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Nikolaos Tselementes

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Nikolaos Tselementes
(Νικόλαος Τσελεμεντές)
Born1878
Exampela, Sifnos, Greece
Died2 March 1958 (aged 79-80)
EducationVienna
Culinary career
Cooking styleGreek, French
Previous restaurant(s)
  • Hermes Hotel, Athens
    St. Moritz Hotel, New York

Nikólaos Tselementés (Greek: Νικόλαος Τσελεμεντές) (1878 – 2 March 1958)[1][2][3][4] was a Greek chef and cookbook author of the early 20th century. He is considered one of the most influential cookery writers of modern Greece, specialising in both Greek and French cuisine.

Biography and career

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He was born in Exabela (Εξάμπελα),[5] a village on the island of Sifnos, and grew up in Athens, where he finished high school. At first, he worked as a notary clerk, then he started cooking, working at his father's and uncle's restaurant.

He studied cooking for a year in Vienna and, on his return to Greece, worked for various embassies. He became initially known for the magazine Cooking Guide (Odigos Mageirikis) that he began publishing in 1910, which included – in addition to recipes – nutritional advice, international cuisine, cooking news, etc.

In 1919, he became manager of hotel "Hermes", and the next year he left for America, where he worked in several well-known restaurants, while also following higher studies in cooking, confectionery and dietetics.

In 1930, he published the influential cookbook Cooking and Patisserie Guide (Οδηγός μαγειρικής και ζαχαροπλαστικής).[6][7][8][9]

He returned to Greece in 1932, founded a small cooking and confectionery school and brought out his well-known book of recipes, which, being the first complete cookbook in Greek, had over fifteen official reprints during the following decades. In 1950,[10] he published his only book in English, Greek Cookery.[11]

Influenced by French cuisine, he had been the modernizer of Greek cuisine as, thanks to him, the Greek housewives learned of béchamel sauce, pirozhki, and bouillabaisse.[12][13] He created also the modern versions of mousaka, pastitsio, and anginares (artichokes) alla polita.

His surname, Tselementes, is today in Greece a synonym of "cookbook", and is also used in jest about someone who can cook very well.[14]

Bibliography

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  • Kremezi, Aglaia (1996). "Nikolas Tselementes". In Harlan, Walker (ed.). Cooks & Other People (Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 1995). Totnes: Prospect Books. pp. 162–169. ISBN 090-732-572-6 – via Google Books. Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery is an annual weekend conference for current issues in food studies and food history.

References

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  1. ^ "The history of Greek Chef Nikolaos Tselementes" (in Greek). March 18, 2019.
  2. ^ "Nikolaos Tselementes: The man who made history with his recipe book and changed cooking in Greece" (in Greek). January 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "Nikolaos Tselementes - The revolutionary of Greek gastronomy" (in Greek). March 2, 2022. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022.
  4. ^ Simos, Andriana (February 2, 2021). "On This Day: Influential Greek chef, Nikolaos Tselementes, passed away". The Greek Herald. Archived from the original on March 7, 2022.
  5. ^ "Sifnos: the most delicious Greek island". Condé Nast Traveler. August 8, 2023. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023.
  6. ^ "Nikos Tselementes: The greatest Greek cook was from Sifni". January 26, 2021.
  7. ^ "Greek cuisine and Nikolaos Tselementes: Visit the birthplace of the nation's Mrs Beeton on Sifnos". The Independent. March 21, 2016. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016.
  8. ^ Nikolaos K. Tselementes (1951). Hodēgos mageirikēs. Athens: Oikos M.I. Saliverou. OCLC 10723120.
  9. ^ LaGrave, Katherine (October 30, 2019). "Nikolaos Tselementes Changed Greek Cuisine Forever - But for Better or Worse?". Saveur. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022.
  10. ^ Tselementes, Nikolaos (1950). Greek Cookery - listings. New York: Divry. OCLC 422543.
  11. ^ Weinraub, Judith (August 11, 2004). "Back to the Classics". Washington Post. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  12. ^ Cullather, Nick (2007). "The Foreign Policy of the Calorie". The American Historical Review. 112 (2): 337–364. doi:10.1086/ahr.112.2.337. PMID 17907347.
  13. ^ "Traditional Greek Cooking Is Nothing Like You Imagine It". The Spruce Eats. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  14. ^ Gaifyllia, Nancy (August 5, 2021). "The Tselementes Effect on Greek Cooking". Archived from the original on November 19, 2023.
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