Australia’s most well-known and beloved Greek chef George Calombaris is the man behind one of the most exciting events in Greek Australia’s cultural landscape.
OMG Week— or Oh My Greek Week— is a week-long celebration of all things Greek and edible— a set of Greek food week, that has brought together some of Greece’s top chefs, special guest chefs from the United States, as well as participation from Melbourne’s top Greek restaurants.
The week-long celebration includes special events, cooking demonstrations, tasting menus at various restaurants, pop-up restaurants and a week of culinary creation and cross collaboration with Greek cuisine as the common thread.
Visiting from Greece are chefs and food professionals considered “Greek food royalty,” including pastry chef Stelios Parliaros, Georgianna Hiliadaki and Nikos Rouses from Funky Gourmet, Christoforos Peskias from Balthazar in Athens and many more.
A special guest from the United States is well-known celebrity chef and media darling of New York City, Maria Loi, owner of her eponymous Loi Estiatiro in Midtown Manhattan and best-selling cookbook author.
Special events throughout the week have also been planned— most of which are already sold out, owing to the tremendous popularity of the week-long celebration, including an Ancient Greek Feast and a “Night in Athens,” that will feature cooking by top chefs from the Greek capital.
George Calombaris, the man behind OMG Week is Australia’s most beloved Greek chef and proprietor of the country’s top Greek restaurants, including Hellenic Republic, Gazi and The Press Club.
Calombaris has been named one of the most influential people in Melbourne and has appeared repeatedly on Australian television as an expert on Greek cuisine. His cookbooks have become best sellers.
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Here’s an interview with Calombaris, with his colleagues from Greece Christoforos Peskias and Stelios Parliaros hosted by local media personality Kyriakos Gold.