I think I have found my mission in life at last: to disperse the notion that there are no world standard restaurants in Greece. So, let me run through some of my findings and experiences while living there, and share with you what has happened in Greek culinary trends over the last ten or so years. One of my favourite places in Greece was, and is, the seaside town of Galaxidi, in close proximity to Delphi and Arahova.
In the ’80s and ’90s I would often go there as Delphi is my favourite archaeological site and Galaxidi is my favourite provincial town, the ministry of environment protects it and it is a jewel of the Greek landscape. During my many visits there I noticed a visibly young population, that the tavernas were the only ones in Greece where food was not made for the tourist and the only place I could get spoon-sweet gluko tou koutaliou. I discovered the reason for the young population was the culinary school there and that the menus had to be kept authentic to go side-by-side with the protected traditional town.
The revolution in Greek culinary habits had begun. These days most of the people I speak to in the food industry in Greece are well-trained Greek chefs working in the food industry, and there is nothing I can’t get from them. What never ceases to amaze me is how forthcoming they are with their food information and how willing they are to help. Even simple translations, words I can’t decipher in recipes, they are at the end of an email there to help. I asked one of my ‘informants’ why so quick to give away so much when, in other places, recipes are guarded for dear life. His reply: “I love to share my knowledge about Greek food but it also helps to spread the word as to how diverse Greek food is”.
The youth in the food industry are very proud of their heritage but at the same time are more open to new and interesting influences from other cuisines. They take recipes and make them Greek by adding elements that are quintessentially Hellenic. They dig deep into their traditions, pull out all the old recipes that were lost and serve them alongside the various new and creative dishes now being created.
The current renaissance in eating is tied to tourism known as ‘Agro Tourism’, which promotes home grown products and the Greek culinary culture. This change in attitude is not isolated to food, but also the environment and the protection of animals. Charitable organisations have sprung up and rich people are actually pulling their weight and setting up these foundations. Greek food was always good; now it is spectacular.
Products that were once considered ‘poor man’s food’ like trahana, pliguri, hilopites, are now at the forefront, as is the old paximadi, which comes in many forms- my favourite being dakos made in Crete, something I always have in my pantry. At the Michelin star restaurant Hytra, they serve a dish called ‘The Frumenty’. This is trahana served with a gnocchi made of mizithri and chicken skin, an example of taking very traditional peasant fare and recreating it into a Michelin Star dish. One of the reasons Greece wasn’t recognised as a gourmet food mecca was due to the unprofessional way that food was served up in restaurants, but these days, Greece has come along way. In Psiri there is a two-star Michelin Guide restaurant Hytra.
Chef Nikos Karathanos – a youthful man with the coveted Michelin Star under his belt – serves up food such as traditional moussaka presented in a way that is worlds apart from what you once might have expected. He works by the ethos of using raw materials and elevating Greek dishes with a creative edge. In summer, he closes the Psiri premises and opens it up by the seaside to serve up food that has that definite Greek identity.
Similar to what is occurring with Agro Tourism, Chef Karathanos composes a weekly menu based mostly on the quality and uniqueness of local products instead of sophisticated techniques. Vegetables from endemic seeds, wild plants and herbs gathered from the mountains of Greece, legumes, local cheese varieties, meat from free pasture animals and tens of other local goods – most of which are collected or produced exclusively for Hytra – are the base for simple dishes, that underline the uniqueness of the raw materials and bring back memories of traditional tastes, supporting at the same time products of Greek origin. But you don’t need to go to a Michelin Star restaurant, even tavernas these days serve food in ways that was unheard of a few years ago.
Great care is taken in the way these tavernas are decorated. Then there are the eateries that serve regional food. I ate in a taverna in Halandri that served food that was from Chios, the food was a spectacular example of regional cuisine: pilaf with kalamarakia and raisins What a combination! We know the Cretan cuisine, its produce has taken over Europe as the whole of Crete is organic and organic food in Greece is within the reach of everyone, unlike here where you need to mortgage your house to eat organic.
Advice, never eat in Plaka. Overpriced and over rated, the food is the worst in Greece. If you venture north, or you are from the north, Thessaloniki has, in my mind, the best eateries in Greece – and maybe one of the best in Europe. No Michelin stars, but any door you go through the food is fresh, local, traditional and loved. The Northern Greeks, and the Cretans, have the best food in Greece, and they know it, are very proud of it and don’t need any stars or hats to prove it.
For more information on Hytra, visit hytra.gr