A dazzling array of desserts beckoned from rows upon rows of tables in Ermoupoli, the capital of Syros, to celebrate the island’s long-standing love affair with dessert. The event, “Ermoupoli: 200 Years of Pastry Heritage,” brought together some of Greece’s finest pastry chefs to pay tribute to Syros’ storied past as a vital commercial port and business hub, and a place where immigrants and refugees introduced new flavors, tastes and traditions. 

Antouaneta Altouva, one of the top young pastry chefs in Greece, smiled broadly as she stood next to a tray of her delicate mousse cup: a playful, modern take on Greece’s nostalgic ypovrichio or “submarine” sweet. Her version layered vanilla cream, peach sauce, nectarine chunks, thyme, and a cookie garnish; a fragrant memory transformed into a bite-sized indulgence.

“I thought of things that connect to my memories,” said Altouva, a 26-year-old Syros native and rising star in Greece’s pastry scene. “Swimming in the sea with the sun burning your skin, you think of the cool taste of frozen fruit, so I added nectarine. I thought of walking in the mountains and smelling thyme, so I included that too. It’s about blending personal moments into something sweet.”

The June 1st festival invited chefs – many hailing from Syros – to reinterpret traditional island desserts. The roots of Syros’ pastry tradition trace back to the 19th century, when records from 1834 mention sugar merchant Ioannis Evangeliadis from Limnos and sugar producer Georgios Arfanis from Chios operating in Ermoupoli. As Syros emerged as a key commercial port, it welcomed waves of immigrants and refugees who brought new ingredients and culinary customs that forever shaped its cuisine.

“This festival is about reviving the traditional pastry culture of Syros,” said Nikoleta Makrionitou of the Syros Gastronomy Club, which co-organized the event with the Friends of Gastronomy and the municipality of Syros – Ermoupoli. Syros’ confectionery heritage, she explained, is a rich tapestry of cultural influences. “The island has been shaped by many hands – Italian and French conquerors, Cycladic roots, and refugees from the East. All these elements have blended into something uniquely Syros, and you see that reflected in our pastries.”

Makryonitou, also the food and wine editor at Kathimerini, believes that tasting a dessert can be as revealing as reading a history book. “Every bite carries a story,” she said. “You taste who passed through this island and what they left behind. Our pastry culture is a mosaic of civilizations.”

Few treats are more emblematic of Syros than loukoumi, the jewel-toned cubes of sugar, water, and starch, and halvadopita, a gooey nougat pie. Both trace their roots to refugees from Asia Minor, Chios, and Psara during the Greek War of Independence, who settled on the island and brought with them flavors that endure to this day.

Among the long-standing producers are Livadaras, Kanakaris, and Korres, the latter now co-owned by Yiannis Vamvakousis and his children. At the festival, their booth showcased handmade loukoumia, as well as pasteli, a bar made of sesame seed and honey. Even though they predominantly make traditional loukoumi flavors like rose and mastic, they have also created inventive twists such as bergamot, ouzo, vanilla and coconut, and the halvadopita, traditionally made strictly with almonds, now includes different types of nuts. “But the idea is the same, and we follow the same methods as before,” Vamvakousis said.

Culinary innovator Stelios Parliaros, who led the movement to reinterpret and reinvent the country’s classic desserts, contributed his own take on Syros’ Easter frangotyropita, a sweet cheese pie traditionally made by the island’s Catholic housewives. His refined version cut back on sugar, egg, and cheese while adding cream, nodding to French and Italian influences. Served warm, his slices were devoured quickly by a line of eager festivalgoers. “This version has more balance,” said Parliaros, a bona fide celebrity pastry chef who was born in Istanbul and has drawn from a global palate throughout his storied career. “My inspiration comes from many sweet memories, from all over the world.”

“The chefs did a wonderful job reimagining traditional recipes and giving them a modern edge,” said Antheia Kotsi, a digital marketing and cultural events coordinator from Syros, who helped promote the festival.

Spread across flower-strewn tables were trays of dazzling bite-sized creations: a rich chocolate and almond serano by local chef Stavros Roussos; a delicate, rose-scented loukoumi-inspired macaron from Fania Andreadi of Athenian patisserie In Love Again; a chocolate truffle crowned with vanilla cream and cherry by Syros’ own Kechagias workshop; and a warm halvadopita by pastry chef Thanasis Tsagliotis, layered with lime gel, lemon zest, and served under a scoop of almond gelato.

Key to Syros’ continuing confection evolution has been Konstantinos Karakatsanis, who opened Django Gelato in Ermoupoli in 2005. From his signature cart, he and his team dished out scoops of inventive flavors, including kaimaki (made from sheep’s milk and mastic), bergamot sorbet, and rizogalo, a frozen twist on the classic Greek rice pudding. “Making gelato isn’t a job to me – it’s an art,” said Karakatsanis, who decided to bring back the flavor he had created years ago to celebrate the shop’s 20th anniversary. Just before the festival, he hosted a party to mark the occasion and announced the opening of Django’s next location in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood, set for spring.

Crafting a different kind of indulgence was Christos Gkolfis, who introduced a bold cocktail and DJ culture to the island with Theosis, his sleek bar set high in the medieval village of Ano Syros. There, among winding alleys and whitewashed stairs, Gkolfis has built a reputation for boundary-pushing drinks. His signature “Cupid” blends dry mastika with strawberry, whey, white chocolate, and cacao butter, while his offering for the festival – a refreshing blend of cantaloupe juice and thyme – highlighted Syros’ native aromatics in cocktail form.

Gkolfis and Karakatsanis are both founding members of the Syros Gastronomy Club, Makrυonitou said, adding that they have both been very important for the culinary culture of the island: “They’ve each helped open a new chapter for the island – one in cocktails, the other in ice cream.”

The festival, ultimately, was about honoring the old while embracing the new.

“We wanted to remember Ermoupoli through its historic pastry shops and traditional sweets,” said Giannis Zygomalas, a Syros native who handled the event’s design and art direction. “Now that we have this sweet legacy, we can bring it into the present with fresh ideas while always staying true to our heritage.”