Dear Friends, Supporters, Satisfied and Potential Customers and, of course, Competitors (whom we know read everything with a magnifying glass):

Usually, you begin by reading currents events and make assumptions about the past and be totally incorrect.

We would like to make an exception and guide you into the beginning of the Events Section so that you may be able to understand the path made this a reality.

It will take some time to really understand How and Why. In some areas you will be able to see the life of the man who started all this and the Company itself.

It has actually been a long progression of time and events.

Some of you may have already read Mr. Goudas biography or heard comments about it. Or, for any one of you stumbling upon this website for the first time, you may have begun by viewing the Products Section, over 1,000 of the finest products in the world, and saying WOW, how did this happen! Do miracles really still happen in this present time!
And further curiosity led you to continue clicking, here and there until finally discovering the immense volume of not only products, but events, articles, stories, dancing beans, etc, etc.

This is a wonderful area to start.

We are not going to plunge into Mr. Goudas life from birth (29 MAR 1942). We will take you to just a few years before immigrating to Canada, which you may read in his biography. And therefore, we dedicate this Events Section to:
All people moving to another country facing a new culture, language and surroundings without any friends or any money.
Young people who learn from our experiences.
Those who are depressed and are feeling as though the world is crashing around them due to bad luck or serious injury.
Suppliers around the world who share with us the satisfaction of delivering the best the world has to offer.
Millions of consumers, so they may experience the joy and satisfaction we feel, knowing that we have done and we are still doing the very best.
The competition, which we know will examine this website very carefully. We trust they will finally understand that our motive is, and always has been, to provide the consumer with the very best, and maybe they can try to do the same.

This is a solid testament of our desire to share feelings, experiences, accomplishments, the highs and the lows with our customers, general public, supporters, friends and even the competition, whose respect we feel that we have earned.

This is how the story began to unfold:

In the morning of April 21st 1967, a decree, purportedly signed by the king and his government, was issued proclaiming martial law. Various articles in the 1952 Constitution guaranteeing human rights were suspended, special martial courts were set up, political parties were dissolved, and the right to strike was abolished. Many thousands of people with a record of left wing political views or activity were rounded up and sent into exile in bleak camps on the islands.
In the course of the day the creation of a nondescript civilian government headed by a Supreme Court prosecutor, Constantine Kollias, was announced. In a statement broadcast in the evening, Kollias roundly attacked the politicians for failing the nation, promised social justice and declared that from now on there were no rightists, centrists or leftists, but "only Greeks who believe in Greece".

It soon became apparent, however, that the new civilian prime minister was a mere facade and that real power lay in the hands of a triumvirate of relatively junior officers, Colonels George Papadopoulos and Nicholas Makarezos, both of whom had backgrounds in intelligence, and Brigadier Stylianos Pattakos, who were backed up by a shadowy Revolutionary Council. Papadopoulos took charge of the key ministry to the prime minister, which controlled the media.

Pattakos became minister of the interior and Makarezos took over the important economic ministry of co-ordination. The 'Colonels', as the military junta came to be known, established their control over the Greek government.

Although King Constantine had not signed the decree establishing martial law which had been issued in his name, he rejected the urgings of his last constitutional prime minister to resist the conspirators.
Kanellopoulos himself, with a number of other prominent political figures, was placed under house arrest. Civil servants, school, and university teachers, whose allegiance was in doubt, were dismissed, while others were required to demonstrate their loyalty to the regime or risk forfeiting their jobs. Lawyers and judges who showed too much independence were harassed and dismissed.

'The Revolution of April 21st, 1967', as the coup was now officially known was getting increasingly powerful everyday. To justify their continued grip on power the Colonels sought to give their regime an ideological basis. Political strikes, for instance, were forbidden, and a number of the most important articles were in any case held in abeyance.

The fact that the plebiscite was held under martial law indicated that the regime, despite its protestations to the contrary, was uncertain of its popularity.
The Colonels had met with little opposition at the time of the coup and the initial reaction of the bulk of the Greek people was only surprise, limited to a patient observation of events.

