Let’s kick off the summer season with an dinner set in Toronto’s Port Lands with Toronto’s skyline as the backdrop. This evening will be unforgettable as we watch the sun set over Toronto’s skyline, dining outdoors and enjoying a five-course dinner that will capture the essence of Greek evening.SOUVLA! The centerpiece menu item will be whole lamb on the spit, Greek style over charcoal…a rarity in this city unless you’re invited to a Greek friend’s home!

I am delighted to be cooking at the historic Cherry Street Restaurant located in Toronto’s Port Lands, in what used to be a Toronto Dominion bank. Owner/proprietor Louis Anagnostakos has converted this landmark into a warm, casual restaurants with a great view of Toronto’s skyline.

One of the most enjoyed Greek delicacies is whole rotisserie lamb, slow cooked over glowing embers and here’s your chance to have another taste of Greece. This specialty from Roumeli (central Greece) has been embraced throughout Greece and this evening will be your chance to enjoy one of my favourite dishes!

All courses will be paired with Greek wines from Kolonaki Group.

Entire menu cooked using Acropolis Organics extra-virgin olive oil.

Appetizers:

Psomotyri – Grilled Bread with Warm Cheese & Herbs

Jerked Pork Gyro Sliders & Slaw

Fried Zucchini & Eggplant Chips With Smoked Tyrokafteri

First Course – Greek Gazpacho With Feta & Olive Oil Ice Cube, Homemade Bread

Second Course – Grilled Manouri Salad with Crispy Sweetbreads & Kalamata Olive Dressing

Main: Whole Ontario Lamb on the Spit *(Souvla). Tzatziki, Greek Roast Potatoes & Briami

Dessert: Trigona Panoramatos filled with Creme Patisserie with Toasted Almonds

Tickets for full dinner plus wine-pairings for the entire meal is $75.00 (plus handling fee).

Tickets for full dinner (NO WINE) are $60.00 (plus handling fee).

Prices include HST.

Menu is subject to change.

*No menu substitutions

This is a RAIN OR SHINE EVENT| (Guests will be moved indoor in the event of rain)

Payments will be accepted through PayPal but those wishing to use credit cards may still click onto the PayPal page which allows you a credit card payment option.

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© 2013, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

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One of the basics of Greek cuisine is to eat seasonally, eat local and of course, use quality products. All of dishes for this menu were made using Acropolis Organics Olive Oil from Crete. I would like to once again thank Panagioti and the staff at Acropolis for their generous support!

I would like to thank John Douldouras of Neo-Image Candelight for furnishing the plant-based candles for the dinner. The ambiance would not have been the same without them!

My dinners are always paired with Greek wines. My friend Steve Kriaris of Kolonaki Group pairs the wines to be served with each menu and the result? A evening elevated by Greek wines that stand up to the best in the wine world.

A big thank you to Paula Costa of Dragon’s Kitchen for her tireless help in the kitchen and behind the scenes to help make this dinner and others such a success. Thank you to my servers Thurka and Amanda and to Aaron who the dishes coming for course after course!

Thanks to all the guests who attended last night. It was a joy to make some new friends and see some of the “regulars” who come to each dinner.

My next Greek Supper Club takes place on Tuesday, May 14th in downtown Toronto at the historic Burroughes Building at Queen & Bathurst. This dinner is being held in conjunction with Greek Film & Foto Week and some proceeds will go to Project Hope for Greece. Seats are on sale, reserve your spot for a dinner that will sell out!

In the meantime, enjoy some photos from last night’s dinner.

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© 2013, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

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My first Tsiknopempti dinner was a delicious success with lots of Kechribari retsina, Babatzim Ouzo, Alfa beer and Cool beer to wash down the food.

Many thanks to Paula, Amanda and Thurka for their stellar serving of guests, Cool Beer for providing the kitchen and dining area, Kolonaki Group for the wine and spirits and Acropolis Organics for donating the olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the event.

Tsiknopempti translates to Burnt Thursday and it’s a huge day of eating grilled meats during the Carnival (Apokries) period for Greek. That’s what I gave my guests. The menu was inspired by menu items often served at Greek tavernas and the dinner service was by and large family style.

I’ll allow the photos to do the talking…capturing the food, the new friendships that were made and the usual fun, casual atmosphere I try to create for each dinner. I hope to see you at my next dinner on Tuesday, April 16th where I cook up a Sarakostiano (Greek Lenten) dinner with ladera (vegetarian) and seafood dishes.

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© 2013, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

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The sold-out (50 guests) dinner took place at the recently renovated Milos restaurant in Willamsville, New York – a suburb of Buffalo. The dinner came into being when my friend Christa attended one of my dinners here in Toronto. She was so enthused with the dinner that she wanted folks in the Buffalo area to experience a similar dinner.

Christa also is responsible for Buffalo’s Restaurant Week and she was brimming with options when we were considering venues. After scouting many restaurants, Christa gave me  shortlist and we decided to approach Milos Restaurant.

Proprietor Ray Kollidas was enthusiastic about the dinner from day 1 but as someone coming into a strange kitchen, different city and different country…I didn’t know what to expect!

When I arrived at Milos, I was met with courtesy, I had my own space to cook in this vast kitchen and the staff and management at Milos helped when asked and delivered above and beyond my expectations. It’s  joy to see a restaurant do so well and with respect to Milos, a large part of the success goes to the Kollidas family for treating their staff with respect along with their patrons.

I would like to thank Paula Costa for once again being a fabulous assistant in the kitchen and plating my dishes with precision. Many thanks to Manos Maragkakis of Nisos Importing for coming down to Buffalo to share his olive oil with our guests.

A big thanks to Andrea Englisis of Athenee Wines for coming from New York City to introduce the wines she selected for our dinner. Once again, Christa Schmidt Hobart, thank you for your hospitality, your organization and quarterbacking this event made it the success that it was!

Without further adieu, I leave you all with a slide presentation recapping the dinner. Photos were kindly taken by Katherine Kenwell Cich of www.redroverphoto.com, thank you Katherine!

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© 2013, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

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Last night my guests were taken on a culinary journey back in time, when ancient Greeks had no lemons, no citrus, no tomatoes, potatoes. eggplants or peppers! The cuisine was centered on olives, olive oil, grapes, wine, vinegar for acidity, grape must and honey for sweetness.

Lamb and goat were the meats of the day, some wild game and ancient grains and legues were the starches of the day. It is amazing to see that after all these years, one can still see cooking techniques, flavours from ago still being present in today’s Greek cuisine.

Thank you to all the guests who attended last night…some familiar faces and some new ones. Thank you to those (Kirstyn and Scott etal) who traveled from the United States to experience my Greek Supper Clubs.

A very special thanks to Panagiotis Tsiriotakis of Acropolis Organics for supplying my dinners with extra-virgin olive oil and Mousto-Balsamic vinegar.

Many thanks to Steve Kriaris of Kolonaki Group who brought and paired this dinner with wines made of ancient Greek grape varietals.

Thank you to Aphrodite Cooks studio for opening her kitchen and allowing me to host such wonderful events.

Thank you to our gracious servers Paula and Thurka…our guests adore you! Thanks to Aaron who is tireless on dish duty and last but not least, Paula Costa my girl, my sous and my number 1 fan!

Enjoy the slide show I have compiled below, recapping this wonderful back into Ancient Greek cuisine.

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© 2013, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

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