TASTE THE FOOD OF SANTORINI AT OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY
The Greek island of Santorini is home to an array of delicious foods and flavours. This month, a tasting of some of these special foods is taking place at Oxford Brookes University, in Santorini: The Tastes and Foods of an Early Mediterranean Civilization.
The island lay at the heart of the great and ancient Minoan civilisation which disappeared so mysteriously. The Minoans, however, were not the first people to inhabit the Cycladic Islands, nor are the last. Although less than 20 square miles in area and with poor, volcanic soil, beautiful Santorini is home to some uniquely flavoured ingredients. Vineyards have always thrived thanks to an ingenious method of growing grapes which allows the plants to take advantage of the island’s heavy night mists.
Delicacies on offer at Brookes will include Santorini capers in brine, salted and dried; fava – a pulse unique to that corner of the world; sweet aubergines; miniature cheese and cinnamon pies; honey-rich figs; island wines, and regional olive oils.
Hosted by food writer Rosemary Barron, the evening will combine the practical with the intellectual.
“Food and drink, and the rituals surrounding their consumption, lie at the very heart of our cultures,” notes Rosemary.
“Exploring the origins of the island’s foods and food culture gives meaning to the pure pleasures of its tastes, and helps us appreciate the reasons they may have endured through this region’s long, turbulent history.”
The workshop will be held at Brookes Restaurant, Oxford Brookes University on Wednesday April 22 between 6.30pm and 9pm
