Espresso

Espresso is a Greek newspaper. This article is about an event in honor of Leah. Below is a translation of the interview without accompanying photography, but the original article in Greek can be read (along with images) on Espresso’s website.

The event of the year could be none other than the one organized by the international cultural movement Le Soleil Foundation and the president Ada Iliopoulou, who invited personalities of shipping, business and many close friends to one of her famous, secret dinners. This time the hidden event – for which everyone is anxiously looking for an invitation – was held in honor of British artist and activist Leah Wood, daughter of rock star Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones. It is also known that Ada Iliopoulou has a close friendly relationship for many years with Ronnie Wood himself.

Ada Iliopoulou hosted the artist and her escorts at the "NJV Athens Plaza" in two luxurious suites overlooking the Acropolis and the decorated Syntagma. The art Christmas dinner took place at the fine dining restaurant Nyn Esti at the Museum of Contemporary Art with Roditis head chef Stamatis Misomike, who was inspired by the artist's works, designing an unreal menu full of butterfly details. As it sounds, it goes for Michelin.

Last summer, Ada Iliopoulou surpassed herself by inviting huge personalities to Greece and especially to Rhodes, such as Tosca Musk, sister of Trump tycoon and right-hand man Elon Musk, the Queen of Congo, Queen Diambi Kabatusuila and many others. One of her guests in Rhodes was British artist and activist Leah Wood, who was inspired by a series of butterflies from the Valley of the Butterflies and will present her work in 2025. Thus, seven colorful butterflies came to Greece to pre-empt us for the 2025 exhibition.

Notable people

The secret event featured guests like Petros Kokkalis, who has done a lot of work to protect the environment and who rarely appears in public at secular events anymore. In fact, he was unaccompanied, since his wife Dimitra had Matsouka rehearsals. From the shipping industry we saw Ada Iliopoulou's close friend, Irene Daifa, Danae Bezantakou, Makis Kasnakidis with Marilia Vazeou, the president of the Piraeus Shipping Club George Alexandratos, Marina Kintta, the publisher of shipping publications Dionysis Politis etc. From the business and artistic space Zeta Vomvogiannis-Graff who came directly from London, where she had met Leah with her mother, the legendary Greek-American businesswoman Lady Evangeline Gouletas, who was for 10 years the first lady of New York with her then husband, Governor Carey, Pantelis Kontogiannis, protagonist of the Hollywood film "Promachos-First line", Stratos Tzortzoglou with his wife Sofia Mariola, Dr. Antzi Margariti Andrews, Point F Group S.A. CEO Anna Stylianopoulou and Kostas Martakis, VK Nano CEO Barbara Karagiozaki, Stergios Logothetidis, CEO of OET organic electronic technologies company, Thanasis Papapostolou and Lia Kalkasina, Mema Simonetatou, Marianna Psaraki-Valyraki, Domenica Daniel, Leila Neophytou, Despina Portokali, the famous musician and producer Tony Kontaxakis and many others.

The music was curated by DJ Valentino, who took a break from his new productions especially for the evening. The event began with a cocktail overlooking the illuminated Acropolis and a buffet that looked like a work of art, divided into seafood on rocks, flora and fauna, with blue crab doughnut, tomato jam and truffle cream, tartaki with eel and caramelized onion, bouquet of foliage with pistachio, smoked cheese rose, fermented berries and zucchini. A real habitat with colorful flowers stretched over the buffet and on it you could see real butterflies flying in the air with butterflies edible with beef tartare and draught feta.

Inspiring set-ups

The dinner was even more impressive. The tables had Christmas arrangements with crimson anthuriums, roses and tulips popping into the air through mistletoe and fir base. Inspired by Rhodes and the set up of the table with the red festive placemats Symi designed by Themis Z, which always accompanies the artistic hidden evenings of Le Soleil Foundation with its dishes. All were designed in such a way as to match the butterflies. In addition, an impressive Christmas tree from OET Energy Technologies: AgriVoltaics attracted attention by being created with integrated organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology, where both lights and ornaments are powered by OPV. The Christmas tree and ornaments were designed to collect energy from indoor or outdoor light, providing energy to the Christmas lights, creating a self-sustaining and energy-efficient display. This eliminates the need for traditional energy sources and reduces environmental impact, offering a practical and innovative approach to holiday decoration.

Gastronomic "temptations" for demanding palates

Dinner began with a trolley with four different buns: focaccia with tomato and onion, brioche flavored with hazelnut and soutzouki, crispy bread with olive and a breadstick with pesto made from vegetable peels, and fresh butter flavored with autumn leaves and kumquat. The first dish did indeed impress when it arrived at the table accompanied by a pouch of aromatic towel containing hot salt Roasted. One of the first ancient Greek techniques, as the imaginative chef explained. This pouch had to be put on top of the raw amberjack and baked on one side. It was accompanied by pumpkin, persimmon and a sauce of roasted almond.

Guests could choose between meat and fish for the main course. The "confit skate with angel wings flying in mastic oil was accompanied by lettuce root and vine leaf sauce. The meat was butterfly-shaped pheasant slices cooked in an autumn leaf salt crust accompanied by beets and a cranberry sauce in the soil of three peppers. The dessert arrived in two impressive clay utensils. Palouoni flavored with hibiscus and rose and inside yogurt mousse with berries marinated with olive oil. What impressed everyone was the utensil, which made the dessert look like a mask or like a tree in the hollow of which was the white dessert. It was accompanied by pralines flavored with Greek coffee and cardamom and a praline flavored with honey and thyme.

At the end of the evening, all guests were given wonderful gifts from the sponsors of the hidden event. The gentlemen received stylish black bags with Richmond accessories, such as leather belts, caps, caps, gloves, T-shirts. The ladies received Chiara Ferragni's brand new lipstick and lip gloss. An additional gift was the surprise of the evening, the expensive Greek nanotechnology cream of Nanotouche in Myrtilo of VK Nano, which is already discussed abroad. When Leah Wood returned to her hotel suite "NJV Athens Plaza", other gifts awaited her, such as a bag by Themis Z, a butterfly specially created for her by the Rhodian designer Dora Kounaki of the famous jewelry house that celebrates 70 years of life this year and a bracelet given to her by Ada Iliopoulou with a sun reminiscent of Le soleil Foundation that supports ELPIDA's work. reminding everywhere of the bright Light of our country.