Greece is a country which had more than four thousand years of history; the legendary home of the gods, a country which, up to that point, was a leader in democracy, a country where freedom of speech originated, a land of open mindedness, the birthplace of the great minds, such as, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and the original birthplace of the Olympics is now under a big cloud with respect to its future. Is this a temporary thing, is this something that will go away, or will this situation continue for a long time? Questions and more questions arose in the minds of the people without specific answers to be possibly given.

The new regime was planning to recall anyone who was recently released from the army to be enlisted again.
Who knows for how long!! Young Spyros Peter Goudas had to make a quick decision, either permanent or temporary, due to the fact that he had just finished five years mandatory service as an aircraft engineer at Tatoi & Elefsina Airbases.
Having high qualifications as an aircraft engineer, he had to determine whether he was ready to put the safety of warplane pilots in his hands. There were instances where the pilots would look at him right in the eye expecting the signal of 'yes' or 'no', as to whether they should fly or not.
(A small parenthesis here to let the public know, is that the war planes, F76 and F84, were all used American war planes and were in need of constant maintenance from capable engineers.)
Such qualifications did not go unnoticed from the Australian, South African and Canadian governments, which had each sent Spiros an invitation letter to emigrate to any of these three countries. And since the invitation was open, all he needed was a small sum of money (and here is a reminder that the mandatory army service was an unpaid service). And since he did not have any money even for the ticket, he had to borrow a little bit from each of his friends to purchase a third class departure ticket for the Christopher Columbo Italian liner departing for Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the 27th of April, l967.

The journey to Canada took more than one week and throughout this period of time Spyros had endured a high fever of above 40 degrees because, prior to his departure, he had to be inoculated. Inoculation is a normal procedure, however at the moment he was being inoculated, the prick of the needle caused him to jerk his arm and the needle became bent (due to his extraordinary muscle power, which he had developed in his arms when he worked at a porcelain and clay factory for a few years, beginning at the age of nine); as a consequence, he tore the nerve in his left arm.

Mr. Goudas arrived in Halifax Nova Scotia with snow on the ground and via Montreal to Toronto with approximately $100 in his pockets, no knowledge of English, and even though he could read and write using the letters of the Greek alphabet, Mr. Goudas found that the money he had did not go very far, and he was soon sleeping out in the streets.

The reason he immigrated to Canada is portrayed in detail in the Metropolitan Toronto Business Journal Magazine in the article section "The Man for all Seasonings".

This photo is a collector item. Taken in May 1967,

Without wasting any time, Mr. Goudas immediately started looking for jobs that would require more of his knowledge than his language. After searching everywhere for work, Mr. Goudas finally found not one, but three jobs, where he worked at the same time. The first company he worked for was Ray McKey, at the Brimley and Sheppard area; the company was responsible for the heating and air-conditioning systems for the Toronto Board of Education. The second company was Peabody Engineering, on Wharton Way in Mississauga, which was manufacturing air-conditioning and heating systems for export to foreign countries, and the third was Douglas Aircraft on Airport Road, a position where he qualified due to his 5 years experience in engineering in the Greek air force. Mr. Goudas used to work 7 days a week, 20 hours a day, submitting those hours in all three jobs together each day.

If you will ask him "How did he do it?" the answer given directly is "You can almost perform miracles at the age of 25"!

Anta 1942-1968

Shortly after getting nestled down with work and making ends finally meet, Mary Papadaki, his fiance, informed Peter Spyros that she was unwilling to leave her native land, Greece, where she was completing her law degree at university, and withdrew their engagement.
Mary went on to become a successful lawyer and then a judge.

Sometime during the month of March 1968, in Toronto, he met and fell in love with a beautiful and well-educated girl named Anta Kalampothakis.

Anta was a popular personality in the Greek community since she hosted children?s programs, the news broadcast, talk shows, cooking segments, and in general hosted a twelve-hour radio broadcast all by herself.

