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Bakaliko – to make you just eat great Cretan food

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Fine foods & wines from Crete and the rest of Greece 

 

Bakaliko – to make you just eat great Cretan food

Heading to Bakaliko

The coasts of Crete are famous for their beauty (if not yet ruined by mass tourism). Nevertheless, there is great pleasure in spending some time in the enticing inland, adorned with stunning natural landscapes. We are heading to Bakaliko in the beautiful village of Archanes. We are driving 15 km south from Heraklion along the waving roads surrounded by endless vineyards to the sun-baked village of Archanes. There is a lot to tell about this village, located on the slopes of Mount Giouhtas. Archanes has a 5000-year-old history and important archaeological sites, besides wonderfully built houses, famous for their typical Cretan architecture. Archanes has won an award as the ‘second best-restored village in Europe.’ Archanes seems quiet and empty in the hot afternoon sun until we reach the main square. The central square is full of lively tavernas, their tables carefully arranged in the shade of leafy, old trees. It struck us that many activities occur simultaneously on the square, people come are sit here to meet each other, to eat, to drink, to talk, to gossip, as long as the time lasts.

Island love story

Amidst all the Greek tavernas, we find Bakaliko. Bakaliko was founded in early 2013 by two pioneering Hungarian women, Agnes and Susanna, who had come separately to Crete and both fell in love with Cretan island living. Enamoured by the beauty and bounty of Crete, the Cretan produce and wines, they decided to stay. The idea was to create a store and delicatessen restaurant. To cook some simple recipes to help visitors discover the amazing Cretan products. The name Bakaliko was a natural choice. Bakaliko, a word of Turkish origin, refers to a store. In 2017, Agnes returned to her native Budapest to pursue other interests.

Bakaliko is now run solely by Susanna and her husband George, a native Cretan. Susanna and George met at a sailing-club restaurant in the port of Heraklion, where she worked as a cook and he in the dining room, before they started their Bakaliko adventure together with Agnes. We ran into George after lunch to discover his passion and knowledge of the wines of Crete and Greece. 

Bakaliko – to make you just eat great Cretan food
Bakaliko – to make you just eat great Cretan food

Local with a twist

As lovers of good food, we could not resist the temptation to savour the tastes Babaliko had discovered. Bakaliko’s commitment to fresh ingredients, prepared with lot’s of love for the produce, delighted us. Genuine Cretan flavours, but with a twist, executed with modern techniques, sophistication and elegance. We are in for a remarkable lunch. We order Dakos, the typical Cretan rusks topped with tomatoes, olives, olive oil, fresh herbs and crumbled Myzithra;  delicious dolmades, the beautiful bulgur-wrapped vine leaves finished with lemon and mind tzatziki, and the rice pilaf with feta, toasted pistachios and pomegranate seeds. All accompanied by a savoury watermelon salad. George was kind enough to pair all of our dishes with a well-selected wine per glass that complemented the dish. Life is filled with unusual surprises. One of them was the tarte tatin. This heavenly French dessert with the taste of dark and sticky caramel, sweet apples and crisp pastry. George told us that people come specially to Bakaliko to eat this wonderful dessert. Good food and wines are part of Crete and Greece. 

The details:

When you visit Bakaliko restaurant you’ll be in for a treat, as much as we were at this charming, little place.

Bakaliko Archanes  – Main Square, Ano Archanes, Crete

Website: https://www.bakalikocrete.com

Email: info@bakalikocrete.com

Dominique-Climasander-the-International-Brand-Ambassador-of-Piper-Heidsiec-at-De-Rozari-traveljus

Prestige cuvée Rare and gourmet at Michelin* Restaurant De Rozario

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Chef Jermain de Rozario: “great cooking comes from the heart and soul”

