He left Greece 24 years ago, to study Fine Arts in London. He found himself eyeing the European cuisines, and very quickly realised that the culinary field was where he liked playing ball, on his own terms.

8

Vasilis Hamam is originally from Thessaloniki, has a Greek mother, a father who grew up in Jordan, a grandfather from Palestine and a grandmother from Lebanon. Today, he returns to his city permanently, to head the culinary project of the famous design office, Beetroot Design Group, in the centre of the city, on Valaoritou street. The restaurant’s menu will be centred around creative Greek cuisine with Easter Mediterranean influences.

​Tastiness in seasonality

“I grew up in a house where two cuisines co-existed, the Greek and the Lebanese. Often my father added sumac, coriander or cardamom to the traditional Greek meals my mother prepared. It was a private joke between my father and me. The same happened when my mother criticised his interventions. The lunch table was the main interaction and communication spot for my family,” he will tell us during a wine tasting trip to the vineyards of Goumenissa, that took place as part of Winetuned. There, he prepared a casual meal we enjoyed in an amazing winery, the Mikro Ktima Titos, a stone’s throw from Goumenissa. We walked by the river Sirios, and a narrow dirt road, straight out of a fairy tale, led us to the vineyard and then to the winery, that from a distance looks like the house we’d all want to have in the countryside.

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Vasilis Hamam
Lunch time approaches and the kitchen top fills
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Vasilis Hamam adds flavour to his dishes
Lamb and chestnut pie

Lunch time approaches and the kitchen top fills with baked aubergines, lamb and chestnut pie, green salad, wild greens, sweet pears in Negoska syrup, the local grape variety. Each bite is full of flavour. Vasilis cooks in a simple way and knows how to add flavour to his dishes. “I try to use seasonal ingredients, use local recipes as my guide, and in general not to mix too many ingredients. I consider it a kitchen success to be able to make delicious dishes with a few, simple, ingredients.”

​Tate and the dish that never got on the menu
​

After we finish our meal, the conversation turns to his course so far. “Everything happened somewhat randomly. I took part in a Tate Modern competition during which we would have to cook a fish dish. The winning dish would be included on the restaurant’s menu.” As he tells us, he made a red mullet, with ouzo (traditional anise-flavoured aperitif) syrup, fennel and rusk with aioli and Kalamata olives. He won; however, the dish was never included on the menu. He didn’t care much, as it was enough for him to get inside a professional kitchen. “I wore the uniform, I held a super knife, and I was among professional chefs. I felt like when I got a distinction on my master’s degree. Since then, all I could think of was how I could enter the profession.”

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Baked aubergines
Preparing the pear dessert
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A dish – work of art
The pear dessert

​ The hobby that turns into a profession

“I started cooking as a hobby increasingly more. The hobby became an obsession, but I was very dedicated to art and that was what I wanted to be my profession. Thirteen years later, when I turned 34, I wanted a change in my life and I got a job as a home cook, uploading the dishes I made on a platform online, and then receiving orders on my phone. From the first day, I started making the food I ate when I was little. Greek food with Eastern Mediterranean influences. Fattoush salad with feta, Greek salad with sumac, and many more. I got a fridge off eBay, for one pound and I filled my studio with Tupperware. I delivered the orders on my bike. One every half hour. I felt like I was finally doing what I wanted.”

​ In Chatzivaritis Estate’s garden

We are next to all the vineyards of Goumenissa and the conversation turns to wine. We arrange to meet in the garden of Estate Chatzivaritis, where the welcoming family, Mrs Olga, Mr Vasilis, and the lively Chloe do everything to make visitors feel comfortable. We try wines, we go to the cellar. Chloe Chatzivaritis talks about the wine and seems to be enjoying it. “This is my favourite wine,” Vasilis tells me when we try Ni. “It’s got a precise balance, and an eloquent structure. It’s very important to combine food and wine well. I always ask the opinion of experts and that can take a good culinary effort one step higher.”

We finish this conversation in the garden of the Chatzivaritis Estate as the red shades of sun setting over the vines mix with the greens of the leaves. Where the Xinomavro has found its kingdom so it can offer us aromatic and flavourful wines. We can’t wait to try one of the wines of the local wineries in the brand-new Beetroot restaurant and accompany it with all the dishes Vasilis has already thought up.