MÈLISSES POP UP DINNERS
The table, over which wonderful meals and thoughtful conversations are shared, is the axis around which life at Mèlisses revolves. Each day, meals are our small celebrations of being together and connecting with our home on Andros. We wanted to extend these experiences to those outside of our team and guests so in September of 2021 after a vibrant summer season, we hosted ‘The Hive’, the first in a series of communal pop-up dinners showcasing the beauty of Andros and supporting its local community of farmers, producers and philanthropic organizations, to which half of the dinner proceeds were donated.
We chose to locate our premier dinner at Mèlisses, our Hive, where we live and work and where each day is buzzing with lively activity. The dinner was more than we could have hoped for! Familiar and new faces gathered for a tasteful five-course Mediterranean menu crafted by our team, with Australian chef Maxine Thompson and Canadian chef Allegra D’Agostini, paired with a series of cocktails and Greek wines.
The meal and beverages served throughout the night showcased products generously donated by Greek producers: wild thyme honey from Andros made by our friends at 3Mèlisses and an array of Greek spirits artfully crafted by Concepts AE, including Otto’s Vermouth, Votanikon Gin and Skinos Mastiha.
Proceeds from The Hive were donated to the Andrion Club and to the Philanthropic Association of Apoikia. The Andrion Club is an organization aimed at strengthening the local community on Andros through preserving its historical and cultural traditions and empowering local youth.
The Historical Archives & Library Department of the Andrion Club aims to preserve, enrich and promote Andros’ historical archive by reconstructing, organizing and describing it so that it can be made available for research, along with its rich library.
Part of our donation was used to restore old books from the library of the Andrion Club, which will be carried out by the Kaireios Library of Andros, in the main-town Chora.
The Philanthropic Association of Apoikia was founded in 1983 by a small group of women committed to supporting community members in need, particularly those facing financial difficulties. Since then, the association has provided aid to families all over the island. At the moment, there are over 40 families being supplied with food, medicine and medical care and our donation was addressed directly to these families.
The Hive was a wonderful gathering of familiar and new faces, brought together to cherish the end of summer and support, in tangible ways, the wellbeing of our beautiful island. Andros is our home away from home: it has welcomed us with open arms since 2018 and we are so happy to support it in any way possible. We look forward to welcoming you to one of our dinners this year very soon!
Special thanks to everyone who joined, supported and helped curate this experience - Allegra Pomilio, Veronika Krizova, Maxine Thompson, Allegra D’Agostini and Dimitrios Kokkinis.
Photos by Mika Michopoulou, Epameinondas Marmaras, Aggeliki Strati and Mèlisses archive
