NIKOLAOS TSELEMENTES

 

                                         

The great Greek chef, Nikolaos Tselementes was born in 1878 in Sifnos and grew up in Athens.  At first, he worked at a notary’s office but was involved with cooking on the side, while he worked at his father’s restaurant.

 

He studied culinary arts in Vienna and upon his return he worked at various Embassies.

 

Tselementes became famous through the magazine “Cooking Guide”, which began in 1910, and contained Greek recipes, international cooking and news about food in general.

 

In 1919 he became the manager of Hermes Hotel and in 1920 he left for the USA where he worked for some of the most expensive restaurants in the world.  Meanwhile, he received higher education in the culinary arts, pastry making and dietetics.

His book called “Cooking and Baking Guide” was published in 1926 and was the first cookery book published in Greece.  He returned to Athens and founded a small school for cooking and baking.  In 1950 Tselementes published his cookery book “Greek Cooking” in English offering recipes and secrets of the Greek Cuisine to the English-speaking world.   

 

He modernized Greek recipes  and is considered the founder of traditional and contemporary Greek Cooking.