Father Epiphanios of the Great Lavra’s Mylopotamos Cell, who is surnamed the Athonite Chef, participated this month, together with a team of Greek chefs, in the IKA/Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, Germany.
The team won the bronze medal in the category “Community Catering” with seven dishes inspired by the Macedonian culinary tradition, including zucchini and herb pie, a local fish dish, yogurt with honey, and jam with raspberries and beetroot.
The IKA/Culinary Olympics is the oldest, largest and most diverse international culinary arts competition in the entire world.
Father Epiphanios
Father Epiphanios is perhaps the most famous Athonite monk together with Abbot Ephraim of Vatopedi, but for quite different reasons.
A connoisseur of the wines produced from the Athonite vineyards and exported all over Europe, Father Epiphanios is also a talented cook with international recipes and the best ambassador of Athonite cuisine abroad.
He enjoyed hearts and stomachs in France, Italy, UK, Spain, Germany, and elsewhere in the world.
He cooked at the renowned restaurants all across Europe at the invitation of famous chefs, while his book about the cuisine of the ‘Garden of the Mother of God’ was translated and published in seven languages.
Only at the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos held at Ivirion Monastery he cooks 2.5 tons of fish each year for 4,000 people.
Photo courtesy of Newsit.gr
