Ari Vezene, highly acclaimed chef, restaurateur and founder of the innovative investment group in hospitality, Green Garlic Management, centred his talk at the Travel.gr conference (held on November 16 at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre), on how the Greek restaurant can serve as a “vehicle” for promoting the Greek tourism product.
Speaking from his extensive personal experience in the United States about the significant upgrade of Greek gastronomy over the last few decades, Vezene stressed that “there is a continuous effort to convince that Greece is hospitable and Greek food is “worth it”, beyond the stereotypes that had been cultivated in the past about our cuisine. In the period 2020-24, Athens has changed gastronomically, the food culture has shifted for the better without a designed gastronomic policy like they have in Copenhagen. It changed thanks to several private initiatives, as Greek chefs slowly but surely shifted experiences and perceptions about what Greek food is – not just moussaka and souvlaki.”
“Proudly, today we can say that as a country we have built top-notch bars and restaurants of the highest standards that reflect a unique brand – Greece. The question is whether restaurants can act as embassies of Greece and become a source of significant revenue for our country and a standalone destination in tourism terms,” he added.
“Italy is a good example, having a variety in restaurant experiences; they have managed to make all kinds of cuisine their own, selling something different from the taverna culture in an elegant and luxurious way. We must see the Greek restaurant as the antechamber of Greece, the first image of it. The food matters, as does the design and decor of our restaurants, and it is necessary to step out of our box to evolve in creative ways.”
Vezene further commented: “The Greek restaurant unites East and West, we are a world of many components, and not all restaurants need the same aesthetic and viewpoint. We need to step out of our comfort zone and rewrite the gastronomic scripts. Because through different recipes, visitors will discover the different aspects of Greece that exist. And here, the support of the state is certainly necessary.”
Also addressing the Greece Talks audience, bartender and co-owner of the multi-awarded bars The Clumsies and Line Vasilis Kyritsis, focused his talk on how Greek fine drinking serves as an ambassador of the Greek tourism product.
“The first challenge we faced as bartenders was the need to convince others that this is a community and a concept motivated to create,” Kyritsis highlighted, referring to the difficulties encountered in the world of fine drinking.
“Hospitality is everything, and that was precisely our philosophy at The Clumsies. The fact that we had to prepare for the volume of work we had compelled us to travel abroad for inspiration. We wanted to create innovative concepts and recipes, a prime example being the Aegean Negroni, an ode to Greekness,” he added, emphasizing the link between creativity and local identity.
“Ten years later, with Line, we created a project with a focus on sustainability. By this, we mean that we tried to operate as a company, putting emphasis on human resources. We sought help from people who wanted to innovate and produce something new, like the ‘Why-in’ (fruit wine) and fancy cocktails. We also collaborated with specific organic farms from which we sourced our ingredients on a small scale, competing in the field of wine,” he continued, underscoring the relationship between the bar world and local producers, concluding with: “It’s a huge step for fine drinking to represent Greek tourism.”
