Could a family dinner – and even an Easter one – in a hotel possibly replace the homely atmosphere of the holidays?
Special festive hotel menus are a modern tradition, especially during the Christmas season, attracting those who want to treat themselves on such a special occasion. Now the Easter table also seems to have become one of those occasions.
In a country like Greece, it is the vernal sun, the countryside, country houses, home barbecues and family gatherings that traditionally set the scene for this very special day.
At the same time, there are hotel offers that come to make the experience even more carefree this Easter, which is special in the sense that it brings us all together again at one table after a long time.
But what does one gain if one chooses to celebrate Easter in a hotel?
-It saves you the necessary shopping and the endless preparations for the Easter Sunday table.
-You are rested and ready to enjoy the hospitality of those who know how to offer it.
-The food will surely be delicious, made by professional hands and ready on time.
-When the feast is over, you will return home and everything will be in place.
-From parents, to young couples and of course children – young and old – everyone will find ways to have fun, as there are activities that suit them (playgrounds, music, dancing, etc.).
-In an environment where everyone is happy, you are almost certain to have a fantastic time. Shared joy is always greater.
-The whole setting is designed to give you the feeling of being in the countryside without ever having to leave the city.
All in all, it is a very special experience, which will leave you with a unique memory among all the home-made ones, either in the city or in the countryside.
In this context, we spoke with award-winning chef Apostolos Altanis, executive chef of Ambrosia, Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki Hotel and Alfredo’s of Casino Regency Thessaloniki – an inspiring chef who revamps the Greek culinary tradition with new techniques, presenting dishes we may already know, but can’t imagine how they could be taken to the next level.
What have you planned for the Easter menu at the Ambrosia restaurant of the Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki?
On the evening of Holy Saturday and at noon on Easter Sunday, a buffet with many choices will be served at Amvrosia. Thus, on Saturday evening, in addition to a wide variety of appetizers and salads, there will of course be the traditional Greek Easter soup, mayiritsa, as well as a vegetarian version of it with mushrooms. Also, there will be various main dishes such as roast kokoretsi (lamb offal wrapped in lamb intestines) and roast lamb with rosemary. Of course guests can top off their meal with one of our desserts.
Similarly, at Easter lunch, lambs will be spit roasted and the buffet will be full of even more appetizers and salads, as well as more main courses, such as goat on a spit, tzigerosarmades (lamb entrails with rice wrapped in lamb or goat caul fat) with yoghurt and traditional gamopilafo (Cretan wedding pilaf). Of course, in addition to all the desserts and fresh fruit available, we should not forget the children’s buffet filled with lollipops, Easter cookies and many more delicacies for your little ones!
And what have you planned for the festive menus of the Regency Casino Thessaloniki restaurants?
This year Regency Casino’s festive meals will take place on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday at La Terrasse restaurant. Here, too, we are setting up a large buffet that I am sure will satisfy all our guests. So, apart from a wide variety of appetizers and salads, there will also be mayiritsa soup and the typical Easter main dishes such as spit roasted lamb with gravy, suckling pig with mustard, gardoumbakia (mini kokoretsi bites baked in the oven), kontosouvli (pork spit-roast), as well as many desserts for the sweetest closure to such a feast.
It goes without saying that there will be home-made tsoureki (traditional Greek Easter brioche, similar to Challah bread) and plenty of dyed Greek Easter eggs at both La Terrasse and Ambrosia restaurants.
How much these two places have influenced your perception and what is your influence on them?
I was there for both from the beginning. They were basically created by me, so they have my personal stamp on them. My choices and style are evident in every aspect of them, as is of course the case with any restaurant that begins and keeps running seamlessly under the same owner. Of course, all of this goes both ways, so my path and perception are inextricably linked to both places, since that’s where I spend most of my day.
Can Easter be an occasion for more creativity or is it strictly linked to tradition?
Easter is the greatest feast of Orthodoxy and is clearly intertwined with our traditions. But that does not mean that we are not given the opportunity to create something different every year. After all, this is one of the bets every cook has to win. To create an original result that does not deviate from the flavours we all know. In other words, to present some of the traditional dishes from their own point of view with an excellent result that fully satisfies the customers without alienating or distancing them from traditional flavours.
How much have festive meals defined the Greek food culture? What distinguishes the Easter table?
It is the festive tables that have essentially shaped our culture, and not just the culinary one. We all have memories that surely include images of decorated festive tables filled with traditional dishes and family and friends gathered around. As far as the Easter table is concerned, what distinguishes it is that basically in all regions of Greece, with the many variations and local names of course, the dishes are essentially the same, which is not the case for the other holidays. Thus, we see that flavours and traditions remain unchanged through time and are handed down from generation to generation in every place.
How can emotion be integrated into a dish or a menu?
Cooking itself is about emotion and inspiration. So the opposite would be strange. How would it be possible to come up with a delicious dish without putting emotion and imagination into it? In order to have a successful menu, we need to put in whatever emotion we want to actually receive from those who will taste it. So, it all starts with planning and then moves on to the preparation of each individual dish. Love and passion play a primary role in our work. It is no coincidence that even when we prepare the simplest dish for lunch, if we do it out of “obligation” the result will not be delicious.
There is a big debate worldwide about meat on the menu. How can a menu reduce its environmental footprint?
Our eating habits are constantly changing. So we see more and more often that many people are choosing to leave meat out of their diets. But we must also respect those who still consume it. However, I believe that a good way to reduce the environmental footprint of the menu is to use all the meat in question. We should manage it with the aim of zero food waste. In other words, proper use is a very important factor and something that I myself have been following for years.
*More specifically, at the Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki Hotel, at the Ambrosia restaurant, the Easter tables are set with a view of the impressive swimming pool. On Holy Saturday, a buffet is set up with Lenten dishes, traditional Easter soup and of course dyed red eggs. On Easter Sunday, lambs will be spit-roasted in the hotel’s pool area and the Grand Ballroom will host an Easter buffet with traditional dishes such as spit-roasted lamb, chicken, salads, cold and hot appetizers and a rich variety of desserts. The Easter dishes are ideally accompanied with wines from Ambrosia’s extensive wine list. On Easter Sunday, there will be live music from the best duo in town, Achilleas Sofoudis and Thanos Youletzis.
Reservation: Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki, tel: +30 2310 401234
