Nana Gampoura insists Greek and healthy
Nana is the award-winning Greek chef who has managed to rejuvenate vegetarian and monasterial cuisine. She is the 
eternal student who travels constantly to discover unknown and interesting gastronomy paths. She has undertaken the difficult task of promoting Greek wines in Europe, accompanying them harmoniously with delicious creations that have elements of Greek cuisine with multicultural influences. When in Greece, in Servia, Kozanis, next to the family restaurant “I kouzina tis mamas Annas” has her alchemist-like lab, and she is trying to create new elements for the Greek cuisine. Nana knows chemistry and food technology from within.. Her last occupation, the education of young people in the gastronomic harmony of ingredients and the emergence of traditional cooking with her own touch.
How did the “culinary adventure” of your life begin?
My physical presence in the kitchen started with my birth … I am the fourth generation of chefs… so my course in the known and unknown culinary trails was “a natural consequence” … It is a purely gene theme … My first toys were the doughs, the pots … except only the pans due to the obvious danger … something I avoid until now for nutritional reasons …
What does cooking mean for you?
Cooking is passion, it is harmony, it is love, it is creation … it is a journey …. It’s my life …
Source of inspiration;
The eyes of my daughter, my mother, my travels, my friends
Your motto?
“Good morning wonderful world”, because I try, despite the doubtful times, to be optimistic
Who influenced you to take up cooking?
My mother, the first female member of Chef’s Club, a creative chef, with inspiration, strength and courage. Her dishes “speak” to the heart of the people, she taught me from a small age, to create playing with the colors, the textures and the harmony of the ingredients. From when I was little see gave me “space” in her kitchen letting me to “fly” …
What’s the most interesting part of your job?
Apart from choosing ingredients and making them into playful creations, the ultimate aftertaste continues to concern me… it that I want to give through my plates to people
Favorite ingredient on your culinary creations?
Vegetables, wild greens, Greek red saffron- krokos Kozanis due to locality … and lastly my occupation with wine and spices that give special touches to my dishes.
Your favorite dish?
Over time, my grandmother’s inventive pies, always accompanied by her stories about the Pontian cuisine and the Pontian races after the uprooting
Material that has no place in your kitchen?
Soya and its derivatives
What is the philosophy of your kitchen?
Smart, fresh and aromatic cuisine. In one word, an honest kitchen with a lot of color
Which kitchen inspires you?
The vegetarian, vegan, raw and monasterial cuisine thrills me because it is based purely on the principles of authentic Mediterranean cuisine but also of slow food. The excellent quality of ingredients, the respect of preparation and cooking time, the use of wood ovens, prayer and blessing at the time of cooking and the love for humans has made it one of the most interesting cuisines in the world.
Your favorite color?
The burgundy, the color of welfare, the color of Byzantium
Special moments in your career?
The gold medals I won in international cooking competitions around the world.
How difficult is it for a woman chef to stand in the demanding international gastronomic scene?
For a woman it is a particularly hard, demanding and sometimes debilitating profession since it is mainly male-dominated. So the effort needs stubbornness, in order to survive. Fortunately, I’ve done quite well … because I love my work with passion and I believe in myself
Who your favorite chef?
Father Epiphanios, the Mylopotamian from Mount Athos.
If you were not a chef which profession would you choose?
Chemist.
Culinary dreams that you have not yet done?
Many and … almost impossible. I’m aiming higher and higher.
For the future what?
Finish the books of monasterial confectionery and Pontian cuisine and place my own little stone in spreading our gourmet culture all over the world …
Thank you very much