Following what was considered to be a whirlwind romance, he popped the question and Spyros and Anta became engaged in May 1968.

Unfortunately, his happiness didn?t last long. Anta passed away three short months later, without any indication of illness, from a brain tumor.
With sadness, Spyros explained that on the day Anta passed away, they were sightseeing at City Hall and Anta mentioned to him: (Lately, sometimes I lose my vision). No one could have envisioned that hours later Anta would be gone forever!

Antas sudden passing caused chaos and sorrow not only for Spyros, but also within the Greek community in general.

Due to her popularity, there was a huge turnout at her funeral. Her program was listened to, and enjoyed by thousands of loyal radio listeners.

Because of his love for her, he arranged to have her dressed in a wedding gown and her remains were flown back to her parents in her native land of Greece.

Her loss created a void in Spyros Peter Goudas life.

(This picture of beautiful Anta was taken by Spyros when they visited Montreal, just a week prior to her passing).

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In the Spring of 1968, Matt Barrett arrived in Greece. He must have had a lot of guts and nerve to go to Greece only a few months after Dictatorship was established (beginning April 21st, 1967 and ending July 23rd, 1974) in the country. However, this trip to Greece was the beginning of understanding what Greece is all about. And although Julius Vern made the round of the world in 80 days, if somebody asked Mr. Barrett about how long it would take to go around Greece, he would definitely say 80 years!

Matt Barrett spent a lifetime getting acquinted with and studying the country, the culture, the history, the values, the society, the food, etc. The Greek government should in fact appoint him to the title of Minister of Tourism, according to one of the viewer's of the website commenting; instead, he decided to put all this wonderful information together, along with thousands of pictures, travel guides, etc., into creating a magnificent website, who evidently takes months to go through and view all the information provided about Greece.

Mr. Goudas is certain that he will meet Mr. Barrett some time in the future. They will exchange knowledge: Mr. Goudas will talk to him about foods from around the world and Matt Barrett will talk about his experiences in Greece.

Click here to view Mr. Barrett's personal website

Mr. Goudas opens a small Store at 173 Baldwin St. in Kensington Market. Located in the South West area of Spadina and College streets in Toronto.

The Store, Pallas Meat Market, initially catered to the Greek community. However, during the course of business Mr. Goudas realized that his customers where Latin, Caribbean, Asian, European, Jewish and others. He, therefore, changed the makeup of the store to accommodate the different nationalities.
He then realized the importance of quickly learning the eating habits, customs, and religions background of his multi-cultural customers.

Experiences like this made Mr. Goudas more acquinted with the multicultural food business in Canada and constantly enriched his expertise.

The following story reflects an article that has been written in the summer of 2007, which can also be read in the "Recipe" section as well as the Mr. Goudas Biography. Since this story reflects this time period (we don't know the exact timeframe that this story happened), we randomly chose this particular date.

The circumstances under which this article was written were very spontaneous. One day Mr. Goudas was in a very talkative mood, and during the general break of the employees, he gathered everyone and started to narrate an event that had happened to him a long time ago. His secretary Bernadette Scott immediately captured this story in shorthand, as told by Mr. Goudas himself, and created this article.
Obviously the ones who heard this story facing the narrator in person, had the privilege of seeing his facial expressions and hearing his laughter. However, we are sure that even the ones that read it on paper will enjoy the humor, pain, and surprises this story reveals.

On a final note, this story will give you a taste of the very beginning of Mr. Goudas journey towards understanding the multicultural society of Canada, which he was determined to capture.

http://www.mrgoudasbooks.com/uploads/pdf/COW_FOOT_STORY.pdf

THE COW FOOT STORY - Summer 2007

Including recipe for: COW FOOT and Rice (Jamaican)

In the Caribbean, Cow Foot is referred to as The poor mans food.
By Spyros Peter Goudas & Bernadette Scott.

