main ingredient\u2014the nut\u2014stands out.<\/p>\n

Tell us about your raw ingredients.<\/strong>
To achieve great flavor, you always need to use authentic ingredients. There are other ways to get good results, but I insist on something more human, more alive, more everyday. Technology helps us in many ways, but it shouldn’t replace what we know as authentic. We talked about the challenges, and one of them is maintaining high quality while keeping prices accessible.<\/p>\n\n\t\t