It’s that time of year again! Summer anticipation, the flurry of end-of-school events, triumphant graduation parties, grills fired up with all of Dad’s favorites for Father’s Day… but don’t let the celebrations stop there! Mark your calendars for the A Taste Of Greece Annual Festival coming up next weekend at St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine. This is the 33rd year for the popular street fair type festival where Greek cuisine and hospitality are on full display and you’ll be able to savor the abundance of Greek culinary delights.
Last year I was among the fortunate foodies to attend a preview dinner for the festival – feast your eyes on some of the Greek specialties that you’ll be find at the festival. What were my favorites? No question about it, the Saganaki (above) is forever imprinted on my taste memory – creamy Kaseri Greek cheese sautéed in butter, flamed with Brandy and finished with fresh lemon! *swoon*
Making Saganaki
And the Spanikopita was the best I’ve ever had – made with fresh blanched whole spinach leaves.
But damn, I love sausage, and the juicy, grilled Loukanico – infused with coriander, orange peel and garlic and served with Feta cheese is making me hungry as I’m writing this! It’s one of the many gourmet sausages made by Mad Mikes right here in Orange County.
Can’t forget the Dolmathes made with fresh grape leaves.
Then there was the Chicken Souvlaki and Lamb Lollipops, oh my!
Not to mention, the Pastichio (Greek lasagna) and Tiropites (three cheese filling baked in phyllo dough), and the desserts! By this time, it was too dark to get decent photos of the melt-in-your-mouth Baklava, Kourambiethes (butter cookie served at festive occasions – similar to Italian Wedding cookies) and Galatobouriko – we all had fun learning to say this :-), a sumptuous sweet egg custard layered in phyllo dough and honey. You’ll just have to go to the festival yourself to experience them!
OR, Cathy Thomas is hosting a free Taste of Greece demonstration at Bloomingdales, South Coast Plaza at 2:00 p.m. this Saturday, June 18th where she’ll be cooking up traditional Greek tiropites, grilled lamb chops, and saganaki!!!
Our sensory journey into Greece was orchestrated by none other than George Kookootsedes, Executive Chef and Culinary Director for A Taste of Greece. George, best known as owner of two of Orange County’s legendary restaurants, Chanticleer and John Dominis, was poetry in motion as he whipped up each traditional Greek meze using just a grill and hot plate. His passion for his country and its food and wine was unmistakable as he described each course and educated us on the premium Greek wines being served. Thank you, George! My taste memory is working overtime now 🙂
A Taste of Greece Annual Festival
St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church
4949 Alton Parkway (between Culver and Jeffrey)
Irvine, CA 92604
What fun – a Greek festival! We have a few around here, but nothing as elaborate as yours – wish I could be there!
Looks like a ton of fun!! Hope you have a great weekend!
This looks like so much fun! Wish we had a festival like that around here!
I love Greek food and would be so going to this Greek Festival, yum…maybe a little Greek dancing to burn off the calories???
Oh, I remember Greek festivals back in NY, and I haven’t been to once since I move to California. Now I know where the party’s at! I’m swooning over those Saganaki, too. Boy oh boy.
Oh, how I wish I lived close enough to participate in the festivities. I long to visit Greece but I would happily settle for enjoying its cuisine instead. All the food you highlighted looks delish. I don’t doubt you’ll have lots of fun this year, too.
Have a great weekend, Priscilla!
This is so exciting! I will actually be in Irvine that weekend! Thank you for letting us know. I would love to try the Loukanico!
Looks like it will be flooded with tons of great food! Spanikopita look so great!
What a fun event! I traveled to Greece for two weeks during college and loved it. The food is wonderful. I actually can never get tired of Gyros! Have fun and a wonderful weekend!!!
I wish I had a Greek Food Festival close to home too because I just love Greek food! Now I know I want to eat Greek tonight 🙂
I’ve been wanting to go to that festival for the longest time. I love Tiropites, my friend made some for a dinner party once and I’ve been hooked ever since.
This looks like a delicious event. I love the photos- the first two were definately my favorite dishes. I’ll have to make it down to Irvine next year for this event, it looked like a lot of fun.
Oooh goodness. I missed the Greek Festival and the Italian festival in my area this year! These pictures make me so sad that I did too. Everything looks great.
Looks like fun, probably not a whole lot of vegetarian goodies. But hey I can drink the wine 🙂
Growing up with Greek neighbors, I developed an affinity for their cuisine. I am so jealous of your adventure. I wish I could go!