Bedford Park Chef Has a Way with Words By Jon Minners
"The young people I’m involved with do listen," he said. Katehis, a native of Greece, is not only blessed with listeners but with readers. The 17-year Bedford Park resident is an accomplished writer and poet. In addition to his freelance work for Greek magazines and newspapers, Katehis published a book of poetry in 1994, appropriately titled "Nights of Sorrow on Jerome Avenue." "It gets my mind out of the restaurant business," he says of his poetry. "It makes me feel good." But why are the poems so sad then? "When I write," Katehis explains, "I’m in a bad mood or upset. Pain, suffering Ð it makes for the best poetry." Pain and suffering are also a part of recent Greek history, Katehis says.
His niece, Katerina Aronis, provided the sketches that begin each chapter. And the prologue was written by George Tsoukas, his teacher in Greece. "He’s a guy you can get inspirations from," Katehis says. He also has a book that will be published in Greece and his first all-English book of poetry, "Sadness in the Dark," will be published in the United States soon. "I was afraid of doing something in English," he says. As Katehis looks back on his life, he says has no regrets. "I’m very happy with my life," he says. "I did what I wanted to do." He also say he enjoys being a chef, and that people regularly commend him on his cooking skills. "You have to like to do something like that," Katehis says. "Liking it makes it come out very nice and I keep doing it." The same can be said of his poetry.
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When a high school student walked into the Bedford Park Café and Restaurant with
no money for food, the chef and manager, Kostas Katehis, fed her anyway. He talked with
the teenager and encouraged her to stay in school. The next day, he says, the student came
into the restaurant to let him know she went to school all day and planned on doing so
from now on.