Discussions with Greek expatriates, especially in their home town, are always interesting because they give you an image of Greece, or what should be the image of Greece, which is difficult to compose yourself.
Especially discussions with expats whose job focuses on Greek tourism and products can be stunning, depending on how much immortal, unique, authentic Greek “sprite” can your interlocutor offer.
This was the case a few days ago, one evening in Warsaw, at a wonderful Greek restaurant, which was crowded. The discussion revolved around Greek products, how they compare to other southern European countries competitors, e.g. Spain, Italy, Portugal, and how in terms of marketing and promotion they are still in the… Paleolithic Age.
We outlined the huge difficulties faced by professionals who strive promote Greek cuisine – with quality and elegance, of course – while facing the more serious obstacle, in terms of cost, quality, and variety with exactly the very own subject of their effort: the Greek products themselves!
As the owner of that restaurant (and another in Warsaw), Nicos put it: “Why can’t Greece come up with its own “sushi”?
He went on to explain that in Poland, practically everybody talked about sushi, connecting it to Japan and asked: Why can’t Greeks find their own “sushi”?
After all, Greece is considered as the “Queen” of the Mediterranean diet and many traditional foods and materials that can succeed souvlaki or mousaka as global brands, without these being excluded.
Why can’t all Greek chefs – even with some non-Greek ones – get together somewhere for a week and come up, propose and agree on a new gastronomic landmark to last for decades.
Something relatively simple, healthy, indicative of Greece and its basic products, with numerous options and variations covering a wide range of price and quality.
Tens of thousands of Greek restaurants around the world can be coordinated with the help of the Greek National Tourism Organization, the Greek Tourism Ministry, the local tour operators, Tourism Chambers, everyone, to spread and to establish the trend along the planet.
The passionate expression in the eyes of Nicos was the best advocate for the idea…
Yet, here, in good old Greece such suggestions, opinions and thoughts from our expatriates are often treat indifferently or even cynically.
So the best we can do is state it, let the record show it and perhaps leave it to the public opinion to decide its outcome…
