ALEX SAMOILIS | AMBASSADOR FOR GREEK GASTRONOMY® … IT IS SOMETHING BIG AND IMPERATIVE FOR GROWTH!

What is like being an official Ambassador for Greek Gastronomy® 2020? Are you ready to follow the global missions that encompass the ideas of sustainment and core values of the Ambassadors plan?  

It’s such an honor for me to be selected as an official Ambassador for Greek Gastronomy 2020 by GTBB. Through this official title and accreditation I will have the opportunity to show the world the Greek cuisine and culture, with authentic and delicious recipes and explain through my work and experts point of view, why Mediterranean and especially Greek cuisine has so many health benefits and it’s not just a recipe, but a way of living… As a part of this global network with so many chefs united around the globe aiming for the same thing, to show the Greek culture, i couldn’t be any prouder to be a Greek Chef and share my knowledge with my colleagues and the world. The team of certified Greek Taste Beyond® GTBB “ambassadors” and its business excellence models and frameworks, ratify these missions as of great significance.

What is your opinion about Greek Taste Beyond Borders® GTBB organization and how you envision this in the near future?

GTBB is a pioneer self-funded organization from Greece, with Mr.Philip Koutras as a President of the committee and founder, that certifies under very strict rules Chefs that promote the Greek gastronomy around the globe. Also, it certifies restaurants and products that have only the highest quality and are recognized as top brands and places. It is something big and imperative for the growth of Greek gastronomy across the globe!

GTBB organization in a few years will be a must for every Chef and restaurant that serves and has high quality Greek cuisine around the world and for high quality Greek products that are mandatory in an authentic Greek recipe. It will surely be flourishing in the next few years as it’s already strongly established.

How do you see the development of Greek gastronomy worldwide?

Greek gastronomy was always a must for the world. Everyone you ask around the globe knows at least 10 famous dishes from Greece. As Chefs are getting more educated and travelling more, Greek cuisine is blooming for the past 8 years and on. My view is that in the next 5 years we will establish to show a very big part of our traditional cuisine as well as new age recipes and presentations around the globe and educate  the consumers to our unique and healthy way of eating with pure ingredients and with the extra virgin olive oil starring in every dish.

Tell us about your great career and your restaurant in Saudi Arabia… 

My career started in Greece in some very well-known restaurants where I spend some time. Excited  to expand my knowledge even more I moved on to Europe to some famous restaurants such as The Fat Duck, The pollen Street Social and many more earning Michelin star experience and very good knowledge for ingredients. After that I decided to show my knowledge to the world and opened my business with Private Chefs that count today over 80 Chefs in Europe and Middle East. I 2019 I was offered the opportunity to be a part of the first Greek restaurant in Saudi Arabia Kingdom and from then we have showed people from all over the country and also from neighbor countries the original taste of Greece with authentic products that we import straight from Greece to offer the highest possible result and quality

Could you recommend our audience a recipe of yours?

This recipe brings back memories for me when I was very young. I had a neighbor that loved quale and he was growing them for his family to enjoy, so every second Sunday he would make a quale dish and as I was as a part of their family I was welcome to join. At the table there were some times snails that we use to gather from the farm in an extraordinary tangy sauce that would blow your tongue away… My recipe is a combination from these tastes with a more elegant presentation and a touch of French cuisine.

QUALE LOLLIPOPS WITH FREE RANGE SNAILS AND PUMKIN PUREE

METHOD 

1. Fot the snails.

In a pot add the water , rosemary , salt and brin to a boil. Add the snails and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from fire and strain. Cook the snails and remove the meat from inside . In a pan add the smoked pork ckeeks, butter and olive oil and saute till golden. Then add the shallots, garlic, parsley and saute for 1 minute. Add the snails and saute for another minute in low fire and remove. Zest a lemon,grind the pepper and put aside. When cooled down add the snails back in the shell and stuf it with the ingredients of our mixture.

2. For the quale lollipops.

Cut the tendons from the drumstick and pull back the meat from the bone. In a zip lock bag add the salt, butter , thyme and garlic and imerge in pre heated water bath at 56,6* C for 20 minutes. Remove from water and remove the quale from the bad and place in to kitchen paper to strain. When cooled down dip the quale in to the eggs, flour, eggs, flour, eggs, sesame and put aside. Tith your hands tru to form the dough in to small balls and then place in the fridge to allow the dough to set.

3. For the pumkin puree

Remove skin and seeds from the pumkin put in sous vide bags, add the butter and the rosemary and cook at 80*C for 40 minutes till soft. Remove from bags and put in the thermomix and blend with 60*C temperature for 10 minutes. Remove and add it i to squeezy bottles.

For the beetroot puree

Remove skin from the beetroot. Cut in to petals and add all the ingredients in a sous vide bag. Cook at 80*C from 45-50 minutes until soft. Add in to thermomix and blend with 60*C for 12-15 minutes until very smooth.

Fot the beetroot tuile

Whisk all ingredients together and in i medium-high pan add small quantities of the mixture till it forms the tuile. Remove and place it in to kitchen paper to take out the excess oil.

To assembly 

Add the snails in preheated oven 180*C for 5 minutes

Deep fry the quale for 1 minute till golden brown.

Make a spiral with the pumkin puree on the plate.

Place the lollipops and snails on the plate.

Make some dots with the beetroot puree and the pumpkin puree.

Last add the tuile and serve.