The Last Halvah Master of Drapetsona Has Been Kneading by Hand Since 1924

There is one man left in Drapetsona who still makes halvah the old way, and he has no plans to stop. The Kosmidis-Gavrilidis halvah workshop, founded in 1924, is the last of its kind in a neighborhood that once had many masters of the craft. Mr. Gavrilidis is the sole remaining practitioner, and he does it entirely by hand.

The process is physically demanding. Two men work together over a round copper vessel called a pasimi, folding and kneading up to 60 kilograms of halvah at temperatures around 80 degrees Celsius. One pours tahini over the white caramel mass while the other leans his full body into the vessel, shaping the mixture with his hands as if handling something fragile. The slow, synchronized movements are not tradition for tradition's sake. They are the reason the product tastes the way it does.

There is a limit to how much a business can grow while still protecting quality, and he is not willing to cross it.

Gavrilidis has been offered a way out of the hard labor. A machine would let him produce far larger quantities, but he has turned it down. He says mechanized kneading would break the fibers that form when halvah is worked by hand, and the distinctive texture and flavor would be lost. His position is straightforward: there is a limit to how much a business can grow while still protecting quality, and he is not willing to cross it.

In 2008, the workshop won a quality award from Gastronomos magazine, which Gavrilidis described as the greatest recognition he had ever received. He credits loyal customers across Greece for keeping the business alive over the decades. The workshop and retail outlet are located at Agiou Dimitriou 7-9 in Drapetsona, and the halvah is also sold at delicatessens and specialty food shops around the country.