Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens
Pelagos on Tour
Summer 2024SCROLL TO DISCOVER MORE
Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens
Pelagos on Tour
Summer 2024From Sifnos to Santorini and Naxos: Chef Luca Piscazzi’s Pelagos on Tour summer 2024 menus tell the story of a gastronomic journey through the sun-kissed Cyclades islands. Join us to discover the ingredients that inspired the dishes.
Let the Journey Begin
Luca Piscazzi
Chef“My biggest lesson from Pelagos on Tour? Cherish life’s simple pleasures – genuine hospitality, the ease of slow living and nature’s gifts in their purest form.”
![White chapel with blue dome sitting atop rocky peak jetting into blue seawater]()
Natural abundance
According to myth, Sifnos was blessed by Apollo, the god of light and healing, who enriched the island with its natural abundance.![Right hand with handful of chickpeas and left hand holding plate of chickpeas]()
Chickpeas
Renowned for their exceptional nutty, buttery flavour, slow-cooked Sifnos chickpeas are a delicacy on the island. They are baked all night in a wood-fired oven inside a clay tzouka – a technique that draws out their creamy richness.![Man in dark sunglasses holding sage fronds in sage field]()
Sage
Emanating one of the enduring scents of Sifnos, sage grows in aromatic abundance on the island’s rugged hillsides. Sifnos sage is particularly celebrated for its tender winter shoots, violet late-spring flowers, and traditional use in medicinal and healing practices.![Hands holding up caper bush frond]()
Capers
In Sifnos, capers are considered the treasure of health. Naturally salty from the ocean wind, they thrive in the dry Cycladic climate.![Pottery store white clay exterior with Pottery sign, blue door and window, and assortment of clay containers with plants]()
AN INSIGHT INTO THE CULTURE: SIFNOS STONEWARE
Since the Bronze Age, the rich clay-based Sifnos earth has shaped many stories of ceramic creativity, including that of second-generation potter Konstantinos Kalogirou. Many years later, eldest son Antonis brought his father’s knowledge back home as Sifnos Stoneware, continuing the legacy of the Sifnos ceramics.
![White clay Mediterranean-style buildings on hillside against blue sky]()
Agricultural Integrity
Santorini’s cuisine thrives on the island’s volcanic soil, Aegean Sea breezes and abundant sunlight. Here, producers and farmers work tirelessly to preserve the integrity of the island’s produce, despite mass tourism.![Right hand holding tomato plant branch with three cherry tomatoes on it]()
Tomatoes
Santorini’s sweet but zingy cherry tomatoes brim with nutrients from the volcanic soil. Once a thriving farming crop on the island, these bitesized beauties are now a rarer luxury and have been protected with an official designation of origin since 2013.![A rear view of a farmer as they stand in a grassy field between rustic wire fences and face white houses and distant trees.]()
White Aubergines
Unique to Santorini, white aubergines are deliciously sweet products of the island’s fertile soil and warm year-round climate.![Right hand scooping into blue bag filled with in-shell pistacios]()
Pistachios
Pistachio harvesting is a special time for Santorini. Favouring dry land, pistachio trees thrive here, producing small and flavourful red nuts that are dried gently in the Santorini sun.![Person holding wine bottle in right hand and glass of white wine in left hand]()
A TOAST TO THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Known as the wine island, Santorini has vineyards that are among the oldest in the world. The volcanic terrain nurtures exclusive grape varieties that are further tended by age-old traditions.
![A cluster of white buildings nestled into the rolling sunlit hillside and surrounded by fields and trees.]()
Culinary Fruitfulness
Naxos is one of the greenest islands in the Cyclades and the mythical home of Dionysus (or Bacchus) – the Greek god of wine, fruitfulness and revelry – for good reason. With lush landscapes and verdant mountains, it’s a fertile haven that sustains a culinary paradise.![Round hard cheeses sit in rows on wooden shelves as they age; a person is holding one of the cheeses to inspect the rind.]()
Graviera Naxou
Graviera, the Greek Gruyère, is a unique artisanal Naxian tradition. Its dense velvety texture is punctuated by thin holes, while its rich, sweet and buttery taste and high calcium content are a testament to the exclusive use of cow’s milk in production.![Two slices of rare beef in jus with garnish on ecru plate]()
Beef
Dry-aged Naxos beef is renowned for its exceptional flavour and tenderness. Its superior meat quality is again the product of Naxos’ unique climate, seaside vegetation and traditional dry-aging methods.![Hand holding three dirt-covered potatoes over garden]()
Potatoes
Naxian potatoes are renowned for their exceptional flavour and texture, attributed to the island’s rich volcanic soil and climate with its combination of sun, rain and sea breezes.![Chef Luca Piscazzi in white striped shirt, holding and sniffing a greenish citron fruit]()
Kitron
Kitron of Naxos is a lemon liqueur produced exclusively on Naxos. An elegant and aromatic spirit, it’s made from the leaves and fruit of the citron tree and has a delicate aroma that delights the nose before it hits the palate.![A dimpled metal pot on a stone cooking surface lets off a cloud of steam as a hand stirs the contents with a fork.]()
AN INSIGHT INTO THE CULTURE: THE NAXIAN EXPERIENCE
Naxos culture holds a heartfelt tradition of hospitality and community, and locals take immense pride in welcoming newcomers and old friends alike to their tables. The atmosphere is filled with live music and spontaneous traditional dancing. In Naxos, every dinner is not just a meal – it’s a celebration of life itself.
