From Thessaloniki, Greece, Stergios Zdralis finished university food hospitality studies, but his dream remained always to make people happy.
And to Stergios, making people happy means to be around the table.
Call it coincidental, but we can’t help but note that the Greek name Stergios actually derives from the Greek word “stergo”, which means to take care of, to show love, affection and commitment, to make something stronger.
And it is these exact sentiments that keep him passionate about his job, out of which he has crafted a career, giving diners a new style of modern Greek food.
“Nobody makes Greek food like me in Sydney,” says the chef who has been serving up Greek food with a distinctive Australian twist such as his famous spanakoryzo with lobster tail.
Every day over the past decade, Sydney chef from Athens Stergios has been feeding Aussies traditional Greek recipes with this modern take.
For the last ten years, Stergios has been bringing delicious authentic Greek food to the heart of Sydney CBD as Executive Chef for the Gravanis brothers’ Oscars Group at ‘Greek at the Belvedere’, Sydney’s Belvedere hotel’s well known restaurant.
“Having run the Greek restaurant at the Belvedere hotel for ten years I have met a lot of Sydney-siders and realised that people want and love the real Greek food.”
"...vibrant dishes inspired from Ancient Greek traditions elevated to contemporary gastronomy."
“Prior to this I spent time at ‘The Port’, Darling Harbour’s huge venue, bringing my Mediterranean culinary experience to include vibrant dishes inspired from Ancient Greek traditions elevated to contemporary gastronomy.”
From Veria in Northern Greece, every summer growing up in the mountains Stergios learned how to make feta and open country style filo for pies (spanakopites), kimadopites (meat pies) and how to cook lamb under the souvla with charcoal.
Yiayia’s cooking inspired him at a very young age – in particular her delicious pita, says Stergios, while his Mum taught him the secrets of how to create her family-famous rice pudding.
“I worked many years on the Greek islands of Mykonos and Kos and I bring to Sydney all my host experience and the Greek filoxenia and ambience to the restaurants and the pubs I have worked at,” Stergios explains.
Embarking on a new project, Stergios is currently heading up the kitchen at Sir Joseph Banks Hotel in Mascot, which has been a Greek family-owned pub for the past seven years.
“People every day eating spanakorizo with grilled calamari pastitsio moussaka, saganaki cheese, kritharoto with seafood, fakes, fricasse, spanakopita, Trahana with beef,” says Stergios. “I love it.”
You had us at way back at ‘spanakoryzo with lobster tail’! We’ve booked our table! The link to book yours is here.
Prepare to embark on a journey where each bite transports you to the sun-kissed shores of Aegean Sea. Visit Stergios at The Sir Joseph Banks Hotel, 1354 Botany Road, Botany NSW 2019.
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