Premium Savoury Delicacies

Dryas Greek Truffle, DeliRoom and Black Garlic DownVillage

One of the charms of living and eating in Greece is the elasticity of the time schedule. Meals consist of breakfast, a collatsio which is a snack consumed around eleven especially by manual workers, lunch which can be lazily protracted and then dinner. Lunch and dinner timings occur across a broad time range which means no early closing times, much bemoaned in other less flexible countries.

These meals can be interspersed from midday onwards with a drink and mezedes, small savoury bites made from a large range of products. The following brands lend themselves to the creation of mezedes.

Dryas Greek Truffle

Dryas is a brand from Veria, in Northern Greece, offering flavourful Greek truffles in many forms. These can be sliced in jars and as carpaccio, ground into paste, shaped into pâté or distilled into cream, vinegar or olive oil. They also use their truffles to infuse butter, salt, wine, honey and even chocolate.

The company began cultivating truffles in 2008, but it was in 2013 that the Dryas brand name was established, starting to offer premium truffle-based products.

The name of the brand derives from the Greek name of the Dryads, the mythical nymphs who inhabited the Greek forests, and it reflects the brand’s passion and respect for nature.

Their aim is to introduce exciting new ways to savour the truffles which Greek nature has to offer, following modern gastronomy trends.

DeliRoom

DeliRoom creates premium handmade sweet preserves, jams, chutneys, sauces and dressings.

The brand is based in Thermi, near Thessaloniki, and was founded in 2014 by Anestis Rousodimos, an experienced food technologist, and his wife Voula Gallou.

The company started from humble beginnings, as the couple began working from their home kitchen. Their very first products were an olive sweet preserve and an olive jam.

It was however their presence at Thessaloniki’s International Food Expo which caused them to be noted and since then they expanded their business, growing the variety of their products.

Today they operate from a modern workshop and they maintain the same drive and passion, creating original and delicious handmade products.

Black Garlic DownVillage

Black Garlic DownVillage produces a range of high-quality black garlic products.

The company was established in 2012 as an experimental farm in Katochori, in Pelion, cultivating black garlic. It was founded by Panagiotis Ganotis with the valuable contribution of chef Gregory Helmis, who gave him the idea.

Black garlic is considered a super food for its antioxidant properties. Its ripening process allows the garlic to take on, not only a new colour, but a new texture and an enhanced, more complex flavour. It turns sweeter and less acid while retaining a light garlic aroma.

The brand uses this excellent raw material to produce truly unique products such as black garlic caviar, mayonnaise, honey and cheese.

One of the thrills of creating A Magic Cabinet and writing its stories, has been savouring newly discovered delicacies. These mouth-watering bites add flavourful interest to any dish.