Food Trip: Tasty Highlights From GREECE FOOD EXPO '24
The flavors and colors of Greek gastronomy were on full display this month at the Metropolitan Expo center, near Athens International Airport
Olive oil from Crete and the Peloponnese (some of the best in the world), third-wave coffee to give Illy a run for its money, Cretan graviera cheese, wholesome rusks, fragrant oak honey, artisanal herbal fruit teas, mineral water from the Cretan peaks, apple pie flavored hot chocolate, Naked Swim sparkling tea…
It is axiomatic, is it not, that politicians who are going places show up in all the right places. There is a reason why no French president worth their fleur de sel would dream of skipping the annual agricultural fair — because it’s about a lot more than posing with the cows. Food culture is part of European culture. It’s big bucks, or euros, too, but that is almost beside the point.
So it was not altogether surprising to see Nikos Androulakis, the plain-speaking man from Crete who heads up Greece’s PASOK – Movement for Change, a center-left political alliance, at the opening day of the annual Food Expo Greece. The expo is one of the world’s biggest food-and-beverage shows, attracting more than 40,000 organized retail, wholesale and catering professionals. Flanked by his entourage and a gaggle of reporters no doubt eager to hear whatever Mr. Androulakis had to say as Europe’s parliamentary elections approach, he made he his way through the crowded halls.
Over the course of a few bustling days in March at sprawling Metropolitan Expo center countless deals are made, but for the consumer it means the opportunity to explore the entire panoply of Greek gastronomy without so much as a drive or the need to get on a plane (but if you want to, the airport is right next door). That means plenty of samples, a few of which we’ll mention here. Others we will be keeping under wraps, except for our subscribers, at least until they hit the market later this year.
More to come…
