Our Story
A terracotta potted history
Our Journey
We are the next chapter. High in the mountains in central mainland Greece, our family has made this yoghurt for many generations. Part of an intrinsic Greek tradition, this yoghurt has been made almost daily by the families of shepherds across Greece from the fresh milk produced by their flocks. Herding from mountain side to plateau, sheltering in their shepherds’ huts, and protected from the bears and wolves by their loyal herding dogs, these shepherds needed a nourishing food which sustained them throughout their lengthy and often challenging days. It is from this proud tradition that our yoghurt derives its name. Despite the fact that the numbers of shepherds and their families have reduced in Greece, this traditional recipe remains the yoghurt of choice for many. Living in the UK, we missed proper yoghurt (as my husband calls it) so much that we began making it at home here in Oxfordshire. Then came the idea that we should introduce it to others. Whilst our cousins in Greece continue to make yoghurt from the milk from the central mountains, we use sheep milk from Wiltshire and Wales to make ours here. One farmer provides the winter milk, and the other, the summer milk. Our family in Greece play a huge part in our lives here in the UK. Many of them have helped with the set up of our business, assisting with sourcing the right equipment in Greece, and making sure that we are producing the best yoghurt possible. They are by far the best to judge, and are never slow in coming forward with 'constructive criticism'. Needless to say, we love them for it, and our product owes much of its superior quality to their tireless input and support.
About Sophia
I am an English foodie married to a Greek engineer. I really hit the jackfruit when I met my husband, Angelos! He is also a foodie, cemented not only by a childhood filled with his Mother's wonderful culinary creations, but also via many generations of mountain shepherds producing incredible milk and yoghurt, upon which he was subsequently brought up. My own road to food purism began as young as five when I initially wanted to be a farmer. After a few twists and turns, I found my way back to what really matters to me: good food, as pure as it is supposed to be, from producers I can easily trace and talk with. We now live with our dogs in Oxfordshire, making as much as possible from scratch and living in our own pocket of resistance against processed foods and MNCs.
Making yoghurt at home graduated into wanting to share it with others as a food producer during my PhD which focussed on the roles of small food businesses in the UK and Greece. I worked with some incredible businesses who really encouraged and inspired me to join them. Before that, I gained a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security from the RAU. For good measure, I have a 1st class law degree.
I also have a blog- The Saltfoodchronicles- which, admittedly, I should update more often than I do. This has a few pieces about travelling around Greece- food focussed, obviously!
Any Greeks and Cypriots reading this in the UK- I'd really love to chat with you. It's difficult to practice Greek here and I'm on the hunt for someone who is happy to talk with me in Greek... Θα μπορώ να φέρω πρόβειο γιαούρτι!
Philo…what?
What’s in a name? Well quite a lot as it happens.
Philotrophie is a word of our own invention and can be read a variety of ways.
The ‘philo’ part you can probably guess (it doesn’t allude to phyllo pastry!). It comes from ‘philosophy’. But the prefix in ancient Greek translates as ‘love’ (φίλος), and in modern Greek as ‘friend’. The ‘sophy’ part of philosophy comes from the Greek word for wisdom (Σοφία) (philosophy= love + wisdom).
The second part of 'philotrophie', the ‘trophie’ refers in English to the trophic system (the relationships within the food chain), and also comes from the Greek for ‘food’ (τροφή).
Thus, you could interpret Philotrophie as the philosophy of food, friends of food, the philosophy of food relationships, or at a stretch…the philosophy of wisdom through food.
