S.A.L.T. Experiences: Tasting Greece’s Organic Culture

With an appetite for travel and wildlife, Silversea contributor Lucia Griggi usually has her lens fixed on subjects with feathers, fur or scales.

So to find her on the Greek island of Paros in the Mediterranean focusing on flavor as she followed food from source to table was out of the norm. She traveled with Adam Sachs, the director of Silversea’s S.A.L.T. (Sea And Land Taste) program, to meet local farmers and chefs, taking her camera and tastebuds on a culinary adventure.

“When I got to Greece, I was amazed by the attention to organic farming,” Griggi says. “It really complemented Silversea’s S.A.L.T. program, particularly S.A.L.T. Kitchen, the restaurant onboard Silver Moon and Silver Dawn that’s field-to-plate focused. Also having an expert like Adam Sachs leading guests onshore to understand how and where these ingredients come from is an incredible experience.”

Exploring produce, from farm to plate

Understanding the food culture, lifestyle and history of the Greek islands sparked familiarity with Griggi, whose own heritage is based in the Mediterranean, as she began to explore just how wild some of the ingredients in dishes here are.

“One thing that stood out on Paros was when we met with Stavros Tsavalos, who created Kamarantho Farm with his wife Katerina Papadimitrou,” she says. “He showed us around and I was surprised to see how many herbs are just wild plants. You can literally walk outside of the farm and there are hedgerows of thyme, rosemary or dill.”

“Later on in the afternoon, we moved on to Thallassamou, a restaurant on Paros’ Aegean coast, where we ate some of the food and we were learning how to make. Filo pastries are quite a delicacy here. Just learning how to cook using raw, organic ingredients  inspired me to expand my cooking skill set once back home .”