Cheese Product Production Award at Vasila Cheese Factory of Lesvos

This year “Gastronomos” awarded accrites, “bright”, active and dynamic people, who stand out not only for the quality of the food they produce, but also for their morals, and who by their example act as a motivation for other young people to to stay and work in their place.

The 16th Quality Awards traveled to unspoiled Evros this year for the award ceremony. The event organized by “Gastronomos” and “Kathimerini” was hosted in the historical warehouses of the Alexandroupoli Customs House, which since the beginning of the last century have been associated with the character of the city’s port – as an entry and exit gate for people and goods and expansion as a fundamental cell for the economic life of the wider region. The event was graced by the presence of the HE President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou. Distinguished guests from Alexandroupoli and the whole country attended. Acclaimed actor Nikos Psarras took over the presentation.

This year, the Awards institution honored exclusively Acrites. The “Gastronomos” traveled everywhere: from Evros to Kasos, Prespes and Chios. At the end of our country, he discovered producers operating kilometers away from the capital, often under adverse conditions. People who are “bright”, active and dynamic, who stand out not only for the quality of the food they produce, but also for their ethos, and who by their example act as a motivation for other young people to stay and work in their place .

Regarding the awards, the Honorary Award was given to Angeliki Giannakidou. The founder and president of the Ethnological Museum of Thrace is a tireless guardian of the Thracian tradition, which she has been documenting for decades with the aim of preserving and promoting it.
The Olive Oil Production Award was awarded to Konos – Micheli Estate, which has been producing for four generations on the land of Hebrides. The The Honey Production Award traveled to the North Aegean and Lemnos this year, with Honey Hasapis as the recipient.

The Cheese Product Production Award was awarded to the Vassila Cheese Factory of Lesvos for its outstanding oil cheese, while the Wine Production Award was given to not one, not two, but four wineries from Lemnos that persist with indigenous varieties and have become the best advertisers of their place: pthe Limnos Wines Agricultural Cooperative, at Garali Winery, Hatzigeorgiou Estate and Limnos Organic Wines.
The Consumer Product Award was won by Thrace Mills – I. Ouzounopoulos S.A., while the Entrepreneurship Award was won by Union of Mastic Producers of Chios and the company Mediterra SA. The “Evi Voutsina” Award, which is given every year to producers who make small-scale, rare and exquisite local products, went this year to the Dodecanese and the Kasos – Ioannis Bonapartis Cheese. Our akritic lakes had their honor with two distinctions: the Legume Production Award was awarded to Prespa top, while the Meat and Cold Cuts Production Award went to Kerkini farm.
Finally, the Special Prize was awarded to the “lady of the rock”, Rinio Katsotourchi-Thiraou, the only resident of Kinaros and a living symbol of what it means to be akritas.

Kathimerini and Gastronomos also offered an undergraduate program scholarship at Perrotis College of the American School of Agriculture to a student from Evros. The scholarship will cover all four years of study starting in the academic year 2024-2025 and we hope that this symbolic move will give a young person the opportunity to realize his dream and acquire the knowledge that will contribute to the agricultural development of the country .

The ceremony was dedicated to the memory of the monk Epiphanios of Mylopotaminos, a true Gastronomist who made the cuisine of Agiorei known all over the world.

This year’s award was curated by the Ethnological Museum of Thrace.

The award ceremony was followed by the chef’s feast.

Warm thanks to the Municipality of Alexandroupolis, the Port Organization of Alexandroupolis and to all the distinguished guests who graced the ceremony with their presence. Special thanks to the Independent Public Revenue Authority and the Alexandroupolis Customs for providing the Customs facilities for the event.

Special thanks to our sponsors for their enthusiastic support: Lidl Hellas, Grecotel, Aegean, Thrace Greenhouses, AQUA Carpatica, Kotsovolos – Dixons South East Europe and Nespresso Professional.

Finally, a big “thank you” to the volunteer students of IEK Akmi Alexandroupolis for their valuable presence and contribution.