Owner Of North Fork's Iconic Hellenic Launches YouTube Channel

EAST MARION, NY — George Giannaris, owner of East Marion's iconic Hellenic Snack Bar & Restaurant, celebrated a birthday this week — and it's especially fitting that as he marks a new year, he's also unveiled a project that symbolizes all the values and innate care he brings every day to the iconic North Fork eatery that's been a mainstay for generations of countless loyal diners since 1976.

Giannaris launched a YouTube channel, AwareHouseChef, in April, inspired by the dream of teaching individuals how to prepare nutritious, organic meals at home, with a vision to "save healthy," at a time when the very concept is falling by the wayside in an all-too-often rushed society.

Each new episode airs on Thursdays at 7 p.m.

Giannaris, who grew up eating the simple, healthy fare cooked in his Greek family's kitchen, described the premise of his weekly podcast: "It’s all about fresh, organic ingredients, and simple recipes and techniques," he said. "I want to teach you great and easy cooking methods, how to maximize the organic bulk ingredients you buy at club warehouses or online and spend enjoyable moments in the kitchen, creating phenomenal dishes."

A natural born story teller with two books — "Ferry Tales" and "Ferry Tales II: When Hellenic Freezes Over" —about his life and his family's odyssey on the North Fork, from the restaurant's beginnings as a snack bar known for its fresh lemonade, Giannaris takes to the podcast format with ease, speaking to viewers about his passion for preparing fresh, organic food that satisfies not only the appetite but the soul.

Podcasts already posted include a wide array of topics such as "Greek Yogurt Two Ways," "Best Salmon Recipes," and critically important episodes on how to use, and sharpen, a knife properly, knowledge Giannaris said is sorely lacking in most kitchens and that can save a cook both time and money on unnecessary gadgets.

With his life already busy running the restaurant with his wife Maria — the couple has two sons — some have asked how Giannaris found the time and sheer will to tackle a YouTube channel, teaching himself how to film, edit, and produce the entire series single-handedly.

The answer is simple: It's a project of the heart.

"One of the things that my friends don't understand about me is why I love to cook on my day off," he said. "That's my favorite time to cook."

At home he has a huge outdoor kitchen that he built, his favorite place to whip up meals for loved ones. "Friends who come over are blown away at what I'm able to do in an outdoor kitchen, but for me, it's second nature, because I'm in the industry."

With an eye toward urging others to embrace healthy eating, Giannaris set out to share his inside tips about how to buy in bulk and produce nutritious fare at home.

In general, the public is laboring under misconceptions, he believes. "For example, a lot of people feel canola oil is great to use. But it's horrific, it's a synthetic oil. Or, they think certain foods are healthy when, in fact, they're not. A couple of my friends got really sick, and they were active and not overweight. I watch the way they ate, and I began wondering if there was a correlation between the way they ate and their ailments."

Part of the reason why many don't eat well, Giannaris said, is because they believe they don't have "the talent or the techniques that I have as a chef, that make my life really easy. I was thinking about this idea for a really, really long time — about showing people how to eat healthy."

His reference point has always centered on his grandparents, all four of whom lived to their 9os, ate really simply, and never consumed pre-made foods, he explained. "They ate butter, olive oil, olives, fresh vegetables, fresh meats. Simple. That's my idea of eating healthy," he said.

For many years, Giannaris has put the focus on organic at Hellenic. "At first I thought eating organic was a big gimmick. It's not. Organic food is just better for you," he said.

The problem, however, is the cost, so his YouTube videos teach individuals how to shop at club warehouses, buy in bulk, and then prepare meals using organic ingredients for families of four, two, or even one, without waste. "That was the angle," he said.

He taught himself how to film the podcasts by watching YouTube, Giannaris said. He's created 17 episodes so far, using four stationary cameras and three mobile cameras, to get him through the busy summer season. "It was the most impossible challenge I ever faced in my life," he said.

But the lessons were invaluable.

"The most important thing about filming, hands down, is lighting," he said. "I learned that the six or seven videos in — lighting is so much more important than equipment."

