People have often said the Church of the Annunciation’s Greek Food and Pastry is unmatched anywhere around these parts.

People have also concurred that they’d love to have the secret recipes for such sumptuous servings as grilled marinated pork served on a skewer or the ingredients used for the gyro sandwiches and dolmades, a.k.a. grape leaves stuffed with rice.

People have also tried to obtain information that’s used to make caloric creations like baklava, diples, koulourakia and even rizoglio, the Greek version of your mother’s rice pudding topped with cinnamon.

While it’s true – and factual – that the Greek Orthodox parish’s recipes are indeed well-preserved, there’s another reason why the above named foods and pastries, as well as items like spanakopoita (spinach pie), pastitsio (layers of ground beef tipped with béchamel sauce) and tzatiki sauce taste the same year in and year out during any Annunciation food event.

There’s one key word – volunteers – that’s the reason behind the consistency of each and every food item like those that will be served during this weekend’s annual Greek Food Fair that will be held on Saturday and Sunday at 175 Oaklawn Ave. in Cranston.

Take last Wednesday night’s all-important baking session, held inside the Peter G. Mihailides Center’s state-of-the-art kitchen and dining area.

Upwards of two dozen proud parishioners -- a.k.a. Annunciation’s long-serving Baking Brigade -- got together to make fresh dough they rolled, shaped and cooked before Gus Proyous applied a secret better topping for the Greek cookie named Koulourakia and placed tray-after-tray in one of four huge ovens.

“Now all we need is a little Greek coffee,” one of the women, who sat at a long banquet table rolling and shaping the traditional coffee cookies for nearly four hours, mused. “Please let us know when the first batch comes out of the oven.”

Although each and very baking night, during which every piece of pastry is made from scratch using nothing less than the finest ingredients available, can often be tiring, dozens of women have logged countless hours to make sure Annunciation’s reputation for excellent Greek food and pastry is upheld.

“In many cases you have a mother-and-daughter team working these (basking) nights,” Georgia Pappas, who serves as President of the Ladies Philoptochos Society, offered. “It’s a time-honored tradition to follow in our mother’s footsteps.”

Pappas’ mother, Helen Mihaildies Pappas, for example, is the daughter of the late Rev. Peter G. Mihailides – who served as pastor of the Greek Orthodox Church in Providence and moved it to Cranston – remembers about those sometimes long but important baking nights.

“That’s what our food events were built on,” the elder Pappas, who recently celebrated her 96th birthday, went on. “The women of our parish have maintained a tradition of excellence for years.”

That’s yet another reason why Demetrakas Hall – that’s located inside Annunciation’s parish center – will be filled with people of all ages this weekend (May 6-7) to enjoy authentic Greek foods like roast lamb, gyros, souvlaki and pastries.

Admission is free and Saturday’s Greek Food Fair will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with Sunday’s schedule beginning at 11 a.m. and running until 6 p.m. There’s ample parking, and for further information please call (401) 942-4188.