Thalassa! Thalassa! July 10th Greek Supper Club Recap

I just received the fabulous photos of last week’s Greek Supper Club held on the rooftop of a condo in the Fashion District of downtown Toronto. The memories are still fresh in my mind but I want to share this fabulous evening for those of you who couldn’t make it or you’re thinking about attending one of my future dinners.

The theme of the evening was the sea or in Greek – thalassa. The entire menu was composed with fish and seafood in mind and I wanted to recreate the “al fresco” outdoor dining experience so many love and enjoy when dining in Greece. The wines and water were furnished by Kolonaki Group and many thanks go out to Steve Kriaris.

Serving almost 40  guests cannot be done alone and I must once again thank Lauren, Paula an Anubha for their tireless smiles, energy and charming dispositions. They have become part of the whole Greek Supper Club package. Behind the scenes my friend Janet LaDue flew into town to visit and she graciously pitched in to help before, during and after dinner. My sous-chef, partner, bestie, girlfriend Paula Costa proved invaluable again with her insight, perspective and positive energy.

The dinner could not have been possible without the help from Tania Daviduke and Scott Savoie of Culinary Adventure Co. who reside in the condo and allowed me to pull off this amazing experience. The weather last Tuesday was a perfect 27C, zero humidity, the mood was laid back, the CN Tower and Toronto’s skyline stunning and the food, tremendous.

Panagiotis Tsiriotakis has to be thanked for supplying the Acropolis Organics extra-virgin Cretan olive oil and Moust0-Balsamic vinegar for the entire menu. Good product always heightens a dish. Without further ado, here’s how the dinner rolled-out. First up was a trio of appetizers: Ouzo-cured salmon with lemon-caper yogurt, cucumber and pickled fennel, grilled octopus with fava Santorini on pita toasts, fried mussels with a saffron sauce.

Next up was a grilled shrimp and peach salad on a bed of mixed  greens with a peach and lemon verbena dressing.

The second course was grilled octopus stuffed with shrimp and smoked Metsovone cheese on a bed of braised kale with diced peppers, orange juice and extra-virgin olive oil. The kale was graciously provided by Cookin’ Greens.

The main course of the evening was olive oil poached loin of haddock on a bed of squid ink risotto topped with orange supreme, citrus peel and garlic infused olive oil.

Last but certainly not least was a Revani with my very own lemon coconut ice cream topped with toasted coconut.

Recipes and wine pairings for all the dishes will be posted in the coming days and before I head off to Greece next month for a well-earned vacation I am already working on my next Greek dinners in September and October!

Below are some photos from this fabulous dinner but comeback for each post as I will be adding more photos into the slide show. I knew I would be way too busy to take any decent photos so I invited my friends Marianthe and Jason to shoot some photos and videos for the evening. They are a joy to be with (socially and in business), they have a good eye for photography and they know tech and electronics If you some photography done for a work-related or family event, please contact either Marianthe or Jason at www.techwithred.com.