From the Editors
Posted by estiator at 11 September, at 14 : 54 PM Print
Smells Like Greek Spirit
With the goal of achieving culinary nirvana, we’ve decided to look inward for the month of September, deciphering the times and what they mean for those that will follow.
As such, this month, Estiator embraces who we are: We are restaurateurs. We are Greek. We are American. We love food, particularly the food that is in our DNA. We love hospitality and sharing our culture and our identity with our neighbors who come to our businesses.
Our identity, of course, began overseas and came across the Atlantic to very often find itself enclaved into Greektowns across the country: Astoria, Chicago, Detroit, Brooklyn, and Baltimore among them. Contributor Michael Kaminer visited the last of those for his engaging piece, “Charm City’s Greek Accents: Baltimore’s Greektown Faces the Future.” Here, Kaminer looks at the changing character of the city’s once-Greek neighborhood; a neighborhood that retains its Greek character through the restaurants that continue to attract Greek Americans along with Americans in search of a great Greek meal.
And while our identity is changing to a great extent with regard to the places we live, it is also changing with regard to where we work. Greek women, always strong, hardworking, and industrious, are moving increasingly into leadership roles in restaurant kitchens and restaurant company boardrooms. Kaminer introduces us to three women who are redefining female roles while celebrating their heritage in “Power Chefs: Meet Three Women at the Top of Their Game in the Kitchen and Beyond.”
In our regular columns, restaurant coach and consultant Constantine N. Kolitsas philosophizes over the most effective management approach at a time when staff are in demand. In this month’s Managing for Success, he explores “How (and Why) to Be a Beloved Manager.” And in “A Cut Above,” Estiator puts the sizzle in the tomahawk steak, a decadent cut of beef that is hot on menus across the land.
Let’s remember where we came from, as it is the key to who we are and where we’re going: “Our little group has always been, and always will until the end.”
The Editorial and Publishing Staff
