• "Greek Breakfast": Another project or ζωής a life lesson?

The goal of the Hotel Chamber of Greece, was the Greek Breakfast to offer all the local products and delicacies of each region in the buffets of Greek hotels, bringing on the one hand the hoteliers and the local producers, and on the other hand, to be its main element identity  of the Greek hotel product. In essence, however, it was a lesson for us Greeks as well self-awareness, a tool to stimulate the our cultural confidence, and leaning on the gastronomic heritage of each place to acquire another "weapon" in the battle of competition.

• Why breakfast and not ή lunch or dinner?

Because breakfast is mandatory in hotels, because here there is room for cheese, cold cuts, honey, herbs, pastries, jams, ie for most of the food products, but also for pies, sweets and other delicacies.

• Why did Greek breakfast become… foreign? What went wrong";

But the whole of Greek society was turning to the West at all levels of everyday life. Thus, apart from the standard food loved by the foreign visitors of the country (Moussakas, tzatziki, souvlaki, stuffed, dolmadas, seafood) the local cuisines disappeared, because we Greeks were ashamed of our gastronomic heritage. We wanted to forget the foods we grew up with, the trahana, the petimezi, the lalangia, the noodles, the hundreds of pies. So we thought that the foreigner would be thrilled with the frozen croissant we would give him or with the crepes and waffles, or with the La vache qui rit cheeses!

• How the Greek Breakfast was developed;

We traveled for 8 years, from end to end in Greece in order to raise awareness of all relevant stakeholders (producers, hoteliers, chefs, local government), resulting in the creation 41 Greek Breakfast Standards, while during this period we implemented over 800 hotel accommodations. We informed hoteliers, met producers, discovered products and recipes. We participated in exhibitions, conferences and forums, we informed the press and television. The Greek breakfast, became an issue. 8 years ago it did not even exist in our vocabulary, regardless of whether some hoteliers used it with passion. Today it is discussed everywhere, in the media, in schools, in society.

• Is there hope and willingness for change?

In recent years there has been a revolution. Hundreds of new certified products find their place in Greece and abroad, dozens of books seriously dealing with local cuisines, despite many young chefs who base their creations on the use of local products and traditional recipes. And in addition an audience that is searched, pondered and makes choices.

• After all, do Greeks love their cuisine?

Do Greeks love their place? do they love the truth? do they have a healthy relationship with their past, a creative relationship with the present, and an optimistic one with the future?

Obviously not except for a minority. To love you have to know, to work, to suffer.

To find the essence of things and not to be satisfied with the flatteries and the pericocles. However, in the field of gastronomy there are many, some in terms of vanity and fashion and others in terms of self-knowledge and substance. And the latter is very optimistic.