On Saturday, June 27, the Share A Dish night took place in Lemnos, as a culmination of the #MedFoodHeroes digital campaign that took place from June 15-27 under the broader Mediterranean Rooted Everyday campaign.
On Saturday night, for an hour between 9 and 10, the communication manager of MedINA, Alexia Zafeiropoulou, had the pleasure to host a live broadcast on the Instagram channel of Rooted Everyday directly from the estate “Filia Esti” of Soohia Hapsi, in the area of Kotsinas Lemnos, where friends and associates of the Terra Lemnia project came together to cook and express their support for the sustainable way of cultivation and their love for the Mediterranean diet.
The preparations in the hospitable place of Nasos and Sophia started early in the morning of the same day, when the preparation for some of the recipes that the guests of the project would have the opportunity to try at dinner, outside the estate, began.
The first guests arrived around 20:30. Athena Kavaleri, a local producer, with her family, bringing a basket of goodies that she cultivates on her estate and trades in her local store, Polina Hadjigeorgiou, with fine wines of her family estate that would accompany our recipes, the producer and collaborator of the project, Rafael Giannelis, with handmade cheese pies and samsades, the breeder Babis Dinenis, members of the Anemoessa association, friends of the project and the owner of and chef of “Enoia Po’cheis”, Vassilis Piantes. The company kept growing bigger until the dinner table was full of friendly faces ready to share and explore the secrets of the traditional local cuisine.
The broadcast started at 21:00 with an introduction to the space, while the online audience from all the Mediterranean countries represented in the campaign (Morocco, Lebanon, Spain, Portugal, Greece) began to connect from their devices to join us.
During the live we presented the nutritional value of the ingredients of traditional products, as the famous afkos which is used to make the delicious fava eaten by the people of Lemnos, the brown sesame, the flaxseed, but also the white bean.
The already enthusiastic comments we received through Instagram continued to flood our feed as Rafael Giannelis explained the way tyrvolia are made and shared tips on the cheese-making process for the melipasto cheese.
The camera often took a visual tour of our table, featuring tahini bean puree, toasted cheese bread topped with grapes, but also fava beans with caramelized onions and grated almonds, a creation inspired by Sophie, which can be found in the upcoming release of her recipe book.
Polina Chatzigeorgiou took us on a journey through the secrets of the Greek vineyard and the rare varieties of wines produced in Lemnos that combine unique aromas with natural flavors. The choice of wines was based on the pairing with the dishes on the menu.
The narrative flow of the gastronomic secrets of the local cuisine was accompanied by the live presentation of the preparation of a cold salad with white beans and the famous local pasta, the flomari, with grated melipasto cheese and red sauce with fresh honey. Sophie, with her apron and her airy movement in the kitchen, showed everyone how the love for cooking, combined with the use of quality products is the creative bridge between nature and our dishes.
An imaginative and alternative recipe based on afkos was presented by Vassilis Piantes, creating two separate variations of afkos meatballs, jokingly naming them “favafel”, accompanied by handmade tomato jam. The aesthetics of the setting on Vassilis’ dishes set for a delicious result, giving us explosive moments of enjoyment in every bite.
An hour of our live broadcast went by pretty fast, so we said goodbye to our online guests, thanking them for watching and inviting them to continue to support traditional cultural practices and consume sustainably, empowering small producers and protecting the environment.
It was ours and our guests’ turn to seat around the table and raise our glasses in honour of the Heroes of the Mediterranean diet. For the rest of the night we all enjoyed together the delicacies that everyone so lovingly put on our plate, we shared stories, we laughed and we found once again that respect for nature and the goods it so generously offers us is the lever of change for a sustainable future!
Share a Dish night was an opportunity to welcome the rest of the summer season, in the middle of a difficult period worldwide, and share a meal with friends and loved ones.
We thank, from the bottom of our hearts, all those who were with us at this special event, all those who failed to attend due to professional obligations (Stavros and Antonis Lantouris, Nassos Karagiannakis), the friends who were with us online, but also all the people who support sustainable and moral consumption!
The #MedFoodHeroes digital campaign may be over for this year, but our team continues to work to bring you many more sharing moments and to seize the opportunity to spread our love for people and the environment.
Learn more about the local producers of Lemnos, the ambassadors of the campaign, but also discover delicious recipes from Morocco, Lebanon, Spain, Portugal and Greece.
@RootedEveryday #MedFoodHeroes