Selling an American Dream: Australia’s Greek Café

Guest talk about milkshakes & ice cream sodas

Effy Alexakis and Leonard Janiszewski, co-curators of the nationally touring exhibition, ‘Selling an American Dream: Australia’s Greek Café’. 
Photo by Effy Alexakis, from the ‘In Their Own Image: 

Greek-Australians’ National Project Archives, Macquarie University.

Would you believe that milkshakes were originally a health food? Their ingredients included fruit, cream, butter, eggs, chocolate, honey, caramel, malt, yeast – and rum – but no ice cream or artificial flavours were added.

Milkshakes were popularised through milk bars. And you might be surprised to learn that milk bars originated in Sydney in 1932 as the brainchild of a Greek known as Mick Adams (Joachim Tavlaridis) – not in the United States as many people believe.

When Adams’ milk bar, the Black and White 4d.Milk Bar, opened it attracted over 27,000 customers in the first week alone! Traffic had to be halted in the then non-pedestrian Martin Place.

Leonard Janiszewski and Effy Alexakis will reveal how Adams’ refreshment revolution quickly became an Australian – and international – food-catering icon in their guest talk:

Shakin’ the World over: The Greek – Australian Milk Bar

Sunday 24 August 2014, 2.30pm

Ages: All welcome

Cost: Free

Bookings essential: www.trybooking.com/FCHA

Hurstville Museum & Gallery

14 MacMahon Street, Hurstville