Foraging for Flavor Greek Herbs/Bean Cuisine / Spa ... - Kerasma

Lemonis says he gives “serious consideration”
to the food's origin, seasonality,
and nutritional value as
well as the complete culinary experience.
Lemonis' innovative and
appetizing menus highlight his
culinary expertise in gourmet
restaurants.
Among the tasty monthly selections
offered: tender spinach leaves
with a variation of Greek nuts,
olive oil and lemon vinaigrette,
roasted salmon, and a captivating
carrot granita.
“The objective is to avoid highly
processed foods and artificial additives,
and to reduce the intake [of
foods ] that are high in saturated
fat or cholestorol,” says Lemonis.
“With this is mind,” he quips, “Greek
cuisine offers the best basis for spa
cuisine.”
Indeed. With its high intake of
cereals, grains, vegetables, dried
beans, olive oil, fresh herbs, and
seafood, the Mediterranean diet—
believed to help reduce the risk of
heart disease and increase life
expectancy—offers an easy basis
for the switch to spa cuisine.
In Aedipsos, Evia, north of Athens,
the Thermae Sylla Spa Wellness
Hotel makes use of the fertile earth
that provides the raw ingredients
for a tantalizing variety of delicious
and healthy dishes.
Greece, says chef Thomas
Constantine of Thermae Sylla, “is
rich in food resources due to its climate
and geographic location. We
30 GREEKGOURMETRAVELER
make great use of those natural
products and produce our own
seasonal vegetables and oil in a
local garden.” Local producers are
also carefully screened for their
products.
“Any use of ready-made, canned or
processed foods is forbidden,” he
says.
Among the dishes carefully prepared
at Sylla's resort spa: wild rice
with baby shrimp, grilled fillet of
pork with homemade applesauce,
and Cretan barley rusk with fresh
tomato, aromatic herbs, olive oil
and Cretan soft sheep's milk
cheese.
Feta fits in too. But instead of
using a huge slab on top of the
salad, suggests Ayoob, take about