Global Greek Gastronomy is Back!

I was so excited to see that some of my favorite restaurants in Greece have not only survived the pandemic but they’re thriving. One of those is Duck Private Cheffing, the passion of Ioanna Theodorakaki, who we profiled at the start of our Zelos journey (read more here). Ioanna’s location in the industrial zone of Thessaloniki turned to be a blessing in disguise, as she has quite a bit of room outside and could set up several tables when restaurants were allowed to open up again for outdoor dining. Her only issue? Finding enough people to come back to work! 

We had a delicious dinner - Ioanna has such a way with meat, whether it’s the flavorful ground beef in the classic moussaka that my husband had, or the tender rib-eye tagliata, and a divine roasted duck (of course!) that the others in our group enjoyed. That dinner at Duck also marked the first time our friends had been out in a group of six (the maximum number that Greek restaurants could seat at a table). It really felt like we were getting back to normal, enjoying this first teaser of a summer in Greece, with good food, good friends and the warm breeze on our faces. I truly hope this summer will bring a needed breath of support to Greece’s artisans - they run their businesses with such passion and zeal, they deserve to be rewarded!

If you have a favorite Greek restaurant that showcases the contemporary flavors of Greek gastronomy, whether in Greece or the US or anywhere else across the globe, let us know! I want our Global Greek Gastronomy series to help my fellow Americans experience the authentic richness that is Greek cooking and get to know about the multi-faceted people behind more contemporary takes on traditional flavors. 

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