Introducing Aragma’s talented Executive Chef Alex, and his exceptional culinary skills.
And no, I am not exaggerating. If you have eaten at Tapas between 2017 – 2023 you will have enjoyed some of Alex’s wonderful creations. And this year he was given the opportunity to explore his native cuisine.
With all the dishes being homemade, the kitchen team have a lot going on. Between making sure the prep is done, placing the orders, co-ordinating the kitchen in service, creating new dishes & specials and making sure everything is up to standard throughout the kitchen.
So, we decided to grab 15 minutes of Alex’s precious time to answer a few burning questions.
Position: Executive Head Chef.
Name: Alexandros (Alex)
Hometown: Athens, Greece
How long have you been a chef?
I have been a chef for around 15 years.
Where did you train as a chef?
I went to a Private Chef School in Athens when I was 18 years old. The rest of my experience I gained from working in various restaurants.
How long have you worked at Tapas / Aragma?
I started working at Tapas as a chef in 2017, then when the old Head Chef Lou left at the end of 2020, I was offered the position of Head Chef. Which I gratefully accepted.
What first inspired you to become a chef?
When I was a kid I started cooking for myself and my big sister when my parents were working. My sister would watch over me to make sure I wouldn’t burn down the kitchen. But this was when I first started experimenting with flavours and different ways to prepare food. I enjoyed spending time in the kitchen.
Later, when I was in the army (as everyone has to in Greece). When they were assigning the different roles, I volunteered myself to be one of the cooks, a role that most were keen to avoid. But I thought why not, so I raised my hand for the second chef position.
There was a lot of pressure. We had to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for around 2,000 army personnel each day. If it was chicken for dinner, we had to cook around 500 chickens. It was hard work, and long hours. But in all honestly, it was a nice feeling to hear that my colleagues were enjoying the food that we had prepared for them.
One of my other motivations to be a chef was because I wanted to travel. I thought that I could travel and gain valuable experience along the way. I worked in Athens, Mykonos, Rhodes, Manchester, Mallorca and Cyprus before I came to Ibiza.
What is the process for creating a new dish? Where do you find your inspiration?
For Aragma I thought about Classic Greek dishes from home, and looked through some of my many recipe books for ideas.
I wanted to experiment with traditional dishes, by putting a modern twist on them. For example I knew that if you add black tea when making a tomato sauce it gives you a unique flavour.
So I used that as part of the Beef Shank dish, which is a traditional dish, served on a smoked aubergine pureee. It’s a dish that I am proud of.
By combining unexpected flavours and textures in dishes you can create something really different and interesting if you are willing to take the time to experiment.
What did you find most challenging about creating an entirely new menu for Aragma from scratch? (dietary restrictions? sourcing ingredients? costing? desserts? specials?)
The creation of the menu was quite easy really, as it was dishes from my childhood, and things that I know; traditional dishes that I just made a bit differently. It was a long process. But honestly I didn’t really find it challenging, I enjoyed it.
Honestly, the most challenging part was to set up the kitchen. Having ripped out the entire kitchen, it was a completely blank canvas and now a different shape, so it was a complete renovation. Working out where to put the hot station, the cold station and working the out how best to utilise the space as best as we could within the space we had. And with the limitation we had with where the gas and extractors had to go.
Which is your favourite dish on the menu? and why? It can be either to make, or to eat.
To eat, sorry but I prefer to eat in other places, where I haven’t cooked the food. If you make and taste all the dishes everyday, you don’t really have the desire to eat them as a meal.
To make my favourite dish is the beef shank.
I do love the lemon and basil sorbet from our menu though.
What is your favourite ingredient that you love to work with?
At the moment it is the stocks that we make. The seafood stock and the beef stock. They are the base of a lot of the dishes and can have a huge effect on the final flavour of things.
You get a lot of lovely comments from customers each night. What is the best compliment you have had?
Alex got all shy here and didn’t really want to answer. But trust me, he has received countless wonderful comments from customers from both restaurants over the years. All well deserved too.
What is your favourite part of your job?
Honestly, I really enjoy a good day of prep, to be well stocked up before for a good evening service.
Do you have any tips for working in a hot kitchen in the Summer?
I do have one… If you splash water on yourself, then you can feel the breeze a bit better, and obviously drinks lots of water during service, and enjoy a nice pint after work.
What is your favourite meal to cook at home?
I don’t cook much in the Summer. But if I do cook I really enjoy some simple fresh seafood. That is my go-to meal.
What is your guilty food pleasure?
When I am at home, I can’t resist Souvlakia, which is a traditional Greek Kebab.. I eat a lot of them when I am home, maybe a bit too much. They are my inspiration for the Gyros tacos from the Aragma menu.
What was the last place that you had a great meal?
Probably somewhere in Vietnam. We found a place that had some amazing seafood, it was cheap, fresh and really well-prepared.
We also went to a great Greek restaurant in the Philippines that did fantastic gyros tacos. I know, again with the tacos.
I do really enjoy Japanese and Asian cuisine. But I think as I get older I am drawn back to my roots from the Greek Mediterranean kitchen. I think I’ve gone full circle, I wanted to try all other cuisines from around the world. Then I realised that the food I grew up with has so much to it, fresh, unprocessed and full of flavour. And I now really appreciate it.
If you fancy tasting some really exciting and interesting plates! I recommend getting yourselves down to Aragma to try some of Alex’s exceptional dishes.
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