Chefs | Anthony Gouronopolo aka El Greco

I was asked on Facebook earlier by the great Mr. Boo Chanco about Greek cooking in the Philippines.

And this instantly reminded me of a margauxlicious Greek dinner I hosted last year for friends. It was held at the home of Aleth Ocampo and cooked by a Greek man named Anthony Gouronopolo (but we fondly call him El Greco because his Greek name is too hard to pronounce!).

Anthony Gouronopolo aka El Greco

I wrote about this dinner in the Sunday Inquirer Magazine last year.

The highlight of the dinner was the Greek lechon that was deboned and stuffed with chestnuts and apples; and which was oven-roasted (cochinillo size) instead of spit-roasted.

But before the lechon we got a taste of real Greek appetizers prepared by El Greco such as hummus, tzatziki and xariatiki salata (cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, olives and feta cheese).

Xariatiki Salata

El Greco sells Greek cheese here, by the way. AFAIK, he has also tied up with Robbie Goco's Cyma to supply their Greek cheese.

For a sweet ending, we had Greek baklava. Look at those delicate layers.

Two great things about El Greco: 1) he really uses ingredients from Greece 2) you can bring him to your home. You can have him as your personal chef for a private dinner or you can order that lechon for a special occasion.
 
But if you just want a quick fix, there's Cyma at the malls and, in San Juan, Greeka Kouzina (my PDI review here). 

Aleth's Kitchen
Private dining by reservation only.
Also call these numbers for inquiries on El Greco's products. 
Tel. 851 0204, 851-0180
Mobile +63 917 529 1055, +63 920951 2343

Cyma

List of branches here 

Greeka Kouzina
285 P. Guevarra St., Little Baguio, San Juan
Tel. 624 5974
Open daily for lunch, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; and dinner, 5:30-10 p.m.
Major credit cards accepted.
Wheelchair accessible for the ground floor only.
Limited parking.