Notable South Australian family-owned business, Foodland Pasadena, voted International Retailer of the Year in the 2017 IGA Global Awards raised the bar last week when it hosted a ‘Blue Zone Experience’ event to celebrate the island of Ikaria and its owner Nick Chapley’s Ikarian heritage.
“It was a truly delightful and unforgettable evening, surrounded by Greek culture, live music and cuisine that we shared with our family and community,” Nick’s granddaughter, Marie Vavaroutsos told Neos Kosmos.
Five delicious courses that reflected the traditional Mediterranean diet consumed in Ikaria, an island recognised globally for its high life expectancy, were served and shared on communal tables that further enhanced a strong sense of community and created a vibrant social atmosphere amongst the evening’s 186 patrons.
The feasting commenced with a first course of white sardines, Nick’s pickled octopus, Kalamata olives and dolmades served with stone oven dry bread.
The second course was beef and pork Greek meatballs (keftedes) served with cucumber and mint yoghurt sauce (tzatziki), followed by a third course of slow-braised saltbush lamb served with risoni, roasted tomatoes and rosemary.
Guests were also served a variety of traditional Ikarian dishes such as soufiko served with braised vegetables and fresh herbs on a bed of mouth-watering spinach rice.
The dinner concluded with a selection of traditional Greek desserts, including loukoumades and baklava which the guests seemed to thoroughly enjoy.
“Our chefs created a variety of Ikarian dishes filled with the freshest and finest ingredients from the world’s biggest pantry, right here in store, and when dinner concluded, our guests, including my pappou, took to the dance floor making this one of the most amazing nights we have ever witnessed at Foodland Pasadena, said Marie.
“We would like to thank everyone who joined us last week and promise to have more ‘Blue Zone Experience’ evenings in the future.”