Author: The Greek Gastronaut

For as long as I can remember, food, and eating out in particular, has played a huge role in my life. My earliest memories include mealtimes with the extended family whilst on holiday in Greece, kids at one end of the table, and the adults at the other, with barely enough room for all the plates of fried calamari (so exotic in the mid-70s!), octopus, cheese pies, Greek salad, dips, pitta bread, fried courgettes, chips, grilled meats, whole fish and more. Arguments amongst the adults as to who was most qualified to filet the fish, and whose turn it was to pick up the bill. There was so much food that it seemed impossible that we would eat it all, and yet we always did. Those mealtimes were full of laughter, generosity, excitement, even wonder and curiosity at the new – who knew you could eat the inside of something that looked as foreboding as a sea urchin! – and, yes, satisfied gluttony. I have often wondered whether it was chance that my best friend at primary school was a Japanese boy, or was it down to the fact that whenever I went to his house (and I always wanted to go to his house!), his mum would make chicken teriyaki – a dish so delicious, and so unlike anything to be found in late 70s London. I couldn’t get enough of it! And then the were the restaurants that we would go to as a family in London – My Old Dutch, The Britannia/Hilton/Tower for the Sunday buffet/carvery lunch, the Greek restaurants (various North London venues but particularly Retsina, in recent years) and always – always! – a good Chinese or two in rotation (take a bow, The Good Earth, Gung Ho, Singapore Garden and Phoenix Palace). All restaurants that were visited so regularly (both for celebrations and anniversaries, but also for no special reason) that they became an extension of our family space – familiar and comforting, but still always a treat. It’s no surprise that when my sisters and I decided to create our own set of Top Trumps in the 90s, we chose restaurants that we’d been to as the theme. These formative experiences have fed a love and curiosity about food, and restaurants that has informed how I chose to spend my time, money and thoughts in my later years. I love to read about restaurants around the world, and I will make specific journeys or detours to visit them. Conversely, I’m unlikely to travel to any destination whose food culture holds no appeal, whatever else it has to offer (Mongolia, I’m looking at you). None of this makes me an expert. But I am an experienced enthusiast, and someone for whom the act of eating out is a thoughtful experience, both in the planning, and the enjoyment. Those who know me have heard me talking about writing a restaurant blog for years, not because I consider myself any kind of authority, but because this is a subject that I have always had the urge (if not the commitment) to write about. So here, at very long last, it is. My thanks to Mum and Dad who inspired the love of food at home and out, and to those family and friends who encouraged me to write and publish. Thanks also to the wonderful and patient Liz Hay at Awkward Wolf Atelier, for creating some far sexier branding than my writing currently warrants, and this fabulous site. The Gastro Greek