Four Seasons Athens Hotel food photography
In this food photography hotel campaign for Four Seasons Palace Hotel Athens, the chef of the restaurant Sergio Favata from Sicily, learned to make tomato sauce in a jar (conserva di pomodori) when he was a child. Next to his grandmother, he also learned the recipe for oregano focaccia, which today takes 35-40 hours to prepare in the kitchen of Mercato. Imagine walking into a delicatessen with fine Italian products – from cheeses and cold meats to olives, breadsticks and many types of bread. And what do the two Italian chefs not bring from their homeland: excellent Acquerello Carnaroli rice, anchovies from Sicily, roe from Sardinia, San Marzano tomatoes, Pecorino Fiore Sardo D.O.P, Pecorino al Tartufo, Caciocavallo di Grotta from Puglia, Gorgonzola, and of course Buffalo Mozzarella D.O.P.
It’s one of the Mediterranean’s most enduring traditions: family and friends gathered around a heaving table, decompressing and reconnecting over delicious dishes made with love. A new weekly reason to bring loved ones together with their grand Pranzo Della Domenica – a sensory recreation of the traditional Sunday brunch, Italian style.
“In Italy, just as in Greece, the traditional Sunday lunch is the glue than bonds families and friends together,” comments Sicilian-born Chef Sergio. “Antipasti platters, succulent seafood, grilled meats, fresh homemade pastas – my earliest memories are of huge sharing plates enjoyed to a soundtrack of chatter and laughter.”
It’s this convivial scene made not just for the Hotel food photography, but in real– equally familiar to Tuscan-born Chef Roberto – that informs the traditional family-centric spirit of each Mercato Sunday Brunch. Light-as-a cloud Foccacia (made to Chef Sergio’s grandmother’s recipe) heads the breads and grissinis that begin the lavish buffet spread: as abundant and authentic as Mercato’s Italian market name-sake.
The finest cuts of Prosciutto, Capocollo, Salame and Pancetta vie for space with creamy artisanal cheeses and a Seafood & Raw Bar packed with Fine De Claire Oysters and Clams, Marinated Mussels and Seabass Ceviche. Salads range from simple Caesar to the melt-in-the mouth refinement of Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio with Rocket, Parmesan and Truffle Mayo – or create one at the Salad Bar. Barbecue favourites include zesty “Sicilian” Grilled Baby Chicken and Pork Spare Ribs that fall off the bone, and that’s before one even reaches the freshly handcrafted pastas and carving stations.
Four Seasons Athens hotel staff
Every member of staff at the Four Seasons Astrir Palace Hotel Athens is committed to doing everything in their power to make you feel at home. Tender loving care in hospitality comes with a smile. The secret to good hospitality is... Not really a secret at all, I think. It’s about being able to respond to every guest’s different and changing needs. Nowadays, Four Seasons staff has the means to create a profile for every guest and to know what they like so that they can make sure they have it, but it’s also important that they respect every guest privacy.
Portrait photography for Four Seasons Magazine, Text by Nena Dimitriou.
Thanks to the Members:
Yorgos Vournazos Chief Concierge, Member of Les Clefs d’Or International
Vicky Zafeiri Hotel Assistant Manager
Rafaela Nikolouzou Public Relations Coordinator
Alexandros Makropoulos Executive Sous Chef
Ilir Rumbullaku Housekeeping
Apostolis Dimou Executive chef
Manon Kapfer Bar Manager
Georgia Sfika Assistant director of Reservations
Lilian Labropoulou Director of People and Culture
Mikael Lambotte Assistant director of rooms
Vyron Mavroudis Assistant Restaurant manager
Eva Sotirakopoulou Catering Executive
Nikodimos Koulits People & culture manager
