All eyes are on the Athens Olympics
There's a faint whiff of moussaka in the air at Caterer Towers this week. In case you hadn't noticed, the Olympic Games are upon us again, and focus of the world's attention has turned to Athens.
The front pages of the national press are carrying doping scandals galore; and Paula Radcliffe is muscling past the likes of Sven and Patrick Vieira and on to the back pages. Not to be outdone, our Olympian team of journalists has pulled together a veritable Greek Odyssey of an issue for you to celebrate the games' return to their spiritual home.
Our first Hellenic highlight features exclusive Greek recipes from the new book by Theodore Kyriakou, chef-proprietor of London's Real Greek restaurant. Next up, we take a tour of the burgeoning Athens restaurant scene as it prepares for perhaps its busiest-ever month.
From downtown Athens it's a skip and a jump to the city's Olympic Village, where we review Aramark Dasko's plans to feed 24,000 competitors a mountain of carbs, protein and fruit in the coming weeks. (Did you know that athletes will munch their way through 300 tonnes of fruit and vegetables?)
Finally, we've included a round-up of the latest Greek products - olives, olive oil, cheese - to hit the market.
Of course, there's more to the games than dolmades, feta cheese and souvlaki. There is a vast amount of money riding on the Olympics in Athens and, with the opening ceremony fast approaching, there'll be some nervous operators across the city. Just ask any Athenian hotelier: unexpectedly low occupancy rates are forcing them to drop prices; employees recently went out on strike; and the spectre of terrorist threats looms large.
The Olympic Games offer host nations a wonderful opportunity to showcase their sites, culture and cuisine - hence London's bid for the 2012 games - but they require massive infrastructural planning. For operators in and around London, the Athens experience offers a glimpse of the possible shape of things to come. Will our bid succeed? If so, will London's services, hotels and restaurants be able to bear the strain?
Only time will tell. In the meantime, enjoy the issue you have in your hands, do all you can to capitalise on the Greek games in your bars and restaurants - and go, Paula!
