Andreas DiacodimitrisCo founder Me ZenBorn in Athens at the

dawn of the 11th of December 1973 with origins from Odessa , Smyrna , the island of Kos and Polydroso of Epirus . He has studied Hotel Management and have been general manager of four and five stars Hotels for 17 years. In November of 2013 he decided to occupy himself with his favorite practice …

«The map of Greek Cuisine»

Father of gastronomy is considered to be the Syracousian poet and philosopher Archestratos. His work “ Sensuality “ or “Gastonomia” (mid 4th century b.c.) , in which he speaks of the most exquisite foods of his time , their places of origin and the best ways to prepare them , holds a top ranking position among gastronomy texts of the antiquity.

From Cyprus to Thrace Greece looks like a gastronomy park where the microclimate and sunlight has been creating excellent raw materials for four thousand years now .

The wealth of the Greek land in herbs , which rank among the best in the world , makes Greek cuisine particularly fragrant. With over 1200 kinds of indigenous herbs , fragrances , flavours and delight go hand in hand with health , and this is something that the Greek gastronomy has been supporting from Hippocrates time to our days.

The Greeks have made olive oil an integral part of their nutrition. Philosophers have extensively studied the history of olive oil. Aristotle described the cultivation of the olive tree , Solon legislated for its protection and Plato taught in its shade. The Goddess Athena offered humanity an olive tree as a symbol of peace , wisdom and prosperity. For over 4000 years Greek olive groves produce the most distinctive ingredient of Greek nutrition. Extra virgin oil.

In Ancient Greece milk was considered to be holy food while according to Greek Mythology the craft of cheese making was given as a present to commoners by the Gods of Olympus . According to figures and statistics cheeses are the “heavy artillery” of the Greek nutritional culture. Cheese consumption per capita in Greece reaches 27 kilograms / a year ranking Greece together with France first internationally in cheese consumption. Over 1300 cheese – dairies throughout the country continue a tradition going back to Polyfimos times. Different varieties and methods of cheese making from “kopanisti” of Mykonos to “Arsenico” of Naxos , the “Gravyere” of Crete to “geremezi “of Paramythia and the winecheese of Kos to “Volaki “of Tinos , all these varieties create the unique pallete of the flavours of Greek cheese making.

The routes of wine and distillation… Over 600 (six hundred) wine

factories and 300 (three hundred) distilleries constitute a thick network of pathways of wine and distillation that expand throughout the country . Every stop is a unique gastronomic experience. With over a hundred indigenous varieties of grapes the Greek vineyard presents a uniqueness that is hard to encounter anywhere else.

The mountain wild greens , the unrivalled deli meats , the exquisite salted fish and sea catches of the Greek seas are some of the treasures of Greek gastronomy .

New Greek Cuisine The modern Greek

gastronomic identity began to form in 1922 the influx of refugees from Asia Minor , Pontus and Eastern Romylia , in connection with the incorporation of Thessaly , Macedonia , Western Thrace and the Aegean islands into the newly established Greek state brought flavours and products of the Byzantine cuisine onto the Greek table.

The emperial cuisine brought about “the Meze” , a word borrowed from Persia meaning “taste”. The taste that the first tsipouro – makers from Asia Minor sought to give to small quantities of food to accompany the drink with. The love of the Greeks for “meze” goes back to the ancient Greek “Symposium” – banquets where the so called ‘propomata” which were seafood delicasies were consumed.

The late Albert Arrouh , well known as Epicure , had prophetically said:

“When the Cooks of New Greek Cuisine walk out in the scrubs , on the top of hills , on the mountain ridges and the seas , when they discover small and unconventional producers with whom to cultivate their materials and supplies , when they will indulge in the local cultures of nutrition to see far and wide, beyond their own memories , what people used to eat before the advent of the tomato and potato , then they will manage to give us a trully New Greek Cuisine .”

 A characteristic example of the revolutionary New Greek Cuisine is the gastronomic company “Me Zen”

A group of people of

gastronomy who roam the country , collaborate with small producers , cultivate , discover and reveal everyday on their dishes the impressive multiformity of Greek cuisine in the way it is imprinted in the regional cooking of the country.

 

And as Odyses Elytis said: “If you disintegrate Greece you’ll see in the end you are left with an olive tree , a vineyard and a boat. Which means this is what you need to make it again…”