At the invitation of the Head of Culinary Arts Department, Mrs Georgia Kofinas, on Tuesday of this week our students and staff had the great pleasure, privilege and honour to welcome the renowned chef and TV persona, Mr Elias Mamalakis at the campus in Vouliagmeni for a presentation on Cheese!
Elias Mamalakis pursued his passion for cooking on a professional level at the age of 40! This decision ultimately established him as one of Greece’s most popular TV and media personalities!
Mr Mamalakis’ passion for food and tastes has driven him into having a great career as a host with his own TV show called «Μπουκία και συχώριο» (loosely translated to ‘so delicious’) where he travelled across Greece and Mediterranean countries where he promoted each destination’s unique products and local recipes. He is also known for his work as a food critic on cooking shows and for his visits as a guest star on numerous occasions on Greek television shows. He is the author of 9 cookbooks!
Recently Mr. Mamalakis wrote a book called «Ελληνικό Τυρί» (Greek Cheese) within which he promotes his knowledge of the different types of cheeses and recipes. “Greece that has one of the highest per capita consumption of cheese in the world, has over 100 cheese varieties” Mr Mamalakis informed his audience. He went on to highlight the 22 Protected Designation of Origin cheeses of Greece. His very interesting and fascinating story-telling presentation about the history of cheese was followed with a tasting of 6 Greek and 4 international cheeses.
A very warm and gentle person who loves imparting with his knowledge to upcoming chefs, Mr Mamalakis gave the students the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the session and he closed by giving them advice to thoroughly learn about all the products they will be working with as future chefs.