Since opening its doors in 2013, Alpha Restaurant, owned and operated as part of the Hellenic Club in Sydney’s CBD, has carried the flame for innovative Greek cuisine and culture as a whole.
For foodies currently taking part in the Lenten fast, eating out can be a challenge, requiring menu changes and substitutions. Rising to the occasion and embracing the Orthodox Christian tradition, Alpha is taking the guess work out of the process by offering a special Lenten menu for the entire 40 days.
Put together using fresh local produce by executive chef Peter Conistis, known as a pioneer of modern Greek cuisine, it’s no surprise that even the most carnivorous of diners are even umming and ahhing between the restaurant’s usual offerings.
While fasting, the diet lies somewhere between vegetarian and vegan, removing all poultry, pork, game, fish, dairy, eggs, and butter. Permitted are seafood varieties without blood such as octopus and squid, along with legumes, vegetables, fruit, bread, rice, pasta, cereals, olive oil, and honey.
Adhering to these parameters, Conistis has shown the endless possibilities that can be created with a heavily vegetable-based menu featuring a hint of shellfish, and includes favourites such as Clarence River Calamari with smoked eggplant, sweetcorn and borlotti bean salad, along with new additions such as a cauliflower salad with grains, greens, almond and pomegranate.
In many families it is tradition to end the fast with a grand feast following the Easter Saturday Anastasi, but this year Alpha has decided it’s their turn to host, giving diners the chance to sit back, relax and enjoy the occasion without all the fuss.
To mark the Anastasi of Christ, the last dish of the Lenten menu will be served on Saturday 7 April, and will come to an end with a lavish supper between 12.30 am and 3.00 am on Saturday night. Known for his creative and refined approach to Greek food, Conistis will serve up a feast that respects all the traditions, just like the one you’re accustomed to enjoying at home, but better. Taking place in the stunning Victorian building, tables will be set up with all the trimmings, including red dyed eggs, and a delicious spit-roasted suckling lamb as the main event.
“It’s important to preserve, share and celebrate Greek traditions, especially with our youth,” Hellenic Club CEO Arthur Balayannis, who joined the club in 2010, told Neos Kosmos.
“The vision for Alpha Restaurant wasn’t a matter of developing a brand new club but rather about connecting with new people, to attract new membership, and to reinstate the Hellenic Club of Sydney as a beacon to promote, foster and celebrate Greek culture and tradition in Australia. Offering a Lenten menu and holding a Pascha supper is an opportunity for us to bring the community together.”
Taking their hospitality to the next level, and in the spirit of both the holiday and the filotimo for which Greeks are renowned, Alpha will be donating all net proceeds from the Pascha supper to the soup kitchen in Newtown run by St Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church.
CELEBRATING THE CRETAN CUISINE
Aside from their offering for Easter, Conistis has also been working to put together an exclusive dinner. As part of a series of regional Greek events being celebrated at Alpha, on Tuesday 27 March the restaurant will pay homage to Crete and its famed cuisine.
“The dinner will celebrate Cretan cuisine and customs, highlighting produce and ingredients from the island, such as dittany and anthotyro. The four-course menu features dishes that epitomise the uniqueness of Cretan cuisine, like dakos and xerotigana. It’s going to be a fantastic night,” said Mr Balayannis, for whom the dinner is particularly special given his ties to the island, where his mother was born.
“For me, it brings back memories of family traditions, especially of my mother’s cooking,” he says.
“My mother is actually going to be visiting Sydney from Melbourne prior to the dinner, to pass on the traditional ways of making xerotigana to the team.”
Aside from the courses put together by Conistis, the dinner will also be a chance to expose diners to different varieties of wine from Greece, carefully selected to pair with each dish.
Alpha Restaurant is located at 238 Castlereagh St, Sydney, NSW. For further details, visit alpharestaurant.com.au or get social on Facebook @alpharestaurantsydney