Grecocentrics

The über-talented Vasilis Chamam is the chef of a cuisine that is, by nature, impossible to define. His mother is Greek, his father grew up in Jordan, his grandfather was Palestinian, and his grandmother Lebanese. He himself was born in Thessaloniki, where he spent his childhood years. London followed - first Architecture, then Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, and later exhibitions and Tate Modern.

This cultural patchwork, combined with his love for gastronomy, is probably enough to describe what he creates. After twenty-four years in the British capital, Vasilis Chamam returned to his hometown to lead the highly anticipated culinary venture of the award-winning visual communication and creative design studio Beetroot, named Poster.

He loves the color black and the works of Martin Kippenberger - perhaps as much as he loves the tomato as an ingredient, and chef Lee Tiernan. After all, cooking, like art, is for him a clear connective tissue between people and the land. Each dish is a canvas, unique in time.

For him, luxury in gastronomy means immediacy - the direct connection between primary production and the enjoyment of an ingredient close to its place of origin, by people who truly live it. It is not merely about indulgence - which is why concepts such as ethics, sustainability, and responsibility hold such importance.

"Food is one of the deepest and most fundamental political acts we all perform every day - with immediate impact and implications across the entire spectrum of life on earth - land, sky, and sea - as well as on the lives and labor of people."

And how does inspiration come?

He often thinks, almost unconsciously, about the ingredients he sees around him - sometimes he can already imagine them plated.

"When something stirs me emotionally, I get excited, I feel happy, and I try to cook it and share it with friends."

For him, cooking is exactly that: nourishment, care, love.

Likewise, his ideal guest is someone who allows space and time within themselves for the food they are about to share. A quiet force, he likes to be in control and enjoys the culinary choreography with his team behind the kitchen doors. After all, that was the most important lesson he learned in the kitchen.

Unpredictable, he serves agrodolce cuttlefish with kavourmas and wild greens, tuna tiradito with sea buckthorn cream, hazelnut, and pul biber. Ewe tartare with egg yolk, herb oil, and handmade trahana cracker. And somewhere in between slips in the spicy VTEC coffee sriracha - the sauce he first created at Hand Cafe in London with chili peppers and single-estate coffee.

And ultimately, which dish does he think he would be in a parallel universe?

He laughs. "A toast sandwich made from leftovers after the New Year’s feast at 2:30 in the morning."