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114 TASTE/ DOMES NORUZ CHANIA
wine production. As for those How would you describe the
with a sweet tooth, they’ll be food at Zeen restaurant?
spoiled for choice by the inven- With tradition, simplicity and
tive selection of desserts, with love for the produce of our land
everything from homemade as our tenets, we continue to
ice cream to Rakomelo Baba, explore and discover the val-
which uses local raki, and the ues of Cretan cooking – but we
chocolate-packed Cretan Ba- also work to take our cuisine
nana with a Twist. Just one last further, to enhance it without
tip for you: In our opinion, the losing sight of the fundamen-
sophisticated Kserotigano des- tals. We love to share the re-
sert is simply to die for, with lo- sults with diners. We use ingre-
cal mizithra cheese, yogurt ice dients produced on Crete: olive
cream, thyme honey bubbles oil, fresh vegetables, seafood,
and raki-drenched crumb. fish... I should note that season-
ality defines the menu at Zeen,
After working for acclaimed so it’s not easy to be more spe-
establishments in Spain and cific in terms of the literal main
the UK, Execu tive Chef Diony- ingredients of our success!
sis Pliatsikas arrived in Chania
to lead a talented team. Today, Have you gotten in touch with
he speaks to Domes Magazine your suppliers? What are your
about his inspiration, what favorite ingredients to use?
makes Cretan cuisine stand Our local suppliers are indis-
out, and the Zeen approach pensable for us and our dishes.
to gastronomy – all building They are our lifeline, our con-
blocks of the acclaimed ex- nection to the Cretan soil and Top:
Dionysis
perience at this Domes Noruz its products. At Zeen, we make Pliatsikas is at
the helm of the
sure we only work with certified
Chania food and drink hotspot.
" restaurant.
kitchen at Zeen
Below: Cooked
to order and
Zeen restaurant’s entire philosophy
perfectly
is based on what the island has taught us
Dionysis' dishes
will take your
about flavor, ingredients and cooking." balanced,
breath away.
D
M
Cretan producers. Ingredients
are equally important. It’s really
hard for me to choose because
there is no one ingredient that
is more important than others.
A humble “ofti” potato cooked
on charcoal, an organic tomato,
or even our sea salt from Balos
beach are all unique and indis-
pensable! When you place all
three of these components on
a plate, you get a masterpiece
of flavor… with or without our
exquisite olive oil!
Which flavors of Crete stand
out for you?
I visit one of Chania’s farm-
ers’ markets at least every week.
I think that out all the stalls, I
am drawn to the ones that sell
many different varieties of wild
Cretan greens. Some are sweet,
others salty, or bitter, or aromat-
ic… There’s an incredible wealth
of flavors within this category of
vegetable, and you can use them
in all sorts of recipes – from pies
to salads, cooked greens, in the
pot or in the pan with meat or
fish… literally everywhere!
Do you combine local and in-
ternational ingredients in your
cooking?
Because we focus on local
and seasonal to deliver the best
dishes possible, I try not to mix
different cooking traditions with
Cretan and Mediterranean cui-
sine, with the exception of our
special events. However, our lo-
cal producers themselves often
experiment with new produce to
cultivate in Crete, so we support
their efforts by using their new
products in our dishes.
What dish would you recom-
mend from the menu at Zeen?
This is a difficult question with
many possible answers, but I’ll
give you just one: I’d recom-
mend the White Grouper Giou-
vetsi with wild fennel.
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