The first Gastronomy Festival Symposium held in the municipality of Nea Propontida has ended and was crowned with absolute success.
Winners were the region’s enormous culinary wealth, which now paves the way for new culinary initiatives and actions.
This blessed place, located a stone’s throw from Thessaloniki, receives hundreds of thousands of visitors every year – visitors who enjoy its natural beauty, the endless emerald sea, the endless vineyards, the green olive groves, all kinds of fruit trees; visitors who rest in its taverns, cafes and on the beach bars – this year took another step and launched a new institution rich in dishes with traditional recipes but also many tasty surprises.
With love as a companion, and with experience and deep gastronomic knowledge, the organizers made us participate during the four-day festival in the absolute harmony of taste through genuine ingredients and unique recipes. They were our hosts, as true Greek hospitality advocates, they took us to wonderful establishments, they showed us the most important, most fruitful parts of Chalkidiki’s business life, and we found peace on the calm surface of the Aegean Sea.
It takes only 35 to 40 minutes to get from Macedonia Airport to the outskirts of the municipality of Nea Propontida, with beautiful lowland and coastal villages bathed in greenery and the blue color of the sea.
Just before reaching the village of Petralona, at the foot of Mount Katsika, it is worth making a first stop at the homonymous cave and museum and admire the stalactites and stalagmites, as well as the finds kept there from the so-called Arkanthropes – i.e. the oldest Europeans – who lived here 700,000 years ago, as evidenced by the human skull that was discovered, and according to researchers it bears the face of a Neanderthal with a more archaic type skull. The researchers agree that it belongs to the species Homo heidelbergensis, which was also found in other parts of Europe.
If you continue towards the first “finger” of Chalkidiki, you will see the dandelion beaches, Kallikrateia, Plagia, Flogito and Moudania on the right, while on the left you can see how the small mountain villages of Agios Panteleimonas, Lakkoma, Nea Triglia, Nea Gonia’, etc. “sleep” quietly under a shining sun.
Arriving at Nea Potidea, one cannot help but admire the unparalleled beauty that dazzles the eyes, with the view of the sea that divides this beautiful channel in two, where we see it passing by the impressive bridge.
The existence of the Potidea Canal is already mentioned in the 10th century BC, and according to some sources it was inaugurated in 315 BC by Cassander, who built the city of Kassandrea, in ancient Potidea with the aim of facilitating navigation between the gulfs of Thermaikos and Toroneos and the fortification of his city. During the Byzantine era, along the canal there was a wall with towers for Kassandra’s safety from the land. It took its current form in 1930 and in 1970 the bridge connecting the two coasts was built.
The autonomous state of Athos has also left its mark on this special area with the Zografou Tower belonging to the Zografou Monastery dating back to the 12th century, which we find in the village of the same name near Nea Moudania. It is not known when it was built (perhaps after 1325), but by 1465 it was already in ruins and possibly not renovated until the end of the 16th century, when it is again mentioned in the sources. In 1922 refugees from Cappadocia settled here, while in 1996 the 10th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities restored the roof within the framework of the protection of the monument. The Vatopediou Monastery has also left its mark on the Nea Triglia area with the Metohi Tower or “Souflar”, as it is otherwise known, and was built around the 16th century. It is a post-Byzantine tower house, essentially part of an entire enclosure of the area that was owned by an Ottoman landowner.
First Gastronomy Festival Symposium in Nea Propontida 2022.
The first day of the first Gastronomy Festival Symposium in Nea Propontida was “opened” with a thematic tribute to the vines that give us their fruit, vine leaves, wine and tsipouro. In one of the presentation rooms of the stunningly beautiful hotel Pomegranate Wellness Spa Hotel (www.pomegranatespahotel.com) a video was shown from last September, about the harvest and the wine production process in the vineyards. An incredible journey through time, where we felt as if we were present during the entire harvesting process, as if we were “inside” the vines and helping the harvester from the first moment. It felt like we were helping to pour the grapes into the big kettles to be crushed, pressed and fermented as well as harvested.
Right after the presentation, which ended early in the morning, we went to Konstandara Winery in Portaria. www.dkonstantarawines.com.
At the Konstantara estate, we got to know the “KONSTANTARA” wines produced from grapes grown organically in the Konstantaras family’s privately owned vineyards on an area of 250 hectares, in the area of Agia Triada Polygyros. Their vinification takes place in the privately owned facilities of the new modern family winery in Portaria Chalkidiki.
The farm Konstantara produces white, red and rosé wine. The varieties available are Alexandria Muscat, Malagouzia, Assyrtiko for white wine and Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon, Agiorgitiko & Syrah for red wine. As we tasted the wonderful wines, we were blown away by how refined their flavors were and how impressive their labels were.
