ATHENS
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Weekly supplement by Insider Publications • www.insider-publications.com • No 1 • Friday, March 14, 2014 TURKISH FESTIVAL
AMBASSADORS IN CONCERT
FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL
A gastronomic festival with flavours from the Bosphorous, an art exhibition by Dervim Erbil and traditional music from Ederne until March 16 at the Astir Palace Complex. www.astirpalaceresort.com
Ambassadors and diplomats perform music at the Parnassos Concert Hall on March 14 to show solidarity for the SOS children’s village in Greece. For tickets call: 210.331.3661 or email: sosathens@sos-villages.gr
The 15th edition of the French Film Festival kicks off on 19 March with the screening of YSL, based on the celebrated designer’s life. The festival runs until April 2. www.ifa.gr
INTERVIEW: ETTORE BOTRINI
TV THIS WEEK
The Chef with the golden hat
GIRLS on Fox Life
being a successful TV host, Botrini is arguably one of Greece’s most talented chefs and on March 10, his restaurant Etrusco in Corfu, was voted the best restaurant in Greece, with two of his other restaurants, Bo Botrini’s in Halandri and Rodi at the Belle Vue Hotel in Rhodes being in the top ten.
T
V audiences in Greece have long been familiar with Ettore Botrini’s loud performances in Efialtis stin Kouzina (the Greek version of the TV show, Kitchen Nightmare) trying to set standards in unruly kitchens along Greece’s hinterland, his appetite for Lay’s potato chips and his legendary ‘un-cheflike’ baseball cap. But beyond the glamour and glory of
What is the secret to your creations? I just try to capture the essence of a Corfiot garden, redefine traditional flavours and transform them into delicious visual compositions. How has your native Corfu influenced your culinary style? Mixing and morphing the many cosmopolitan influences I’ve had onto the plate, from Greece, Italy, Germany, Spain and Morocco is what my cooking is about. My Corfiot fritto misto-
fried fish served on a bed of Moroccan sauce with feta cheese snow is a direct inspiration from the Corfiot markets, where, as a child, I used to buy fried fish in paper wraps from old ladies with my father. My Greek-Italian roots and my childhood memories have directly inspired my menu which features the basics of both cuisines. And the greatest challenge for a chef? My restaurants try to offer refined gastronomy to a wider audience by creating an innovative menu at very reasonable prices. But as a demanding chef used to top-of-the-line ingredients, it is a daily challenge to match gourmet standards to a set price range.
CELEBRATION A LA FRANCAISE Golden Hall and the French-Greek Chamber of Commerce organize Vive La France, a celebration of all things French, from 14 March to 2 April. As part of the event, The Basil and Elize Goulandris Foundation display works of arts by French masters including those of Rodin, Braque and Matisse while the French Archaeological School display copies of objects excavated by the school from Delphi and other sites. It is also the occasion for Greece’s only French magazine, Bonjour Athènes to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
EVENTS THIS WEEK
1 Exhibition
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WATERCOLOURS Christos Raftopoulos’ ‘Watercolours’ are on display at the newly opened Morgan Arts Space in Plateia Karitsi until April 12.
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Music
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BIBI TANGA & THE SELENITES Soul-funk, afrobeat, hip-hop and French urban music at Gazarte as part of the Francophonie Week organized by the French Institute on Saturday, 15 March at 10 pm. www.gazarte.gr
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Photography
Community SPORTS RELIEF MILE Join in a fun-run organized by the British Embassy and support Schedia, Greece’s street paper. Meeting point at Archimidous 16 at 10 am on Sunday, March 16. For info, call: 210.727.2650 ST. PATRICK’S DAY BALL The Greek-Irish society celebrates St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday, March 15 with a gala ball at the Grande Bretagne. For reservations, call: 210.983.0505 or visit: www.greekirishsociety.gr RUN FOR PEACE: ACROPOLIS TO BABYLON The Iraqi Embassy organizes a 5 km run around the Acropolis to raise awareness on peace. For registrations: runforpeace.info
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MELINA MERCOURI STREET The Benaki Museum celebrates the life and times of Melina Mercouri on the occasion of her 20th death anniversary with a photo exhibition on the actress’ life. www.benaki.gr WILLY RONIS The Athens House of Photography presents the work of the great French photographer Willy Ronis, amongst the most important French photographers of the 20th century, until March 30. www.phototheatron.com
FAVE FIVE by Cordelia Madden-Kanellopoulou
Fast or feast! with a mouth-watering array of sauces and salad, while a slice of aubergine lurks within for a surprisingly meaty treat! €2.50 small, €3.50 large, from Falafellas, Aiolou 51.
