Chef Profile
Posted by estiator at 18 January, at 09 : 10 AM Print
Gregory Zapantis
MOLOS RESTAURANT, WEEHAWKEN, NJ
During his longtime tenure at Manhattan’s Kellari Taverna, Chef Gregory Zapantis schooled dozens of then-budding chefs in the fine art of Greek cuisine. To a significant extent, it’s those chefs who have fueled the expansion of Greek cuisine, joining his mission to redeem and elevate it from the diners, pizzerias, and Greek neighborhood tavernas where it was first introduced to American restaurant-goers decades ago. Zapantis, who came to the United States at age 13, got his start in the Astoria coffee shops as a teen before moving into the diners. Along the way from the diner world to the stratosphere of some of the globe’s finest kitchens, Zapantis earned culinary accolades from Johnson & Wales, Yale University, BTC Culinary School, the Hellenic Chef’s Club, and the James Beard Foundation. In addition to helming the kitchen at Molos, a popular waterfront seafood restaurant with breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline, Zapantis serves as corporate executive chef for the Kellari Hospitality Group (with a partnership interest in the group’s DC outpost) and Vilai Divine Greek Cuisine on Long Island’s Glen Cove, while helping other restaurateurs realize their vision through his eponymously named consulting firm.
Age: 57
Hails from: Kephalonia (and grew up in Astoria)
Years in kitchens: 40
Previous affiliations: Estiatorio Milos, Trata, Kellari, and Thalassa
Milestones: Executive Chef at Pier 28 Seafood Restaurant in Brooklyn (1990s) and opening chef at Estiatorio Milos in Manhattan with Chef Christos Christou (1998)
Mentors: At age 15, Zapantis went to work for his uncle Dennis Zapantis and learned the basics.
Education: Queens College
Zapantis on the style of cuisine at Molos: “It’s very difficult to put ‘borders’ on food, so I prefer to refer to Molos as a Greek-influenced seafood restaurant. To call it simply a Greek restaurant is confusing: What Greek food are we referring to? Greek street food? Greek taverna food? And take into account the evolution of cuisine in Greece… Are we talking about Greek food from the 1970s or the Greek food of 2019? Also, at Molos we offer menu items such as crab cakes—we don’t have crab cakes in Greece, so the idea of food with borders doesn’t necessarily work.”
On presentation: “The market-style fish displays at my restaurants and the way our plates are presented create important impressions. Of course, anything you do to your plate to make it look great takes time, and this translates into money. You must have enough people on the line so they can take enough time to make the plate look great.”
On the future of Greek cuisine: “The popularity of Greek cuisine continues to grow here in the States. Magazines are writing about the Mediterranean diet and its health benefits, which is appealing to the public—increasingly, people are choosing to eat healthy. At the moment, Greek cuisine is riding that health-conscious wave, but I believe the wave is bringing it somewhere. I believe Greek cuisine will become one of the top five cuisines here in America along with French, Italian, Asian, and Mexican.
