The “Messinian Gastronomy Seminars,” free of charge and aimed at food service professionals, once again ended with great success and a great turnout. The seminars were organized by the “Captain Vassilis and Carmen Constantakopoulos” Foundation, in collaboration with the Messinian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the “Orizon” Vocational Training Institute, and the Technological Educational Institute (T.E.I.) of Peloponnese’s Olive Oil Tasting Laboratory. The three-day event, which has become an institution, took place for the 4th consecutive year in Navarino Dunes, Costa Navarino, between May 10 and May 12, 2016.

The aim of the seminars is to promote and establish the culinary tradition of Messinia, and to support the promotion and use of local products. More than 150 food service professionals participated in this year’s seminars, where they had the opportunity to meet with distinguished professionals in the field and cook alongside them, learning new ways to make good use of local products, and gaining invaluable knowledge and experience on how a restaurant operates, in general. This year,the events were attended by awarded chefs, such as Dimitris Melemenis (“Costa Navarino”), Costas Tsigkas (“Vespa Rosa,”“Pere Ubu,”“Testaccio”&“Steak Frites”), Lefteris Lazarou (“Varoulko Seaside”), Doxis Bekris (executive chef for the hotels and resorts of the “Fairmont” group in Africa), Dimitris Dimitriadis (chef at “Artisanal”), Yiorgos Venieris (chef at “Mr. Pug”), and Alexandros Fouroulis (chef & co-owner of “ΜΑΝIΜΑΝI”).

The participants attended the theoretical part of the seminar, presented by chef Lefteris Lazarou, titled “How to set up my restaurant,” saw the actual preparation of unique dishes using Messinian recipes and products by all chefs, participated in local olive oil tasting, where they were taught to recognize its quality elements and characteristics, and finally, together with chef Dimitris Melemenis, they visited the rich vegetable gardens of Costa Navarino.