1 Cows Foot (cut into pieces)
1 can of Mr. Goudas Lima Beans (Butter Beans)
2 to 3 cloves of garlic
2 large onions
1 to 2 pieces of fresh thyme (1 tsp thyme flakes)
1 green onion or scallion
2 tbsp Mr. Goudas Seasoning Sauce
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1 tbsp Mr. Goudas Trinidad Hot Sauce or Scotch Bonnet Sauce

Cow foot may be purchased from your butcher or local Caribbean food outlet, which also sells meat. This will ensure that the cow foot is clean (hooves removed), and cut into serving size pieces.
Wash the cow foot, exactly as you would wash any other meat (chicken, beef and pork, for example). Drain water. Chop the onions, garlic, scallion and thyme into pieces, and add to cow foot. Add seasoning sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Cover bowl and shake vigorously to allow ingredients to penetrate the meat. Let it sit for approximately 1 hour, or overnight if time permits. This marinating of the meat is very important.
Place the cow foot in 6-7 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until tender. Approximately 2 to 3 hours. Add butter beans in the last 5 minutes. Add hot sauce and additional salt and pepper, if necessary. (If you want your Cow Foot Dish to taste not only good, but SUPERB, add 2 tablespoons of Mr. Goudas Tamarind Sauce!) Serve over a bed of rice.

Now we know that the COWS FOOT is not a strange phenomenon. It is actually just another type of meat that has been enjoyed for centuries by Caribbean and other nationalities, and is actually considered a poor mans food.
However, back in the 1960s and 70s this item was prohibited for sale in Canada. So then, let us go back to that time and imagine Peter Spyros Goudas, who had just entered the ethnic business, and had a little store in Jewtown, as it was called back then.
It is currently called Kensington Market. Imagine further that he is trying to cope with the needs of the different nationalities entering the store.

If you visualize that time, then you can image Mr. Peter Goudas, who was the owner of that store, with his broken Greek-accented English, trying to communicate with a Jamaican who speaks only Jamaican patois and asks for Cow Foot and Cow Cod. (In Jamaican circles, it is rumoured that this soup enhances the mans physical ability). Jah man!

So Peter did not understand what exactly these two items were. All the while during the conversation, the Jamaican man eagerly tried to explain what Cow Cod is, by pulling his zipper down and explaining to him that it was the same thing but quite bigger because it was from the bull!

Now that we put you in the comedy mood, let us explain the pain and the effects after Mr. Goudas decided to fulfill the obligation and obtain these two items from the slaughter house. The following week, he was quite happy to present to the gentleman with the Cow Foot and the Cow Cod. The gentleman was pleased to receive the cow cod the way it was. But when it came to the cows foot, he told Peter that it was dirty, hairy, ugly and smelly. He said that it had to be clean, smooth, with its hooves removed, odourless, and also cut into cubes for cooking. He also told Peter that back home in Jamaica, the hair was burnt off, but he would prefer if it were removed altogether.

Peter told the customer not to worry and that in the following week he would have it ready for him, only if he were to teach him some Jamaican words. Peter was promptly taught Rass cloth, which he thought meant Good Morning. Peter used this word as a welcome greeting to each customer for many years...(If you have not laughed for the day, take this article to your Jamaican friend for an explanation, which you will get for sure!) The customer left with the intention of returning the following week. He left Peter behind still looking at the hairy cows foot.

The first thing he thought of was to give it a bath, to make it look pretty, and dry it off with a blow dryer. After that, at least it appeared to look better! He then wrapped it up in a few sheets of newspaper, placed it beneath his arm, and went around the block to the nearest barbershop. He waited until all the customers had left and then asked the barber to close the door and pull the curtains down so that no one could see inside, since he had to do a special assignment. When the barber looked at it, he told Peter he only had a license to cut human hair. So Peter then told him that he would give him a certificate if he passed the exam and shaved this cows foot! Needless to say, Peter and the barber tried for the next two hours with very little success, leaving spots of hair all over the place. Even the razor broke a few times!

