Kathmandu:

The world knows the Greeks for their philosophies, now Nepalis will know them for their light, flavourful cuisine with a decorative burst of colours.

The Hyatt Regency is hosting a 15-day Greek Food Festival from February 15 at the Café. They have invited Georgious Vagionas, a Hyatt chef from Greece, to bring a piece of the island. He has been very excited to be promoting his very first Greek food promotion, and of course about Nepal.

He has planned a full menu of fresh flavours that are prepared with very simple ingredients. As the Hyatt Chef de Cuisine, Dhruba Dutta Bhatta tells it, there were no difficulties finding the ingredients for the festival menu.

“They use olive and olive oil a lot. We have lots of olive and olive oils,” saysBhatta. “They use lots of feta cheese and we have lots of that, so we don’t have any kind of problem there.”

The festival will be carried out to some Greek music over the PA and guests could even try to pry out some of the recipes from Vagionas as he will be personally there to make and serve up the famous Greek saladas.

Throughout the festival, there will be a healthy selection of salads that will be made right at counter in front of the guests. Among the main courses, the Greek favourite is Mousakas, made with potatoes, egg plant, minced meat, tomatoes and a bit of spice. For soup lovers, Vavionas highlights Fakes, a lentil soup made zesty with dry onion, garlic, carrots, vinegar and bell pepper.

A must-try is Loukoumades, a honey-butter coating of rice flour, cinnamon and walnut made with sunflower oil.

If there is one thing that could be said about Greek food it is that it’s healthy and colourful. The festival is on at 7:00 pm everyday.