“Thessaloniki is the town of meze”. It’s culture is to put the dishes in the middle of the table and share. This is its unique culture and authentic character. This is the DNA of this town and that what it should turn to”.
Sotiris Evangelou was born in 1967. He comes from Tirnavos in Thessaly. He graduated from Thessaloniki School of Tourism in 1985. He was schooled at Alain Ducasse School in Paris and he was selected to work in the restaurants of the group in Monaco, Marseille, Province, with high point his collaboration at Plaza Athenee in Paris.
His working experience includes restaurants of many big, luxury hotels in Greece and abroad. When he returned back to Greece, 28 years old at that time, he was the youngest Executive Chef at Makedonia Palace, in Thessaloniki. He took over the kitchens of high end hotels, such as Athenaeum Intercontinental, King George, Grande Bretagne in Athens. He ends up there where he started, at Makedonia Palace, since 2017 until today.
He has been awarded several Greek Cuisine Awards, as he has achieved to create familiar dishes, and at the same time, very elegant, and extremely delicious. He’s mentality using local high quality products is memorable. He is the chef, who introduced “patsas” (tripe soup) in a five star luxury hotel.

“Gastronomy is culture, and the basis of our cuisine comes from the past. Although, despite innovation and development, we should not miss the point, which is flavour”.
He was born in 1973. He comes from North Halkidiki. He studied Catering at a Public College. His professional activity starts as Commis in 1997 at Regency Casino Thessaloniki.
He manages to get high positions, working hard, in all the restaurants of HYATT group, hotel and casino in Thessaloniki. At the same time he acquires the qualification “Department Trainer” of HYATT INTERNATIONAL HOTELS. With the opening of THE MET HOTEL in Thessaloniki he moves as Executive Chef in the new hotel, being responsible for the organization and the setting up of all the departments of Avenue 48 Restaurant, as well as Chan, the Asian Restaurant of the hotel.
At the same time he works as Culinary Professor at AKMI College. He has attended several seminars about Greek gastronomy standards and hygiene in restaurants, aiming at his personal development. He has also attended trainings abroad with HYATT (Baku Azerbaijan, New Dehli India, London), as well as, in ethnic cooking, such as Mexican, American, Indonesian, Indian, German, Russian, Chinese, Italian, and others, next to acclaimed chefs.

“Flavors, aromas and history is the gastronomic identity of Thessaloniki. Bougatsa for breakfast, meze for lunch and a high gastronomy dish for dinner or street food or even a soup for all-nighters. High gastronomy is not a product difficult to find, but offering a high class result using the most simple ingredient”.
He was born in Argithea, in Karditsa, were he spent part of his childhood. He grew up in Thessaloniki, the town, where he still lives and creates.
His studies started in the faculty of Crop Science and continued in Culinary studies at the School of Tourism. He also graduated from Butcher School. He is constantly attending seminars of any kind, relevant to his job.
His career started as he was still very young, studying at the same time. He has worked in all kinds of food service, from grills, to traditional taverns and fast food, as well as 5 star awarded restaurants and he has been given all the positions, getting finally high up the chain.
In the recent years he is the Executive Chef of Regency Casino Thessaloniki and Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki with an evolutionary presence in the gastronomy of Thessaloniki, Greece but internationally as well. At the same time and since years ago, he works as a Culinary Professor in private Culinary Colleges.
He has been awarded many times and has also been the ambassador of Greek gastronomy abroad.

Chef Manolis Papoutsakis was born and raised in Crete, Greece. He graduated from the University of Crete and received his BA and MA from the Faculty of Philosophy. During his army service he received his basic training as a chef and since then he realized that cooking would become his profession, and Philosophy, his hobby. He moved to Thessaloniki, Greece, working on his PhD thesis on Plato, but at the same time, he continued to build his culinary career, training his cooking skills and working as a chef. In 2017, he decided to open his own Cretan cuisine restaurant, “Haroupi”, where he also works as a chef.
The restaurant has been awarded many times and distinguishes for its fresh and innovative perception of the traditional Cretan cuisine. He is also the chef and co-owner of the awarded “Ten Tables” restaurant in Thessaloniki, as well as, of the talk of the town “Pharaoh” Bar-Restaurant, in Athens.
He teaches cooking and has taken part as a judge in several cooking competition shows, as well as, in Master Chef Junior, while at the same time he had his own cooking show in the public TV for PDO and PGI Greek products.
He writes occasionally as a guest editor about gastronomy and taste. He travels a lot and loves good food and wine.