A unique tasting wine that we suggest you try is “Konstantaras Special Edition White” a combination of Assyrtiko and French Viognier. The intense aromas of fruits combined with the spices give an unforgettable and lasting sensation. Personally, I try it in conjunction with special fresh seafood dishes to bring out the flavor. It is of course no coincidence that this particular wine collects awards in many competitions. I also highly recommend “KONSTANTARAS MALAGOUZIA” with its intense bright color and exotic fruit aromas. It leaves a rich taste in the mouth and has a freshness that creates a special balance. “Konstantaras Malagouzia” is enjoyed with cheese or fruit.
After our culinary tours, we visited the village of Nea Gonia where the infamous Marianna vine leaves are found. www.mariannas.eu
“Marianna’s Vineleaves” started its business in the 1980s. Marianna Kazaki started packing vine leaves with her own special method that she had learned from her grandmother. With this special way of packaging, Marianna managed to preserve the freshness of the leaves and their intense aromas. Thus the product became famous not only in our country but also in other countries because of its grape leaves and dolmas which are also exported to many countries around the world.
In 2010 the company Marianna’s Vineleaves also launched the unique traditional handmade pies with 12 different flavours. We suggest you try Marianna’s cheese pies, her spinach cheese pie, with fresh spinach and feta cheese (incredible taste, amazing deliciousness, of course we tried it and we were very happy…), Marianna’s leek pie with crispy leeks and feta cheese, Marianna’s pumpkin pie, her pot pie, her mince pie and many more products.
As for Marianna’s dolmas, we had the unique opportunity to try them and also see the process of making them… Always handmade and unique. The products have won several prizes at the Great Taste Awards.
Marianna’s products can be ordered throughout Sweden as they can be found at the company Mini Ellada AB. www.minella.se. The contact phone number is: +46 08 744 10 40, Stockholm.
The latest creation of the Marianna vine leaves family is their Abelon cognac. A real revelation for us who tried it as part of our visit, due to its unique color and excellent taste. It was a unique wine combination, which will remain unforgettable.
The program for the first day included lunch at the well-known restaurant GEORGALAS, located right on the beach in Nea Kallikrateia. There, chef Vladimiros Fountis, who lives and is famous in Sweden, took us on a culinary journey to a contemporary Greece with his unique culinary suggestions. We got to taste a fish fillet wrapped in grape leaves together with risotto and mashed grape leaves quenched with ouzo mixed in a cream sauce. After the dish was presented by the chef and restaurant owner Georgalas himself, we were faced with a new surprise that included incredible dishes with imaginative entrees and fish that really fascinated us and therefore we recommend that if you visit Nea Kallikrateia, you must definitely make a stop there. Information about the location and the menu can be found on the website: www.hotelgeorgalas.gr. We recommend the wine list with a very large selection of Greek wine labels.
In the evening we found ourselves at the New Moudania Open Air Theater where many local clubs and volunteers had prepared a lot of delicacies with local traditional products, to welcome us, and which we, like the entire audience that filled the theater, of course tried. More than 1,400 people had flooded the theater which was filled with people with a common interest in gastronomy and culture.
The official presentation for the opening of Nea Propontida’s first Gastronomy Festival Symposium was made by the well-known Greek-Swedish journalist, presenter and author, Alexandra Paschalidou. The honored country of the 1st festival was SWEDEN and none other than this distinguished journalist and writer could present the event. Alexandra Paschalidou is a prominent figure in both countries where she has been active all these years (www.pascalidou.com). As the head of planning for the first gastronomic festival symposium and the managing director of the Swedish company, Medelhavets Produktion & Events, Giorgos Zapartas, said: “I am particularly happy that my proposal for Sweden to be the first honored country was accepted by the mayor of Nea Propontida, Manolis Karras, and the Organizing Committee. Sweden is a country that has important ties with Greece”. Zapartas added that the Gastronomy Festival Symposium was crowned with complete success, despite being a very demanding and difficult project, with implications on several levels. The program not only had to to do with the municipality’s gastronomy and the local products of the region (with the presence of journalists from Sweden to get to know them and write about them), but also with tourism (hence the presence of tour operators in Nea Propontida), culture (with music and dance from traditional groups in management) and finally with the all-important business community and a delegation of businessmen s om visited the municipality for this reason to learn about investment opportunities and to create cooperation between the two countries.
After the presentations and greetings from the local authority, the well-known chef Vladimiros Fountis prepared food for the people and guests.
We entrusted the evening’s musical magic once again to the inimitable Fortissimo Electric Quartet (www.fortissimo.gr). Four beautiful and impressive Greek women, like real caryatids with their beauty and amazing music, took us on a journey with their unique tones until well after midnight.
So, in a simple magical way, the first day of the first Gastronomic Festival Symposium of Nea Propontida Municipality ended. According to what the representative of the Swedish company Medelhavets Produktion & Events that organized the event, Giorgos Zapartas, said when he was interviewed: “The aim of the first day of the festival was to present a contemporary version of Greece and the municipality of Nea Propontida. This was achieved with the chef’s presentation as with classical products “set up” a modern and fresh dish, with the music of the fantastic quartet of wonderful girls, the electric sound, and of course with all the knowledge we gathered from our visits to the areas where the ingredients are found.
By Marni Hadjiemanouil