Since the job was not complete, Peter thought it would be a good idea to take the next step and go to the pharmacy. He had heard of this new discovery in hair removal for the ladies called Neet. When he asked the pharmacist where he stocked the Neet, the pharmacist asked who it was for. Peter did not want to say it was for the cows foot, so he said it was for himself. The pharmacist obviously thought that maybe Peter was some kind of a sissy. He asked him what hair he wanted to remove and Peter said it was for his legs, and lifted his pants to show his hairy legs. Once he presented him with a bottle of Neet, Peter realized that the Pharmacist was puzzled because he kept scratching and moving his head the whole time. It was like he had doubts about the whole situation...

Peter took the Neet and went straight to his apartment to experiment with the new hair removal item. It worked somewhat, but Peter determined that it was not designed to remove hair from cow feet. So the idea failed. The Neet was much more expensive than the cows foot, and the barber had already cost him $20. This was starting to become an expensive and time consuming venture!

Peter then remembered that the customer told him that the hair was removed sometimes by burning it. So the other solution was to go to Home Hardware and purchase a blow torch. The salesman asked what he needed the torch for, and the response he received was that he needed it for welding. So he was outfitted with a propane welding torch. With his new equipment he started working to burn off the hair, which finally resulted in success, and some burnt spots.

The next assignment was to remove the hoof; so he took it to the nearest millwright shop. After a few hours of using a vice grip, hand saw, hammer and a chisel, he eventually was able to remove the hoof. Mission accomplished! Now he had to wait for the customer. When the customer came into the store, Peter presented him with the cows foot. The customer was very happy and taught Peter a new word, Bombacloth...Peter was ecstatic! He now knew, not only how to say Good Morning, but also how to say Good Night!

Nevertheless, the following week Peter was presented with a big bowl of Cow Foot Soup from the customer. (After eating it, he felt the natural effects of the soup. In current terms he calls it a viagra-supplement). And by the way, it was simply delicious. Well, we hope you had a great dose of laughter from this story, although it was difficult to put it down on paper. Mr. Goudas thinks we need a little laughter in our life! With the complete satisfaction of this particular customer, and the endless possibilities for future customers, Peter Spyros Goudas felt it would be a good idea to apply to the Canadian Government, to make an exception of the ruling. This would allow for the sale of the cows feet on the open market provided they had been cleaned.

Finally, Mr. Goudas developed a technique to completely remove the hair without using the torch, scissors, hand saw, the barber and Neet. He opened a small additional business to clean approximately 300 cows feet per day. The hair was successfully removed by inserting the leg into a specific temperature hot water, for a certain length of time (without the leg being cooked), and by scraping the leg with a knife. The hoof was detached from the leg by heating it in boiling water and striking it forcefully against the ground.

So now you know THE COW FOOT STORY, and who is the pioneer in the industry in Canada. This former poor mans food, as it was initially referred to at the beginning of the article, we think will become a delicacy, since this article will be read by millions of people. We think there might even be a shortage of cows feet, in which case butchers will begin to wish if only cows did not have just 4 feet, but 40 feet instead, like the centipede!

As always, we hope you enjoy making this dish and reading the articles of the man, who, although he is not selling cows feet anymore, is hoping that you will purchase the additional ingredients such as: Lima Beans, Salt, Black Pepper, Hot Sauce, and of course Rice, under the Goudas label. And we all know they are the best. We suggest you do not use the above mentioned Jamaican words without consulting a Jamaican friend! Although they may or may not mean Good Morning and Good Night, we suggest that you do not, and we mean DO NOT USE THESES WORDS WITHOUT CONSULTING A JAMAICAN FRIEND!!

This is a small note that we have to insert: Just a reminder that this article is not in any way a criticism of the Jamaican culture, but it is a real event that did happen. Please see it for its own inherent humour. People from the Caribbean, and particularly from Jamaica have been long-standing, loyal customers and friends of Mr. Goudas. They love him and they drink to his health and happiness.