Nothing taxing about Greek food

May 22, 2007

MARIA Benardis owns cooking school Greekalicious. She started out as a tax accountant for the Australian Tax Office before following her passion for food.

You've taken the major step of leaving your chosen career and pursuing your passion. Was it a difficult move?

It was a fabulous job but I wasn't happy. There was an emptiness because I wasn't doing what I loved.

Why didn't you follow your passion in the first place?

I am like every other good Greek girl. When our families came out here from Greece after World War II, our parents wished that we would become someone better.

Our parents had trades but they didn't want us to go into those trades, and so we were given an ultimatum to get a degree and become a doctor, an accountant or a lawyer. To do otherwise than that was like failing them.

What is your passion?

My passion was always to be in the kitchen cooking for my friends and family, so I decided in 2004 that it was time to pursue my passion and love, make a difference not just for me, but also for the food.

How did it evolve?

I worked hard on a concept that would be financially viable.

The first step in my plan to realise my dream was to write a book. It was a good way to document the stories and the recipes I had learned back in Greece.

The next step was to start sharing the food and the recipes and the best way was not in a restaurant because that's behind the scenes, but a cooking school.

So since February this year the school has been operating. I've been blown away at the interest and passion for Greek food.

The third step is to have an eatery and a place where people can buy the ingredients, a one-stop shop.

How have you promoted the business?

Word of mouth has worked best for me and through Google searches. I've had people come from Singapore and Korea and South Africa, who have done a Google search and decided to include me in their trip to Sydney.

Did you have a business plan?

Absolutely. This is very important for any person who wants to start a small business.

Do the market research, find out who your competitors are, what they are doing, figure out how to do it differently, have a separating factor and do things better.

I did (a business plan) for five years, I did my budgets and forecasts, even when I will break even, when I will make a profit.

When you finally decided to chance your dream, what sort of mistakes did you make?

I've taken small, sensible steps. I finished working as as full-time accountant a few years ago but I've still taken on contract work to pay the mortgage.

I've been making a profit but not enough to do it for 80 per cent of the week. But I anticipate that next year I'll be doing it 100 per cent of the time.

I never consider anything a mistake, I consider it an opportunity. When I make a mistake, it tells me to do it better and to listen. I didn't really make that many (mistakes) because I prepared myself with lots of work, such as pricing and a business plan.

The only difficulties were obstacles along the way, for example, getting suppliers on board, establishing the trust. It was a lot of hard work proving myself. And I didn't take no for an answer.

You've had plenty of cultural mentors but did you have a business mentor?

Yes, I've had one business mentor, a woman called Sharon Grant, the CEO of the Australian Association of Professional Bookkeepers.

I've seen how successful she's been at taking something from nothing, building from the ground up and turning what she started into a successful business.

She was inspiring and I learned from her how to get something from nothing. It can be lonely on your own, and if you have ideas a mentor can tell you if they are good ideas or bad. It is important that you don't ask your friends.

How has making the career change affected your life?

I've never been happier. I believe that anyone who pursues their passion will find that although initially you don't earn the money you did before, you can eventually earn more because you are more positive as a person. I'm also doing more positive things for the community.

Where will you be in five years time?

Definitely I'll have a cooking school in Greece, and most definitely a Greekalicious store here, with a cooking school and beautiful modern eatery.

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