Dubai’s Top Chef
From Greece to Dubai: Journey of a Celebrity Chef
Prologue
I will always remember that feeling. . . Seeing my grandmother mindfully picking the most mature and delicious fruits & vegetables from our organic farm is one of the first memories that almost defined the rest of my professional – and everyday – life. It was like “seeing” & “hearing” the old, Greek tradition throughout the fields of various organic sources. That was the first time that I realized & decided that when I grew up I would place the Greek culinary tradition on the World map.
Dubai’s Top Chef
From Greece to Dubai
As a top chef in Dubai, my culinary journey began in the picturesque landscapes of Kalavryta, Greece. Growing up surrounded by fertile farms, I learned the importance of sourcing quality ingredients. Today, as a celebrated celebrity chef, I bring the flavors of Greece to Dubai’s vibrant culinary scene.
Greece
I was born and grew up in Kalavryta, a small mountainous town in Peloponnesus, Greece. There, my family – like most of the population – was always surrounded by incredible little farms with such great produce most of the time!
This is where I learned to appreciate the great value of high quality, organic ingredients in cooking.
The notion of doing whatever it takes to find the best sources and raw ingredients in order to create the most delicious dishes goes back to those early wonderful years of my childhood. . .
Becoming a full stack Chef had become my dream. . .
After the completion of my studies in Cooking, a prety successful as well as exciting culinary journey began. Athens and Greek islands – like Santorini & Mykonos – played a significant role in the development of my skill set. I was happy knowing that my creations had the ability to make my guests feel a unique culinary experience. But I felt that something more was missing. . .
Dubai
It was in 2015 that a proposal to work and promote Greek culture in Dubai arrived at my kitchen. . . That offer drove me to a full-time position within the One and Only Royal Mirage, where I had the privilege to lead three restaurants, among other things. Three years after my arrival, I decided to continue with the co-creation of restaurant Ena in Dubai.
That was the move that enabled me to introduce more than 200 authentic Greek products from producers and farmers from small villages all around Greece in the cosmopolitan space of Dubai.
In 2019 I had the honor to become an official Ambassador of the Greek Gastronomy in UAE (Greek Taste Beyond Borders ). As an ambassador, I dedicate my time to consulting restaurants, organizing events like Abu Dhabi Formula 1, Taste of the World at Gulfood and private VIP events as well as conducting professional and consumer cooking classes.