Who is behind Ariadne?

Hi, my name is Alexandra Papageorgiou and I'm the person behind Ariadne's brand!

When I am not packing tasting boxes or running online events, I work in a restaurant kitchen as a chef 👩‍🍳

My journey to becoming a chef and getting involved with food was not a direct one. When I was younger, I studied communications and graphic design, and for many years I worked in marketing and digital content production for big corporations.

My interest in food and wine has always been there as a hobby, but when my career brought me to the city of London, with its colourful mosaic of international flavours and booming restaurant industry, I knew that I wanted to do more.

Around 2014 I started running a home supper club which in turn transformed into "Karamouza", a pop-up restaurant, experimenting with events in London and Bristol. I had finally found my calling!

After a short but intense period in cookery school and my first few restaurant jobs, in 2019 I finally moved to the great city of Berlin. This was also the time when my interest in wine peaked and I started systematically studying it, exploring its history and countless varieties and the challenges of food-wine pairing.

From 2021 the journey now continues with Ariadne!

Why a Greek Deli?

Ariadne was born out of my passion for building delightful experiences with food and wine.

While I love many of the world's cuisines, growing up in Athens, the Greek cuisine was something I have experienced intensely since childhood. I have seen it evolve over the years and I have always come back to it in my recipes, gathering inspiration from its many delicious dishes. It is a space I feel comfortable with, adding my own personal touches and experimenting.

When I moved abroad, I struggled to find the same Greek cuisine and produce I knew and loved. While authentic restaurants definitely exist, they often seem to have a very specific range of traditional dishes, which are not representative of the full variety of local offerings that exist.

Cheese and wine are two things that demonstrate this well: the many varieties and flavours produced today are still relatively unknown outside of Greece.

This is exactly the gap that Ariadne tries to bridge by bringing some of the gems that are worth exploring, with a fresh and modern perspective, for you to taste and enjoy.

Where did the name Ariadne come from?

Ariadne was the name of an ancient Cretan princess, commonly known from the myth of Theseus (you know, the one with the labyrinth and the Minotaur).

In lesser-known mythology, however, Ariadne was also god Dionysus' wife, a controversial figure greatly associated with wine, pleasure and celebrating life to its fullest. If you're curious about these stories we can talk a bit more about them in one of the wine tastings!

Ariadne just happens to also be the name of my younger sister 😉