Pavlos Kyriakis welcomes us to The Zillers Athens, where history and architecture embrace bridging glorious past with urban influences.
Awarded with 1 Michelin star, it ranks internationally at the center of the restaurant scene with tasting menus that redefine Greek creative cuisine forming a beyond the Athenian experience.
In a welcoming environment on the canvas of which elements of neoclassicism and classical Greece are sculpted, The Zillers Athens Hotel invites you to cross its wooden corridors and open up your own window of spiritual connection with the ideals of old Athens.
H.A: Amuse bouche, visitor’s very first interaction with Chef’s flavors and philosophy, foreshadows promising culinary experiences. What is its role at The Zillers Athens?
Pavlos Kyriakis: “Chef’s welcome” at The Zillers Athens plays a decisive role. It is the beginning of the culinary experience that will shortly follow. Essentially, “Chef’s welcome” is a series of small bites in which customers will encounter techniques and flavors that will help him understand what is to attend.
H.A: Greek cuisine has succeeded in distinguishing not only for the excellent quality of the ingredients but also for the dynamic character of the Chefs who highlighted its diverse personality. What are the impressions of your international visitors?
Pavlos Kyriakis: It is a fact that in Greek cuisine we can procure excellent raw materials and traditional recipes with a noticeable character that makes them stand out. The more somebody travels, the easier is for him or her to ascertain comparing it with other cuisines.
Our visitors are impressed by things that seem quite simple to us and it makes sense that we have demystified them. For example, a souvlaki, which for us is plain everyday food that we will swiftly consume in a heartbeat, for a visitor from abroad is a culinary experience in comparison to similar street food outside of Greece, such as a burger or a slice of pizza.
H.A: Do you believe that hotel restaurants have achieved over the years to increase their popularity and offer good value for money as well as a satisfactory level of service compared to their independent counterparts?
Pavlos Kyriakis: There are many good restaurants in Greece that offer a high level of service, which we can find on site and off site. The difference is that on site restaurants provide a safety net and this is nothing else than rooms. In plain words, if there is a significant room revenue then it is much easier for a Chef to create and use much more raw materials and possibly integrate to his menu more expensive raw materials.
Several times these restaurants are given the opportunity to employ many staff members and acquire more equipment. Of course, this applies in broad terms due to each company is specific and collaborates by following its very own directions.
If we look at it from another perspective, we can refer that a Chef who is employed in a hotel restaurant encounters certain difficulties, which a Chef of an independent restaurant will most certainly not.
For instance, in an independent restaurant, the chef will not be dealing with room service during the time of service due to the grounds that there are no rooms . In addition, there are no breakfast and various menus available such as lunch, snack and bar.
It practically means that there is only one menu to focus on and much easier for him to be creative.
H.A: Would you prefer a food night out with comfort or fine dining options?
Pavlos Kyriakis: On a night out I actually prefer both. Regardless of the occasion. I may go to a restaurant with fine dining options if I hanker for an anniversary celebration or I seek to give a whirl on a Chef’s new menu, whose food I like.
On the other hand, I may choose to go to a nice tavern for commemorate purposes or I may go to the same tavern merely because I really enjoy the food and I want to try some of the specialties.
H.A: What are the key elements of the culinary personality of the Chefs/guests that you have stood out while working with them to execute 4 hands dinners at The Zillers?
Pavlos Kyriakis: The key elements of Chefs personality, I usually encounter are almost the same to all of them.
Ιt signifies that every Chef uses raw materials of his or her own country as a distinctive component of their cooking.
Consequently, every one of them acquires knowledge gained by their travels and used into their cooking and finally the majority of them will add a typical Greek product on their menu. For example, Alex Atala asked me for feta cheese to pop into one of his dishes while Christian Le Squer asked me for mastic.
Η.Α: What would you recommend to anyone visiting Greece for the first time to taste at your Roof Garden restaurant?
Pavlos Kyriakis: Owing to the fact that we wish for every visitor to take pleasure an authentic experience, we serve two different tasting menus so that he can taste as many things as possible. In this way, he doesn’t just try one or two dishes but relishes a whole new food experience accompanied by scrumptious cocktails and impeccable service.
H.A: Are there instant inspirations in your menus or do you choose flavors fitting in the trends of each season?
Pavlos Kyriakis: As far as our menu is concerned, there are instant inspirations at times, but there are other times we prefer going with the flow of each season. Most certainly, raw materials we will decide to include to our menu partake a seasonality character while others are preserved in order to be used off season.
H.A: What are the next culinary “challenges” that your team and by extension you, who lead the brigade will seek?
Pavlos Kyriakis:The following culinary challenge is nothing else than to raise even further our standards at The Zillers. In addition, a new project is in the works and shortly after Easter period to be announced.
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