“Going Up The Country Where The Water Tastes Like Wine”
An Account by Sarah Stone 2010
What do you do to make a special anniversary a memorable occasion when you’re already spending a 3 week holiday in Greek or rather Cretan “foodie heaven”, high on the Chandras Plateau in Far East Crete - where every simple tomato and cucumber salad is a symphony and the tap water’s so sweet it could be likened to wine as in that old “Canned Heat” song..
We stopped for a coffee at “The Lemon Tree” on our way to Ziros one morning and we found the answer. We’d passed by this small and very pretty restaurant-with-rooms many times during our stay and the menu on display was certainly intriguing. An English Chef owns and runs the establishment and he greeted us with not only excellent coffees but chocolate truffles and a taste of his lemon liqueur made with 20 different herbs and flavourings. Over this uplifting coffee-break a plan was hatched. Mark, the Chef, would give some thought to creating a very special menu for our romantic meal. A few days later we returned to see what he had in mind for us and to make our choices from a hand-illustrated, personalised menu he’d prepared.
Being married for such a long time has converged our tastes and we ordered identical starters and main course - marinated seafood kebabs followed by pork fillet in filo pastry stuffed with apple and pear mousse. Mark duly noted our differing “sweet-tooths” and offered a chocolate lasagne option and a poached pear concoction for dessert. Over a complimentary couple of drinks the deal was done, the menu was set and we enjoyed a few days of pleasurable anticipation.
 The evening of the event arrived and we set forth as the setting sun warmed the hills around the mountain plateau. The Lemon Tree was in our sights with its enchanting courtyard garden - a great place to relax and enjoy this precious and unspoilt part of Crete. Chef brought us a bottle of his chilled white wine and the first of many little extras that he’d planned for our special meal - a perfect pair of appetisers: green figs wrapped in bacon with piquant trio of relishes and an exquisite tomato and avocado carousel. Despite the romantic nature of our meal we fought over the last morsel, so delicious was the quality of the food and the blend of flavours. Yet, moments earlier we’d declared that they were presented so beautifully we could not possibly eat them!
As an introduction to our Starters, Mark surprised us again with a taste of one of his unique alcoholic concoctions “Marmalade Raki”. By now, convinced of his culinary genius, we also appreciated he possesses a sixth sense for customers’ favourite tastes…..
The heavenly Marinated Seafood Kebabs, consisting of tiger prawns and salmon were actually marinated in coriander and orange zest-infused Sea Salt from the ancient salt pans close by the stunning local beaches of Xerocambos. This was the taste equivalent of diving into the turquoise seas of East Crete. The kebabs were things of beauty - on a bed of orange slices with tiny jugs of a sweet and spicy sauce and garnished with the herbs that we’d just seen picked from the garden.
The Sun had now set and the Evening Star, Venus, shone brightly upon us before moon-rise. We took a last turn around Mark’s garden, admiring a massive Rosemary plant, before going indoors for our main course. It can get cool at this height above sea-level in Crete even in the hottest midsummer. Indoors we were greeted with another couple of tiny glasses of intensely flavoured fruit wines. In the local style, the kitchen was through a beautiful open archway from the dining room so we could watch Chef at work on our main course.
After a suitable time for digestion, music, wine and conviviality, we were ready for the very tender Pork Fillet with Apple and Pear Mousse with turned vegetables and a red wine sauce. Again, this was a wonderful marriage of flavours.
Our sweets were assembled after another pause to make space - by now we had entered that sublime state of mind and body that surely the Greek Gods enjoyed. It was indeed miraculous that we found room for the magnificent Chocolate lasagne in chocolate sauce and Pear poached in red wine, stuffed with blue cheese and with a white chocolate sauce, but we felt like Olympians!
Another round of “Marmalade Raki’s” and some time for Chef Mark to relax; his labours on behalf of a couple of very happy and satisfied customers were complete.
East Crete has many delicious surprises and “The Lemon Tree” is amongst them. My advice is: -
don’t hesitate to stop there and taste a little bit of gastronomic heaven from an English Chef who more than fulfilled the promise of a wedding anniversary to remember forever…
We were staying just a mile down the road so we rambled back by the midnight moonlight, beyond content with our evening, gazing up and counting our lucky stars to be present and enjoying such beauty.
Sarah Stone 2010
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Last Updated on Monday, 16 August 2010 18:30 |
'..In his kitchen and restaurant, Mark made us travel through Crete, England and many other countries all over the world. The best experience we had: a surprising fantasy-menu that was especially created for us. We thought we were travelling in paradise! Every meal is a composition of colours, tastes and flavours..'
The Lemon Tree Restaurant
