The history of the Maxim patisserie begins in Istanbul. Costas Antoniadis and his sister Anastasia Doriza, owners of the Maxim patisserie were born and raised in Galata, Istanbul. Like all Greek children of that time, they went to the school of Galata, which now functions as a museum. After school, they worked for some years in their father's business, which was an importer of chemicals. Until then, neither of them had imagined how the situation would develop in the coming years. In 1979 Anastasia and her family come to stay in Athens and having basic knowledge from her mother from confectionery and cooking she starts working on the new art for her, for three years. As it is known, the Citizens are lovers of good food and of course sweets! A year later, Kostas comes to Greece and not having a good financial situation, he stays with his wife and child in his sister, until he can stand on his own two feet financially. All together, Anastasia with her husband Giannis and Costas with his wife Despina make the decision to set up the Maxim business. The work was hard, with no breaks, holidays and weekends. All day there to get the result exactly as they wanted! A few months later, Costas manages to rent a small apartment in Nea Smyrni, where the patisserie is located. The first recipes were traditional cheese pies with feta cheese, chalkadakia (round Politika oil cookies), the fragrant chewy bun, and of course the syrups. Baklava with Aegina pistachio and aroma of fresh butter, kadaifi with crispy leaf and freshly ground walnut. Traditional baked quince with cinnamon and cloves that goes surprisingly well with cream. Recipes that have not changed until today keeping the tradition and customs of the Greeks from the city. As Maxim began to rise sharply, Costas, having known Harry Lena, a great Greek confectioner from Istanbul, since 1965, contacted him to learn more recipes and secrets of confectionery. Haris Lenas was the first person to bring ice cream, espresso and cappuccino to Turkey in 1943. With many common interests they start and travel together in confectionery fairs around the world. Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Bahrain…. evolving the art of confectionery but also their friendship. Thus, learning new techniques for Greece at that time, Maxim, slowly began to become known with specialties, mainly political sweets and not only. The library in Kostas's house is filled with books and his mind with new ideas and his art to become a passion!
