SHE dabbled in wine as a hobby. But investment banking paid the rent and sent Mahi Georgakopoulou around the world. Now, the effusive Greek is too busy waving her country's flag and teaching people that there's more to Greek wine than retsina.
She not only expanded her wine business, she added a lively dimension: authentic food made by her niece.
''Mahi and I were always close,'' explains the newly-arrived and settled Yiota Vassilakopoulou. ''But moving in and working with her is really coming full-circle.'' When she accepted her aunt's invitation to come for Christmas, she never envisioned it would turn into a job of culinary consultant. Goodbye to working in the family pharmacy in Patras. In Hong Kong she puts her cooking experience - years of making Sunday dinner for 30 fussy Greek relatives - to work.
Yiota and Mahi organise restaurant promotions by teaching the chefs recipes and the staff, about wine. The dancing and plate-smashing come after graduation.
For their current promotion at Mecca, Ms Vassilakopoulou taught head chef Andy Lisseman some family favourites, such as gemista (tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and peppers, stuffed with lamb and rice); imam, a salad of eggplant and tomato; stuffed cabbage rolls with lemon and karidopitta (a coarse-textured cinnamon cake, flavoured with brandy).
Their Greek food and wine promotion at Mecca restaurant in Lan Kwai Fong, Central, runs until mid-June. REMEMBER The Platters' golden oldie, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes? Well, that kind of smoke is great.
What isn't is the clouds of cigarette smoke in restaurants. To help non-smokers make easier choices in where to eat, there's a handy guide, PASS (People Acting for a Smokeless Society Ltd) has just published.