Michael Psilakis
Michael Psilakis has accrued many of the food world’s highest honors in the short time he has been part of the culinary world. In 2008, he was awarded Food & Wine’s Best New Chef and Bon Appetit and Esquire Magazine’s Chef of the Year. His upscale Greek restaurant, Anthos, was awarded a Michelin star and named the third of 10 best new restaurants by The New York Times. Anthos was also nominated for a James Beard Award in the category of Best New Restaurant. He has opened many restaurants in New York, including Onera, Kefi, Dona—with restaurateur Donatella Arpaia—and most recently Gus & Gabriel, a gastropub named for his father and son. His first cookbook, How to Roast a Lamb, was released last month.
This lamb dish won’t intimidate the home cook.
Lemony Leg of Lamb by Sarah Leah Chase
Lamb was the centerpiece of so many meals throughout my childhood. It is quintessential in Greek cooking down to every last bit of the animal. This is a great, simple way to enjoy it, and it is not intimidating to the home cook.
When I crave pasta, I go to I Trulli in New York.
The fresh-made pastas here are so special. They’re made by hand with so much love by a real Italian, and it shows in every bite. This is where I come when I crave pasta, and this is what I try to emulate when I make it myself.
Mark Bittman’s secret is garlic and olive oil, which is the Greek equivalent of “an apple a day…”
Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything
Any cook, professional or home cook, who says their secret is garlic and olive oil is a favorite of mine. Every morning I still wash down a clove of raw garlic with a tablespoon of olive oil, just like my mother and father did when I was growing up. It is the Greek equivalent of “an apple a day...”
Food Destination
I’m obviously enamored with Greece.
Santorini, Greece
This is a loaded question for me here. Although I love the exploration of all cuisines, I’m obviously enamored with Greece. However, Italy and Spain also excite me.
