12 minute read
Six Senses of Oaxaca, Mexico
Awarded one Michelin star, Pelagos restaurant at Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens features small fine dining masterpieces using fresh seasonal produce of the Mediterranean Sea.
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When Gastronomy Blossoms in Slovenia
From a remote corner of Slovenia, self-taught chef Ana Roš propelled her restaurant, Hiša Franko, to No. 34 on the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022. A brave new gastronomic world is dawning.
Text by DIMITRIS ANTONOPOULOS
Ana Roš is putting her country on the international map of flavor, overcoming male stereotypes. Left: A naturalistic attitude permeates her restaurant’s food styling.
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n the last five years, female chefs who have managed to exceed the confines of their kitchens to claim their place on the international gastronomy map find themselves in the epicenter of discussions around good food and the trends it generates. However, one of the most unique cases is – the almost unknown until 2016 – Ana Roš, who conquered with her restaurant in Kobarid, west Slovenia a spot among the 50 best restaurants in the world! In 2017, she was proclaimed World’s Best Female Chef by World’s 50 Best Restaurants while, in 2020, the World Tourism Organization pronounced her Ambassador for Gastronomy Tourism. It was not easy at all back in 1999, when this restaurant was taken over by Ana and her husband, Valter, an accredited sommelier and maître fromager. Ana, who used to be a ski champion, left behind a diplomatic career in Brussels to live with Valter. She eventually decided to take on the kitchen. She made one mistake after the other, but remained steadfast. She traveled, sampled the great restaurants of the world to advance her skills in flavor, and she made it. The big boom happened when, in May 2016, Netflix’s Chef Table released an episode about their restaurant’s story. One day, things were calm – and within an evening came a typhoon of ceaseless phone calls... Their website was suddenly hit with an avalanche of ten thousand visitors a day, until it collapsed. Once they had realized exactly what had happened, they regrouped – and today, Hiša Franko is recognized as one of the best restaurants in the world. I visited her space and was left speechless as I discovered a beautiful new world of gastronomy I could not have imagined inside an old two-story building, a small house in a beautiful prairie surrounded by wild, towering mountains – Hiša Franko (which means “House of Franko”). Beautifully bathed in daylight, its open-air seating has a modest elegance. There are pink flower prints on the white tablecloths and dinner napkins. The brick-red walls of the interior covers artwork by Slovenian painter Rudi Skocir. In her father-inlaw’s old eatery, which has grown into a fine dining restaurant, Ana creates a cuisine we have not seen before. It is mainly based on local products and ideas from Slovenian culinary tradition which, most of the time, walks completely unusual paths – where the sea breeze emerges from the juicy flesh of steamed mussels with fennel and from their broth that has been made into a jelly, unexpectedly paired with the almond-rich chlorophyll of roasted asparagus, and reaching its peak in the flavor of a bitter orange dense like saxophone notes; they are all crowned with an edible silver leaf – a decoration decision indicative of quality and artistry. And how could you imagine that one can make cuttlefish lard able to mimic the delicatezza of the renowned lardo di Colonatta, served with a velvet sauce from its ink and pine nuts... it comes on a perfectly
Ifried bread – a memory of grandma’s baking – and accompanied with the vivid sharpness of young wild garlic.
Ana Roš with her team creates epicurean improvisations based on local ingredients, at the elegantly minimal Hiša Franko ((opposite page, far right).
tonight we improvise
All the above was nothing but the first dish in the indefatigable improvisations of a self-taught chef who manages to hit inner chords with some of her dishes. Here is one of the greatest: You break a crust of August hay that envelops a potato cooked inside it, and an elegant aroma of chamomile tickles your nose along with a different, earthy, imposing smell that, completely supernaturally, makes you imagine that you are one of the titular potato eaters in Van Gogh’s painting. Add next to it a small bowl of cool from the appetizing acidity of a ricotta that has been curdled twice, and then receive your ticket to hyperspace with a cream of smoked chocolate that completes this atavistic psychedelia in an incredibly familiar way. I could come to Hiša Frank for this dish only, but the chef is bored with repetition. “I do not keep my dishes on the menu all the time. I take them off,” she tells me. “Recipes are saved in books and photographs. A specialty is created in a specific moment and reflects your evolution at that time. I want there to be vivacity and renewal in the kitchen.” I already know that the chocolate in the previous dish became a tahini sauce on the next menu.
