Interview to Manolya Akin

Gastronomy has been acknowledged by the United Nations as an expression related to the natural and cultural diversity of the world.

Sustainable Gastronomy Day is celebrated globally by the UN annually on 18th June.

Find out more: https://www.un.org/en/events/sustainablegastronomy/

Post-covid19 normality has changed the way we produce and consume food and the way we work. The new normal urges us to protect natural resources, save our food and learn to live and collaborate in a sustainable way. For this reason, we seek inspiration from chefs, from all over the world, to embrace sustainability in gastronomy.

Katerina Remoundou was born and raised in Athens, but her family roots are in the Cycladic Island of Andros where she currently lives and works. She’s been a professional chef for 15 years after leaving a 25 year career in the media industry. She moved to Andros and re-opened “Tou Josef” her grandpa’s traditional cafe-tavern.

Her ultimate, favorite dish is, and will always be, garlic pasta!

Enjoy her interview!

Q: Gastronomy; How do you define it? (Meaning, your definition of gastronomy, or a truly gastronomic experience)

A: According to Jean-Anthelme Brillat Savarin, Gastronomy is the taste and understanding of everything related to food. In other words, the culinary art requires knowledge and hard work, both in regards to studying and experiencing. The grandma that taught her granddaughter how to distinguish between edible and inedible leaves; the agronomist's seminar up on the hill, taught us all about what’s poisonous and what’s not. Pink roses, full of petals, are turned into the best dessert come May, and that chicken soup is the best medicine when we're sick. Raw almonds naughtily and excitedly taken right off the tree every Easter, still green and bitter they won’t be ripe before September anyway. Knowing where we come from, how we pair and enjoy ingredients; that all is Gastronomy to me.

Q: as a Chef, what are the KEY elements, points of a sustainable approach to gastronomy? Could you share these with us please?

A: Cooking is my birthright. My grandpa Josef was a boat chef, and so were his sons. My father embodied a love of good food in us, by taking us on little excursions outside the city. We would go to Metsovo for smoked cheese, to Messinia for flat noodles and cous-cous, to Zagorochoria for freshly caught trout from the Aoos River, to Xanthi for spices. Local and seasonal produce are, according to my opinion and personal belief, the key elements to sustainable gastronomy.

Q: Why is there so much food waste?

A: All of us, chefs, have inherited our land’s gastronomical culture and we are intent on carrying it forward. We owe it to our place and people to honor the unique character of the Greek soil and climate, the producers’ hard work, the labour and expertise of past generations. By carefully selecting our suppliers, changing our menu regularly and transforming yesterday’s leftovers to something entirely new, we don’t have to waste so much anymore. Respecting the ingredients’ seasonal character and taking the time to walk our guests step-by-step through our culinary philosophy can completely eliminate waste. If something is left behind, it doesn’t go to waste, it is offered to our fellow humans in need.

Q: How do you make "change" happen as a Chef when it comes to sustainability?

A: I have chosen to offer dishes that are a result of foraging, made with ingredients from small, local producers, and only using food with a protected designation of origin. I strongly believe that change comes through a non going dialogue with our customers and through humility. Change comes with cooking seasonally.

Q: What is your cooking philosophy?

A: My philosophy is that both good and bad food requires the same amount of time to cook; just as much work, just as many ingredients. So why not cook good food that always tastes great?

*When in Andros, visit Katerina at “Tou Josef” cafe-tavern located in Pitrofos. For reservations call: +30 2282 051050