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Susan Jung



You can tell by the design of this cookbook (graffiti-like scrawls, bright primary colours and hand-written chapter titles and dish names) that it’s not one of those intellectual exer­cises by a serious chef trying to show the world how creative they are, using the most up-to-date equipment and obscure ingredi­ents (although I can appreciate those books, too).
However, George Calombaris is a serious and respected chef – he owns restaurants in Melbourne (including the award-winning Press Club) and is a judge on MasterChef Australia. Top restaurateurs and chefs such as Marco Pierre White, Heston Blumenthal, Greg Malouf and Antonio Carluccio have contributed blurbs to the book, singing his praises (the funniest of which is by Claude Bosi, of Hibiscus, in London: “George Calombaris? Size of a garden gnome – heart of a green giant”).
Alimentari, a cookbook inspired by dishes from a Melbourne deli
The photos of the food aren’t overly stylised and look all the more delicious and tempting for that.
In the introduction to Greek, Calombaris writes, “I’m not a traditional cook. Far from it. People say to me, ‘Oh, you’re that Greek chef’ but I’m not. I’m an Aussie and I cook Australian food. That’s a can of worms right there: what is Australian food? Really, it’s an amalgamation of all the food traditions that came to this country with the families who settled here. But because we’re a young country and not locked into long-standing food traditions of our own we are able to play with it a bit, blur the lines and see what happens.”

“This is my kind of cooking. While I respect the recipes that have been handed down over the generations, I love to break the mould. Take Greek salad: yes, it should taste like Greek salad, with the fruity extra-virgin olive oil, salty feta, ripe tomatoes, but why can’t we push it in another direction? There’s no reason why not, if you still respect where it came from. And that’s what this book is all about. It’s a snapshot of my mind and my heart, the people and the memories that have influenced me and the food they have inspired me to create.”
An Italian cookbook specially written for Hong Kong cooks
The chef’s ethnic background is diverse: his mother is Greek Cypriot while his Egyptian father was born to an Italian mother and Greek father. So, he writes, “Food at home was always interesting. One day it would be baked eggplant with mince, the next macaroni with fresh ricotta, and the next falafel with hummus. This was just normal for me, maybe even a bit embarras­sing as my school friends often thought my food was weird. It was only later that I would truly appreciate what I was inheriting.”
How To Eataly - a Guide to Buying, Cooking, and Eating Italian Food
Greek reflects this multi­cultural cuisine that Calombaris ate while growing up. There are recipes for avgolemono and gnocchi; pasticcio; open pita kofta with mint and lemon yogurt; Cypriot keftedes; “my mum’s chicken nuggets” (which come with the warning “where all is not as it seems” – the “chicken” turns out to be crispy lamb brains); spaghetti with anchovies, parsley and garlic breadcrumbs; slow-cooked lamb with miso eggplant; whitebait rolls with pickled carrot; prawn saganaki tortellini with tomato and mustard seed vinaigrette; and loukoumades with honey, Nutella and toasted hazelnuts.


Why the cookbook Greek, by George Calombaris, is not what it seems

The Australian celebrity chef’s mixed heritage – his mother was Greek Cypriot and his Egyptian father was born to an Italian mother and Greek father – informs the multicultural recipes that went into this book

This image shows recipe Garden peas, Cauliflower, Almonds, Lemon from cook book Greek by George Calombaris. 02FEB17 [RECIPE POST MAGAZINE] SCMP / Jonathan Wong

This image shows cook book Greek by George Calombaris. 02FEB17 [RECIPE POST MAGAZINE] SCMP / Jonathan Wong

George Calombaris

An Italian cookbook specially written for Hong Kong cooks

If you’ve struggled to find speciality ingredients needed for Italian cooking in Hong Kong, here’s a cookbook that will make things easy for you

--ONE TIME USE ONLY, SCMP DOES NOT HOLD COPYRIGHT OF THESE IMAGES, SCANNED DIRECTLY FROM A BOOK-- This handout image scanned from the book My Italian Kitchen Away From Home by Aira Sasso shows Pansotti di ricotta e spinaci con salsa di noci, Ricotta and spinach pansotti with walnut sauce. [POST MAGAZINE RECIPE FEATURES]

Pappardelle with Bolognese ragu, a dish featured in My Italian Kitchen Away from Home, by Aira Sasso.

Book review: Massimo Bottura's Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef

The Greeks who've taken a one-way ticket to Hong Kong 

Members of Hong Kong’s Greek community, at Santorini restaurant on Elgin Street, Central, include (from left): Kyriakos Plagianakos, Tilemahos Stamatis, Vasilis Stamatis, Ilektra Stamatis, Christo Stamatis, Vasilis Vasileiadis, Yorgos Tountas and Ioannis Roussis. Photos: Jonathan Wong

Yorgos Tountas. 

Stamatis with his children, Christo, Tilemahos and Ilektra.

Ioannis Roussis.

Vasilis Stamatis in Santorini, the restaurant he owns on Elgin Street, in Central.

Riot police face down protesters throwing petrol bombs in central Athens during an anti-austerity protest on July 15. Photo: AFP

Kyriakos Plagianakos

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The Australian celebrity chef’s mixed heritage – his mother was Greek Cypriot and his Egyptian father was born to an Italian mother and Greek father – informs the multicultural recipes that went into this book