Who says fasting must be a penance? Traditionally, from Clean Monday throughout Lent, believers eschew all animal products and embrace a diet of pulses, vegetables, grains and, for those finding it all too vegan for comfort, some seafood. But if you’re thinking this is necessarily a lean, joyless period of the foods you were force-fed as a child, a munch through some of the following will bring your taste buds back to life with a zing. What’s more, they’re available year-round so, should you feel inclined, you can ‘fast’ not just 40 but 365 days a year! 1) Cafe Boheme’s ‘Nistisimi’ (Fasting) Pizza: Never has being virtuous tasted so sinful! This thin-crust pizza is spread so lavishly with olive tapenade and indulgently piled with peppers, onion and mushrooms that you may not even notice the absence of cheese. The crust is low-gluten too, so your digestive system will thank you the morning after! €7 at Cafe Boheme, Omirou 36, Kolonaki. 2) Falafella’s Falafels: Join the queue at this uber-popular takeaway, and when you finally get to the front, ask for your falafel ‘nistisima’ (i.e. without accompanying yoghurt). Wrapped in a pita, these crunchy chickpea patties are dressed
3) Avocado Athens’s ‘Gratitude’ Salad: The ultimate pick-me-up–tuck into one of these for lunch, and you’ll be buzzing with pure energy all afternoon! It’s built around protein-rich quinoa, with creamy chunks of avocado, antioxidantpacked walnuts, and topped with mint, coriander, and lemon dressing. €8 at Avocado Athens, Nikis 30, Syntagma. 4) Emi’s Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies: Seeing you scoffing biscuits with your mid-morning coffee, your colleagues may start to doubt your commitment to Lenten fasting. But, misleading as they might look (and taste), these delicious cookies do indeed abide by the rules (if not necessarily the spirit!) of the 40-day fast. A word of caution: you’ll need an iron will not to consume the entire bag at one sitting. €4 for a 10-cookie bag, from Emi’s Cupcakes, Karneadou 7, Kolonaki. 5) Fysis ‘Potiri Nistisimo’: If you like chocolate, you’ll love this smooth confection by Fysis organic patisserie. Whipped up without any eggs or dairy products, it also contains no sugar, while the crumble is made from gluten-free, heart-healthy nuts! €2.70 from Fysis, Mesogeion 450, Agia Paraskevi.
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Insider Publications • Tel./Fax: 210.729.8634 • Email: info@insider-magazine.gr • Website: www.insider-publications.com
©HBO
This award-winning series by Lena Dunham and comedy veterans Judd Apatow and Jenni Konner, focuses on a group of 20-something women in New York. Premieres on Saturday 15/3 @ 23.00
DA VINCI’S DEMONS 2 on Fox ©NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNELS
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey When the original 13-part Cosmos: A Personal Voyage first aired in 1980 on PBS hosted by Carl Sagan, it was one of the highest rated programmes on TV watched by over 400 million people in 60 countries. Following Sagan’s death in 1996, his widow Ann Druyan, co-creator of the original Cosmos series along with Steven Soter, Seth MacFarlane and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, sought to create a new version of the series. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, a follow-up to the legendary original series, brings to life never-before-told stories and transports viewers across the universe for a vision of the cosmos on the grandest – and the smallest – scale. The series is set to premiere in a global simulcast across the FOX International Channels network and will air simultaneously in Greece across National Geographic Channel, FOX and FOX Life on March 16 at 21:00. The rest of the series will air on National Geographic Channel every Sunday at 21:00.
LEISURE
Lord of the rink Just watched the Winter Olympics and you’d like to don your blades of glory and give ice-skating a whirl? A few pointers are all you need to hone your gliding skills. According to Onice.gr CEO Christos Marakis, whose company installs high-end mobile ice rinks all over Greece, “The greater goal is to develop a fondness for this international sport.” Most ice installations stay open until spring, so give it a shot while you can. Where can you skate? • At Star City on Syngrou Ave; at Glyfada’s Swimming Complex; at Flisvos Marina, Paleo Faliro; in Goudi at Badminton Theatre; at Athens Heart, 186 Pireos St; in Patra at Psila Alonia Square; in Volos at Riga Feraiou; in Irakleio Crete at Eleftherias Square; in Thessaloniki at HELEXPO’s YMCA Square. • For more information visit www.onice.gr
©2014 TONTO FILMS & TELEVISION LIMITED
Da Vinci’s Demons presents a fictional account of Leonardo da Vinci’s life. In season 2, da Vinci continues on his quest to find the fabled Book of Leaves and uncover the secret history of his mother. Premieres on Sunday 23/3 @ 23.30. Right after the US
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 2 on Fox Cat Chandler is a homicide detective haunted by her tragic past. With her partner Tess, she discovers fingerprints that lead to a doctor named Vincent Keller, who becomes a terrifying beast when enraged! Every Sunday @ 22.20
CINEMA THIS WEEK A TOUCH OF SIN
Jia Zhangke’s blistering fictionalized tale, A Touch Of Sin tracks four citizens of modern China as they creep across the country. A must-see!
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN Felicity Jones is mesmerising as a young actress whose affair with Charles Dickens is told in flashback in Ralph Fiennes’s adaptation of Claire Tomalin’s book.
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