The ‘Great Celebration’ of Greek flavors

What does a handbasket weaver from Lemnos person to bash with renowned cook Lefteris Lazarou? What does an world person to bash with a husbandman from Thrace, oregon a nutrient concern entrepreneur – who has created an empire of restaurants each implicit the world – with a navigator from Anafi. Apparently, nothing. In reality, however, everything is connected done the lens of their emotion for Greek food.

In this context, everyone and everything tin play an arsenic important role, from the idiosyncratic who maps olive varieties, to the cheesemaker who struggles to maestro the creation of aging and marque a truly fantabulous graviera cheese; from a grandma successful Paros who still remembers however her ain grandma used to marque fava beans, to a doc who, with her technological work, promotes the Greek dietary exemplary connected an planetary level; from a celebrated writer and intelligence to a souvlaki chef; from an award-winning cook who has worked successful the champion restaurants successful the world to a taverna proprietor successful a small upland village successful Arcadia; from a shaper who forges bronze objects each time long, to a winemaker.

A look from the large tradition of Athonite cuisine will beryllium presented connected stage by Athonite cook Father Georgios during the festival. [Michael Pappas]

Their communal denominator is their emotion for food, Greek gastronomy and its fantabulous products.

Gastronomos, Greece’s top culinary magazine, published by Kathimerini newspaper, has been searching for these passionate devotees of Greek cuisine each implicit the state since its archetypal issue. The journalistic missions did not stop during the economical situation oregon during the Covid-19 lockdown. Even then, the magazine’s journalists and photographers were issued special support to proceed to travel, helping to support the thread that connects Greek accumulation with our table.

In the scheduled wine tastings of the ‘Great Celebration,’ we will conscionable the main players successful the Greek vineyard. Among them, Giorgos Skouras, a pioneering winemaker, entrepreneur, and three-time president of the Greek Wine Association, will talk to us astir the ‘El Dorado’ of wine, arsenic helium calls the onshore of the Agiorgitiko variety – Nemea. [Dimitris Vlaikos]

In a fewer days, they will springiness us the accidental to conscionable some of those devotees astatine the archetypal Gastronomos taste festival, adjacent Saturday, October 4, astatine the Pireos 260 venue. With a affluent programme of parallel activities that includes speeches, wine tastings, cooking classes and presentations of traditional arts connected stage, the festival, titled “The Great Celebration,” aspires to present the magazine’s universe to a unrecorded audience. People, products, and stories that we person work successful the pages of the mag will take connected soma connected stage.

What does it mean to nutrient successful Greece? What is wrong with Greek olive oil? Why don’t we person aged restaurants successful Athens? Why are we chasing Michelin stars? How does overtourism alteration the quality of a destination? These are conscionable some of the questions that the guests will beryllium asked to answer. Among these guests are renowned nutrient writer Christos Zouraris, nutrition epidemiologist Antonia Trichopoulou, the two-Michelin-star cook and restaurateur Georgianna Hiliadaki, the president of the Ethnological Museum of Thrace, Angela Giannakidou, and galore others.

The craftsmen

However, Greek craftsmen will besides take to the stage – masters of clay, copper and basketry, each servants of an aged creation – to contiguous their work. The lights will dim and attendees will witness scenes and arts from an unknown Greece.

We will person the accidental to be Greek cooking classes from top chefs, such arsenic Lefteris Lazarou, Christoforos Peskias and Nena Ismyrnoglou

“For the traditional readers of the magazine, it will beryllium a unique accidental to conscionable radical they person work about, to try their food, to chat with them. For the remainder of the world, who whitethorn not travel the mag and its themes closely, the surprise will beryllium greater due to the fact that they bash not cognize us,” says Angelos Rentoulas, manager of Kathimerini’s Gastronomy Publications.

“We will person to win implicit this audience, present ourselves from the beginning, and present them to our world. For us, this is simply a large challenge. We would similar this festival to beryllium a transformative experience, with a strong constituent of joyousness and celebration, but besides with moments of emotion and upliftment. We imagined and designed it so that it carries galore of the elements of the individuality of Gastronomos – the emotion for Greek cuisine and our nutrient culture, the magic of traditions, the passionateness for discovering producers who person emotion and passionateness for the onshore and their products, the content that by scraping the surface of the municipality manner we will find caller layers of meaning. This is however Gastronomos is, and so will beryllium its festival,” helium explained.

“As for us, the editorial team of the magazine, it will beryllium a utile acquisition arsenic aft 19 years of work we will beryllium capable to travel look to look with the radical who work us and face their expectations.”

Resembling a neighborhood

In the outdoor area, an Athenian vicinity will travel to beingness with shops, restaurants and kiosks, which radical will beryllium capable to tour passim the festival, portion coffee, devour a traditional Cretan breakfast, person a bite, person a drink, oregon watch the team of nomadic chefs from Nomade et Sauvage – headed by laminitis and Chef Jordan Tseneklidis – navigator successful traditional ovens, arsenic they person done galore times for Gastronomos successful emblematic locations such arsenic the Evros Delta, Mount Olympus, Mount Pindos, the Prespes Lakes and elsewhere. At the aforesaid time, we will person the accidental to be Greek cooking classes from top chefs, such arsenic Lefteris Lazarou, Christoforos Peskias, Nena Ismyrnoglou, arsenic well arsenic from the Athonite cook Father Georgios.

The past of the coppersmiths Michalis and Dimitris Kountouras dates backmost to 1850 and Ottoman Kozani. Using hammers and anvils, they manufacture cooking utensils, distillation stills and works of creation of admirable perfection. Together with Dimitris’ son, Markos, they will contiguous their creation connected stage. [Thanasis Vranos]

The courtyard will besides big 8 fantabulous restaurants from each implicit Greece which will service their specialties, such arsenic Skotadis’ taramosalata from Aegina, Margarita’s saffron food pies from Anafi, the tsigariasto of the Cretan edifice Peskesi, the makalo (Macedonian gravy) meatballs of Kontosoros from Florina, the wild boar of the Arcadian taverna Zerzova, Antonia Zarpa’s food bites from the Thalassaki edifice connected Tinos, the goat spaghetti of Araklia, etc.

The Quality Awards

As portion of the archetypal festival of taste, Gastronomos and Kathimerini will besides clasp the 18th Quality Awards during the event. This is an yearly instauration that honors prime nutrient producers, processors, traders, scientists and radical successful wide who beforehand Greek cuisine with their work. This is the archetypal clip that this lawsuit will beryllium unfastened to the wide public, a unique accidental for those who want to beryllium the archetypal to cognize which producers and businesses the magazine’s editorial team has singled retired this year.

An municipality feast

Immediately aft the awards ceremony, the expansive solemnisation will proceed and culminate successful a culinary lawsuit with elements of an municipality feast and galore tasty surprises. Some of the top Greek chefs will beryllium present, cooking a bid of exquisite mezedes for the festival audience. The euphony will get louder, the nutrient treats will alteration hands, and the chefs will vie successful Greek cuisine, claiming the prize of the astir delicious bite. This will beryllium a gathering of giants, a expansive solemnisation for Greek gastronomy.

For tickets to the event, click here.

The festival logo.