With a population exceeding one million residents, the city of Thessaloniki is one of the largest cities in Southeastern Europe and the second largest economic, industrial, and commercial center in Greece. The local gastronomy has evolved over the centuries alongside the peoples who have lived and developed here, since the region has always been a crossroads of different cultures.
Ingredients of the local gastronomy have always been the fresh ingredients of the land and the sea, all in proximity and blessed by the Mediterranean climate. The world-famous Greek olive oil, dairy products - such as feta, cheese, and yogurt - and retsina are just a few of the quality products that visitors of the city will find.
Thessaloniki has always been a multicultural city that united East and West in lifestyle, tradition, and tastes. Nowhere else in Greece can one find the combination of so many different tastes on the same table. The heritage of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires are combined with the customs of the Balkans creating the distinct culinary profile of the city. Today, in Thessaloniki all the culinary heritages of the many communities within its walls, among them Italians, Israelis, Turks, Armenians, as well as refugees from Asia Minor and the Pontus, are united.
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