Syros housewives cooking up storm at co-op restaurant

A tip from a local recommending Kastri as the place to get great food in Ermoupoli as the ferry boat headed toward the island of Syros was enough to spark my interest - and whet my appetite. "Great quality, good prices and huge portions!" he gushed. "And fresh… all cooked by the women of Syros."

Kastri is the restaurant of the Women's Agritourism Cooperative of Syros, a group that was formed in 2000 by unemployed local women with European funding, explains Anna Palaiologou, president of the co-op. "At first we made fruit preserves and liqueurs, but then we realized that it wasn't sustainable, as the fruit we were using was very expensive," she says.

The association started branching out by catering for various events, and soon people across the central Aegean island were talking about the high quality of its food. The initial idea had been a kitchen where they'd prepare...