Editing with five cameras, Giannaris is, "is an undertaking. It's not for the faint of heart." Lining up the voice track and juggling the technical details while still striving for creativity, he said, is a significant undertaking.

It takes about 40 hours to create and edit each episode, he said, with a focus on stirring up an informative segment in the short period of time.

And then, he's also trying to cook up a show that's educational with a dash of entertaining — incorporating some intriguing camera angles while still serving up informative fare.

Most important of all, Giannaris hopes to provide life-changing culinary lessons while still teaching people how to prepare food safely.

Throughout it all, Giannaris said, the focus is on healthy. "You want to integrate it into your daily life and make it fast — that's the key," he said. "So you can spend two hours on a Sunday doing prep for the whole week and then crank out great organic meals."

Longtime diners at Hellenic know that Giannaris has been serving organic options, including eggs, for more than 16 years.

Simple tips are everything: Just keeping a bowl of chopped lettuce and cherry tomatoes in the fridge mean the fixings for a healthy meal, with a little chicken tossed on top, he said.

"We need that roughage, we need those minerals," he said.

The primary goal, Giannaris added, is creating something that will help people to change their lifestyles.

And already, the results have been positive, with emails flooding in from longtime supporters and new viewers alike, thanking him for sharing his tips and detailing the specifics so that they can be successfully executed at home.

The tips themselves, Giannaris said, include teaching people about temperature and cooking concerns.

He's got episodes coming soon about the best way not to ruin a pricey $200 Father's Day steak on the grill — and an eye-opening Thanksgiving episode on the hazards involved in cooking the bird properly. "People don't realize how dangerous it is," he said.

Tips on how to sterilize a cutting board after chopping chicken and how to sharpen the knife are ingredients in his podcast recipe box, Giannaris said.

His goal, he said "is to have a large audience, to establish myself as a food influencer," Giannaris said.

Challenges lie in the fact that he feels it's difficult to establish an immediate presence with the younger generation who "uses YouTube constantly," while at the same time, he's "unable to teach the older generation how to find me. Maybe if I have a semi-nude, blonde sous chef," he joked. "All of a sudden everyone will be educated on how to cook."

Looking ahead, Giannaris is committed to creating 250 videos, with 70 episodes already lined up; some will be shot out on the East End, at locations including wineries, bookstores and on a fishing boat.

At the heart of all he does is Giannaris' dedication not only to his family and loyal clientele, but to his staff, who have been with him from 6 to 43 years.

"When I die one day, what is going to be my legacy?" he asked, adding that he would rather sacrifice himself than see his employees go without.

Every recipe is crafted with aim of providing more than just food for customers. "Eating is a personal thing," he said. "If I don't make it personal, I don't want to be here."

Perhaps the greatest highlight of the YouTube experience so far has been creating an episode with his son Savvas, who whipped up his mouthwatering ramen.

"You could not imagine how proud I am of him and his initiative," he said. "At 17, he embraces life and his passions like an adult, creating his own recipes from his imagination."

All of the recipes featured on the podcasts are also available on Giannaris' website.

Giannaris offered advice for timid chefs, explaining many are intimidated by the "fear factor. People are afraid? Why? You need to experiment."

After suffering a major health crisis several years ago, Giannaris said his entire perspective shifted. "You could die at any given moment. You'd better start taking life a little more seriously. Every moment is sacred. I don't wast my time. No more tomorrows for me — I deal with todays."

There are some basic tips to help a fledgling chef soar in the kitchen, Giannaris said, lessons that can change the culinary canvas: "Take the fundamentals seriously. Learn how to use and sharpen a knife. Read the label; learn what's toxic and what's not. Be prepare to throw out food if you have to — but don't be afraid to experiment."

Giannaris urges cutting loose in the kitchen, getting so comfortable with ingredients that you instantly know what a dish is going to taste like, even without sampling.

Above all, he said, cooking should be fun. "You have to be able to experiment," he said. "That creative side, that's the fun part of being in the kitchen. Now, you can be the maestro. Throw on your favorite song, crack open a bottle of wine, be creative. You can do this every single day. Even after 40 years of being in a commercial kitchen, I still come up with creative stuff — every time."

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