It’s a common misconception that “gourmet” means complicated or expensive–or both. Chef Manos Zournatzis and sommelier Yannis Kaumenakis left behind the prestigious restaurants where they had worked for many years and united behind their love of good, simple, ordinary food to disprove this notion. The result is Cucina Povera, a restaurant whose name was inspired by the Italian concept of paupers’ fare but which perfectly conveys their attitude towards food.
 “My cooking style is simple. It’s based on local cuisine and could be a dish from Crete that I tweak slightly to meet the demands of urban diners. My ‘engine room’ is the land and the sea. I use seasonal produce, bringing out the ingredients’ flavors without using complicated techniques or complex combinations.”
‘Cucina povera’, literally the cuisine of the rural poor, might also be called the cuisine of the self-sufficient as ingredients are culled largely from the vegetable garden, any small farm animals kept by the household, or the immediate environment such as the woods or the sea. Its basis, in other words, is using ingredients that don’t need to be bought.
The restaurant Cucina Povera adapts this concept to urban living–and, of course, to a business rather than a household. Zournatzis’s inspiration comes from daily visits to the street produce market, or laiki. Inspiration also comes from local products like cheeses from the Peloponnese region of Arkadia, fava from the Cycladic island of Santorini, or tuna from the Sporades. Organic produce is favored, whenever possible, and even the kitchenware adheres to tradition as Zournatzis favors old hammered metal pots and pans that help bring out flavors.
“I’m passionate in my quest for local products. Designation of origin is fundamental because this is how we support Greek cuisine. Tiny shrimp from Symi, cherry tomatoes from Santorini, pork from Sparti, lamb from Roumeli: using these ingredients supports local producers and local cuisine,” Zournatzis says.
True to the cucina povera concept, Zournatzis favors fresh vegetables in season, fish, and meat. In his meat dishes, he doesn’t use the expensive cuts usually touted by restaurants but opts instead for the humbler ones featured on the tables of rural households–oxtail, tongue, entrails. “These are simple, cheap cuts that are full of flavor and have a higher nutritional value than ‘luxury’ ingredients,” he says. “For example, liver is known as a good source of iron, cheeks are a good source of collagen.”
In Mediterranean cultures, a meal isn’t just food, but also means wine–even in the humblest household. Kaumentakis, as sommelie, faced quite a challenge putting together a wine list that fit the food and the cucina povera concept but also met the standards expected by restaurant diners.
“I chose wines producted in the south that go well with a ‘cucina povera’, which certainly doesn’t go with a Petrus or an expensive wine,” he says. The wine list, he adds, is like a record of the places he’s visited to make his selections. “I’ve seen each of these wines over time, seen what each region and each winery brings out. It’s a wine list based on indigenous varietals; I work with local vines and seek out well-cultivated but inexpensive labels.”