Is the Cyprus root vegetable kolokassi a dying food item? Not according to identical twins from Famagusta who have even made ice cream with it
They’ve got 20.6k followers on Instagram. They’re identical twins and they’ve got a contagious passion for food. Katerina and Georgia Fella, known as The Fella Twins, have an impressive and influential presence on social media which they manage from their home town of Sotira in the Famagusta region.
“From a very young age we liked to wear our aprons and spend time in the kitchen with our mom and grandma,” say the 28-year-olds. “We loved helping them prepare food, make cakes and knead bread but we always asked and wanted to know the recipe behind the creation. Over time, we realised that cooking is our passion and that we couldn’t live without it. By the age of 12, we were able to cook solo”.
Upon their return from studying Food Science at the Glasgow Caledonian University (GSU) in 2015, the sisters set up an Instagram account which moved their passion forward. “GSU has a strong focus on practical, industry-relevant courses, especially in areas such as food science, health and nutrition. It also has a great reputation for being student-focused and offers excellent support for personal and professional development,” they say.
Katerina and Georgia began to create their identity through social media, as identical twins as well as food lovers – the duo is seldom portrayed as anything other than two halves of a whole; they wear identical clothes and accessories from head to toe, both on social media and in their everyday outings. They discovered a niche for themselves. As avid fitness enthusiasts, The Fella Twins are all about creating healthy recipes and products while converting traditional Cypriot recipes and local produce into more healthy and modernised delicacies.
“When we started out, we didn’t have healthy food in mind, we wanted to make different recipes in order to expand our cooking abilities not just because we are self-taught. Because we’re fitness addicts, we told ourselves that we had to exclude some ingredients from our recipes and concentrate on healthy eating. Social media was a medium that helped us to share our recipes and ideas, we began watching other cooks making their own recipes and eventually created and designed our own,” reveal the sisters. “We grew up with traditional Cypriot foods and recipes. Through research and as we identified trends and Cypriot recipes which were favoured by the local community, we put our own twist on traditional recipes,” they add.
An example of this is their use of Kolokassi, known as the ‘taro root’ or the ‘Jerusalem artichoke’, a conically shaped root vegetable which is a significant part of Cyprus’ cuisine and primarily cultivated in Sotira and the wider Famagusta region, where 85 per cent of the island’s crop is produced.
“Kolokassi is our local product. Initially, we created ice-cream from kolokassi and more recently we have been making energy bars from it; we didn’t stick to traditional recipes such as kolokassi yiachni (taro stew), kolokassi kapoma (Kolokassi with meat), we took it further. We also made kolokassi donuts,” they say. Kolokassi is exceptionally nutritious; rich in protein, carbohydrates, minerals and amino acids. “Cooking is an incredible way to express ourselves and our feelings. Our goal is to make recipes that are easy, unique, budget-friendly, healthy and above all delicious.”
As food scientists, the sisters have also created a range of products that they plan to make available in the wider market in the near future. “Studying food science provided us with a deep understanding of nutrition, food safety and product development. This knowledge has been crucial for creating healthy recipes, developing meal prep services and understanding the science behind food ingredients. It has also helped in managing the business side, as we can ensure that all products meet high health and safety standards,” reveal the duo. “At the moment, we have a range of dried nuts, energy bars and various butters, almond butter, peanut butter etc.” Currently, The Fella Twins’ recipes can be found on their social media accounts, while their products can be purchased through direct contact with them, but their vision to have a space where people can taste and buy their products with plans already in the pipeline.
“You can go to our social media accounts and try the recipes that we share there. In the near future we will open our shop/ restaurant in Sotira. At the moment we rent a kitchen to make our products and recipes. Were also in the process of changing our branding, the packaging is going to change a bit and be more professional. Our vision is to expand further and sell our products in the market in including supermarkets.”
In the meantime, the twins have set the bar high with regards to using local products in their foodstuffs, and not only kolokassi. They speak fondly about anari (their next recipe will be an anari cheesecake), halloumi, carob syrup and local herbs. One of the hardest tasks is to get people engaged in what they preach, in particular the older generation.
“Our desire is to encourage healthy eating habits by being good food role models, creating a healthy food environment and sending healthy food messages to young people, children and the elderly,” they explain. “When you tell the older generation about making ice cream with kolokassi for example, they’ll say, what is this? What are you doing? They tell us that it’s not going to be edible and refer us to the traditional recipes,” they add. “We try and tell them to try it and see if they like it and explain to them that Kolokassi can be used widely in the kitchen and used to make other recipes. I think that once they try it, they’re easier to convince,” says Katerina. “Eventually, they congratulate us, they really like what we make,” adds Georgia. “Generally, people of Cyprus and generally in our area (Famagusta), have learnt to eat heavy foods, and to fry food a lot. They don’t experiment with healthy recipes because they think that a healthy recipe isn’t edible, that it has no taste, but we try in our own way to prove to them that a healthy recipe isn’t just chicken with rice, there are many alternative options and recipes that they can make”.
As for the younger generation, the sisters estimate that nowadays you don’t find many young women who want to get involved with food and cooking and using traditional products. “We try to learn how to make traditional recipes so that they can continue and be passed down from one generation to the other, unfortunately you don’t find many women that are interested in cooking, if you compare it with fashion let say.”
To this end, The Fella Twins’ presence, particularly on social media has a multitude of roles to play, and perhaps the youthful, playful, locally orientated stance and identity they have built over the years is what’s needed to lure more people into experimenting with healthy food and traditional produce. “Being called an influencer comes with a lot of responsibility, but it’s incredibly rewarding to inspire people to lead healthier lives through workouts and nutritious recipes. Our goal is to promote a balanced, active lifestyle that’s both enjoyable and sustainable. With our new healthy restaurant on the horizon, we’re excited to take it a step further by offering delicious, nutritious meals that align with the lifestyle we promote. This adds another layer of responsibility, as we want to ensure that the food we serve supports the health and fitness goals of our community. It’s all about empowering people to live healthier, more fulfilling lives – both online and in person.”
