Legacy of Agapi

This cookbook pays homage to the amazing women who came before us, those who currently support us, and to our posterity and future custodians. Intertwined in these anecdotes and culinary experiences are our culture and ethos crystallized in Greek traditions and notions of hospitality. At the heart of it all, is the embracing of "philanthropia" the universal and unconditional love and caring for the human condition.

*Agapi – "the highest form of love and charity" is an Ancient Greek term referring to unconditional love "The love between God and humanity good will and benevolence".

The Hellenic Ladies Benevolent Society (HLBS), founded in 1922, is a non-profit charitable organization helping the most vulnerable in the Greek community of the Greater Montreal area.
In 2022, we celebrate 100 years of service. The pages of this cookbook are filled with our member’s beloved family recipes handed down from our elders from all of Greece. Our Hellenic heritage mixed with the unique spicing of living in a French city in North America is a testament to the depth and endurance of Hellenism journeying across the oceans.