Prestige cuvée Rare and gourmet at Michelin* Restaurant De Rozario

A love affair with taste

Coming from Amsterdam, Helmond in the south of The Netherlands may look far, but it is here Traveljus journeyed. On a grey, drizzly afternoon, Dominique Climasander (International Brand Ambassador of Piper-Heidsieck) proudly launched the long-awaited Rare Millésime 2013 during a champagne tasting lunch. It turned out to be a memorable lunch. If you get the real thing, it takes no effort at all to appreciate the champagnes from Piper-Heidsieck paired with the modern, noteworthy dishes of Michelin star chef Jermain de Rozario. De Rozario makes contemporary dishes with an Asian twist. Taste and flavour intensity are essential to Jermain. “Great cooking comes from the heart and soul”. They occasionally do things a little more unconventionally than usual in other top restaurants. And, with flamboyant sommelier Edgaras Razminas (named sommelier of the year 2021 by Michelin) anything is possible during service.

The story behind cuvée Rare

French champagne house Piper-Heidsieck has produced extraordinary champagnes since 1785. Piper-Heidsieck is renowned for its unique blends made of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. In the summer of 1976, France was hit by an unprecedented heat wave, one the Champagne region had never experienced before. The year started with a cold winter and spring, followed by an extremely hot, dry summer with thunderstorms and a windy, cold autumn. The harvest took place late, in October. Piper-Heidsieck’s winemaking team wondered whether it would be possible to create a Millésime cuvée under these remarkable circumstances. Millésime indicates the vintage or harvest year of the grapes. Following the assembly of the different base wines and after bottling, the team was so proud of the end product that they called it Piper-Heidsieck Rare. In 2019, the name became simply Rare. According to Émilien Boutillat, Chefs de Caves of Piper-Heidsieck Rare Champagne, the aim is to make the best possible wine in limited quantities and only in exceptional vintages. 

Prestige cuvée Rare and gourmet at Michelin* Restaurant De Rozario
Prestige cuvée Rare and gourmet at Michelin* Restaurant De Rozario

Restaurant De Rozario

Chef Jermain de Rozario of restaurant De Rozario believes in the power of flavour. His dishes show a lot of respect and love for the country of birth of his Javanese grandmother: Indonesia. What surprises me is that it brings back a memory of the Indonesian smells and flavours of my youth. While talking about Asia and Asian food, Jermain indicates that he would also like to travel to gain inspiration. “I don’t know yet everything. There is still so much to learn”. Jermain already came a long way. He was a garbage collector before his love for food and hospitality took over and he eventually earned his first Michelin star. Jermain wants to make his own flavour combinations, his own choices, even if they do not fit what people expect in a Michelin star restaurant. Also unexpected, yet it still fits in when you get to know the chef and his team a bit, is the sometimes bright graffiti art on the walls. It makes it clear what the essence of restaurant De Rozario is. Beautiful dishes in which the chef’s personality is not only unmistakably present but also his memories and emotions. And he does that surprisingly well. 

Menu De Rozario 

Appetizers: The various appetizers Pecel bonbon / Topinambumbu / Shellfish / Mama’s chicken/satay/bao, combined well with the dry style of the Piper-Heidsieck Essentiel Extra Brut.

Steak tartare: A beautiful dish of piccalilli ice cream/oyster leaf/sesame ‘kletskop’ / vinaigrette of roasted peppers in paired with the excellent Champagne Rare Millésime 2008.

Turbot: A classic dish with softer flavours and a citrus twist, made from pumpkin/orange / beurre blanc vadouvan. The turbot and the Piper-Heidsieck Essentiel Blancs de Blancs paired well together.

Rendang: The rendang, made from coconut and sereh / mango ice cream/enoki/pandan oil, is a course I would definitely come back for. It paired surprisingly well with Piper-Heidsieck French Riviera.

Wagyu / Oyster: A delicious dish of Wagyu beef, with a rich, buttery and umami-like undertone, further enhanced by the miso eggplant/mushroom / perkedel / gravy from Pedro Ximénez and BBQ. Excellent combi with the long-matured Piper-Heidsieck Vintage 2014.

Prestige cuvée Rare and gourmet at Michelin* Restaurant De Rozario

I want to extend my thanks to the Dutch importer Maxxium, Dominique Climasander, the International Brand Ambassador of Piper-Heidsieck, restaurant De Rozario, and Pitch PR for the organization.