From the Editors
Posted by estiator at 15 January, at 12 : 42 PM Print
Smashing Pomegranates
The Greek tradition of smashing a pomegranate at the threshold of one’s home or business on New Year’s Day goes back to ancient Greece before being adopted by Orthodox Christian Greeks centuries later. The segments that are within the pomegranate (known as “arils”) are said to symbolize abundance, good health, and happiness. In Greece, churchgoers bring a pomegranate to the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil of Cesarea on January 1st, returning home with the fruit (which has now been blessed) and carrying out the custom of smashing it either on the door or on the ground before the door. Good fortune should follow, according to custom.
If January starts off with an ancient tradition, it moves forward pretty quickly, with predictions on everything from weather patterns to petrol prices. In this month’s Estiator, senior contributor Michael Kaminer gets in on the crystal ball act as he looks at some food trends in the issue’s cover story: Food Trends 2023. Here he aggregates projections that run the gamut from oxtails to mocktails. And adjacent to the cover piece, he includes insights from restaurant consultant Steven Hall (the beach thing is over, he says).
Kaminer follows up by taking Estiator readers on a trip aboard the L subway train from Manhattan into Brooklyn for a visit to Baby Blues Luncheonette, a new eatery by Australia-born Costa Damaskos and partner Jake Marsiglia. Part diner, with a Greek nod, the restaurant is inspired by his family’s love of food, says Damaskos.
After a bit of an absence, Service 101 returns this month with “Tools and Training to Drive Profits,” a nuts-and-bolts look at strategies to increase the top line through your wait staff.
In this month’s Managing for Success, resident restaurateur and consultant Constantine Kolitsas gives us a Bill Clinton “It’s the economy, stupid” moment in a column aptly titled “First, the Food.”
Meanwhile, in Greece, Athens correspondent Gina Kallitsi treats readers to Matsuhisa Athens, an upscale Japanese restaurant perched in the Greek capital. In her monthly column on Greek food products, she turns readers on to Euzoias line of pastas.
And if the first day of the new year begins with a smashing pomegranate, the sun won’t set until the vasilopita is cut and the lucky coin is discovered. So, no matter what the predictions for the new year, they are always prefaced with tradition and custom. And that’s not a bad thing.
Enjoy!
The Editorial and Publishing Staff
