Araklia in Heraklion

Ο Giannis Gavalas originating from Heraklion, is a young chef who gave with the tavern Araklia a new breath in old traditional, Cycladic recipes.

With experiences from his island, with knowledge regarding traditional cooking, obsession with the purity of flavors and the origin of local ingredients, they quickly made him stand out as one of the most important cooks of his generation.

Giannis Gavalas represents the idea of ​​a kitchen that we could name "Modern Cycladic" with references to all the islands of the Cyclades and their products. Creative cook, imaginative but also local, with a special ethos, social sensitivities and disposition for collective work, has, among other things, an excellent pen! The pride of Heraklion in one interview that he had given us three years ago said:

"I dream that at some point the Heraklion, with the few, humble but quality products it has, to enter the gastronomic map of Greece and to be able to afford a restaurant beyond its beautiful taverns".

Since August 2019, Giannis Gavalas, creative chef who worked for 15 years mainly in the Cyclades, made his dream come true.

On the hill of Heraklion, 200 meters from the port to the paternal house that was restored for the needs of the store, were created beautiful spaces inside and outside in ditches - I singled out, the balcony that controls the entrance of the port of Schinoussa - with kitchen facilities that would be envied by shops in Athens, with heirlooms but also with its delicacies, its local recipes, its cheeses from all the Cyclades, with the support of all his friends from the Cyclades, such as Franzeska Hanioti from Mykonos who made all the wonderful graphic design of the store and with the ambition to leave his mark, now in the homeland, rests on his dreams.

I admired the organization of the kitchen, the view from the verandas, and I shared the enthusiasm of the chef and his team, because finally, 2 years of work came to an end.

John, have a good trip to the tavern, Araklia, I am sure that you will offer many joys to your visitors on the island and of course to yourself and your company!

The menu the day before it opened Araklia was hidden… I was just offered two mulberry appetizers and I think what will be presented from Tuesday will be just as high, I just guess that some of its doomed dishes will not be missing, such as the Cycladic cheesecake (included in book "The Kopanisti" by D. Rousounelos), the simmered pancetta with thyme, garlic and rock salt (it has been included in his list by his friend D. Giginis at SeaSatin Nino in Korthi, Andros), the cheese donuts with Naxos gruyere, kefalotyri on handmade lemon & tomato jams, The stuffed squid with spinach flavored with cumin and white tarama cream.

John, have a good trip. Lucky you caught your dream!