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the evolution of epicurean tradition
When I ask her what creativity is, she underscores this: “Creating an exhilarating dish starting with a mundane, maybe boring, ingredient. Very often, I see in my dreams the creation of new flavors and, once I wake up, I go to the kitchen and try them out. Also, when I go running, I think about new recipes and shout out ‘Eureka!’ It is impressive how out there in nature, its sounds, colors, smells stimulate the mind and make it create continuously.” Do you want more wonderful dishes like the previous one? It might sound completely odd, a croquette fried with clockwork precision, filled with a delectable cream of lamb brains, sour forest fruits and... chocolate, but I will confirm that it constitutes liquid gold, with fascinating flavor contrasts. Or even one of the most beautiful combinations of surf and turf I have tasted, in the form of dry aged mountain veal and wonderful sole fish along with a delicately garlicy pil-pil lotion – all accompanied for freshness by tomato water spheres, unripe green tomato and a foam from risotto of tomato and spicy habanero pepper. The dish that was named (r)Evolution of Kobariški Štruklji was a spectacular representation of the level of postmodernism in flavor which reigns supreme at Hiša Franko. They have adapted this traditional walnut-filled dessert from Kobarid, transforming it into a singular, ethereal dumpling (reminiscent of steamed Chinese masterpieces) that, filled with pork, apple and walnuts, gravitates between sweet and savory; next to it they had placed a completely expressionistic, original, sweet and savory and piquant crème brulee made with smoked pork, horseradish and sun-dried plums!
the lesson of sustainability
I ask the chef to describe her gastronomic style. “It is almost excessively connected to the soil and my country, and very personal. I would not call it feminine, because I know many male chefs who cook with a lot of sensitivity. I have always liked strong flavors, but I look for balance. I want my cuisine to tell a story, not by preimposing it on people but by letting flavor speak. The fact that we are confined to this little corner on Earth gives us great freedom at the same time.” With fashions and trends now proliferating at lightning speed on the globalized culinary scene, I asked her how she foresees the future of flavor. “Many chefs I appreciate around the world do deep research into their tradition. We cannot all be Scandinavian just because it is trendy... The motto is ‘ask your mother and your neighbors about traditional recipes.’ Today, we move ever-closer to personal expression, to progressing tradition, to local and seasonal raw ingredients and this is an answer to gastronomical homogenization, which is now a big problem. Many see chefs as rock stars, and we ought to make use of this immense prominence we have. In order to set an example and influence those who trust us, it is important to eat local and sustainable as much as possible in our daily life. To do everything we can not to destroy the planet. In fifteen years, we will have a huge hunger problem, so we should be very careful not to thoughtlessly waste food. For this reason, we should make the most of foraging in nature, of vegetable patches and gardens, and support small producers and farmers.”
Ana’s epicurean style is linked to the soil, and embodies the seasons with an almost Japanese sensibility. 193
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Athens has many faces, and Mappemonde Restaurant Bar & Lounge of the Athens Capital Hotel-MGallery can introduce you to the most fascinating ones.
Open-air Dining
Located on the 10th floor of Athens Capital HotelMGallery Collection, Mappemonde Restaurant, Bar & Lounge is the absolute all day destination in the heart of Athens.
Overlooking the magnificent panorama of the city, the recently renovated Mappemonde Restaurant Bar & Lounge is a leading all-day restaurant destination that takes guests to new delicious horizons. From the first moment of its operation, the restaurant excited the Athenian public with its gastronomic position, presenting the creative dishes of Executive Chef Dimitris Boutsalis, inspired by Mediterranean and international cuisine. The Mappemonde Restaurant Bar & Lounge terrace with the pool and the unrivaled view of the Acropolis and Lycabettus is also an ideal setting for pre or after dinner drinks, hosting a careful list of aromatic cocktails and premium drinks. The rooftop of Athens Capital Hotel-MGallery Collection and the Mappemonde Restaurant Bar & Lounge are a perfect solution for a breath of fresh air in the heart of Athens, both for summer dinners with wines, premium cocktails and sushi, as well as for lunch breaks for short lunches that will relieve you of the rhythms of everyday life. Mappemonde Restaurant Bar & Lounge Eleftheriou Venizelou 4 & Kriezotou 2, Syntagma Square, Athens Τel: 21 4444 2000 achotel.gr
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A Sea of Flavors
Awarded one Michelin star, Pelagos Restaurant draws inspiration from the Mediterranean Sea.
Luca Piscazzi is the Head chef of Pelagos restaurant awarded with one Michelin star. At the restaurant of the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens, Chef Luca Piscazzi disrupts seafood cuisine with a menu that is exhilarating: Inventive appetizers accompany fish in unexpected combinations, while baby lamb and Wagyu beef complete the roster with a punch. Light, cool desserts conclude the flavorful experience, with an emphasis on fruit and flowers. Chef Piscazzi has an inherent culinary ethos which defies bells and whistles and opts instead to invest in making familiar dishes with instantly recognizable components that aim to highlight the rich flavors, aromas and textures of seasonal ingredients. Keeping a low profile but full of innovative ideas, and a lover of experimentation, he finds flavor to be the most important element of a dish. “I wanted to find a way to use pure mastiha from the island of Chios. So, I thought I could encrust a whole fish in mastiha, as part of the traditional process of dry aging,” notes Piscazzi. “We source most of our raw ingredients from local suppliers – mainly fish and seafood that has been sustainably fished, while we also make sure nothing goes to waste,” continues the chef. Visitors can select from the signature dishes the sardines (Lesvos) with black olive & lardo, cherry gazpacho, almond and eucalyptus or the Octopus Ink (Kalymnos) with carnaroli risotto, bergamot, octopus lardo or enjoy one of the two degustation menus. On the wine list, the shores of the Mediterranean are the order of the day, with highly sought after labels from Bolgheri to Burgundy, including unique Greek varieties and vineyards. Pelagos, (Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens) Apollonos 40, Vouliagmeni, Athens Tel: +302108901190 pelagosathens.com
Providing an overwhelming selection of food and drink options, guests at Beefbar Athens of the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens will be completely spoilt for choice.
The Taste of Excellence
Beefbar Athens is the ultimate summer destination, featuring original flavor combinations and unique signature cocktails.
Beefbar Athens welcomes summer and invites you to a world where fine dining takes on a new dimension, with delicious experiences full of contrasts and an ideal setting for pre or after dinner drinks. The lounge on the first floor of the restaurant is the perfect place for a drink, and Beefbar Athens invites drink aficionados to discover its renewed list of premium drinks and delicious cocktails. Peach Spritz with the irresistible combination of peach and bergamot, fragrant Apple Martini and Summer Mezcalita, a twist of the classic margarita with mezcal, promise to offer you immediately the summer vibes. The terrace of Beefbar Athens with the unbeatable view of the Saronic Gulf, is ideally combined with the comfortable sofas and the decoration of the space that draws inspiration from the natural elements of the area, and becomes the most idyllic place of this summer to enjoy signature cocktails and premium spirits. At Beefbar Athens, fine dining goes beyond the simple experience of good food and the renewed dinner menu proves it in the most direct way. A cosmopolitan journey of flavors, signed by chef Panagiotis Retzis, starring high quality meat and different cuts, will satisfy even the most demanding palates. Beefbar Athens all time classic dishes such as beef rib eye ham, signature carpaccio and tartare & tartine, meat KFC (Kobe beef tallow fried chicken), Quesadillas with Braised Wagyu and Calamari Crunch, just a few of the new additions to the dinner menu that promise to fascinate every guest. At the same time, the leaf menu is dedicated to those who want light, meatless options. Beefbar Athens (Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens) Apollonos 40, Vouliagmeni, Athens Tel: +302109670700 beefbar.com
