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A typical day for chef/cookbook author Theodore Alexander Fouros begins with a battle. Yet, instead of the spears and chariots of his heroic Greek ancestors, Alexis, as he is commonly known, spends his early morning hours playing chess.
He learned the game as a young child while he observed his Swiss/Italian mother in the kitchen; by age 30 he was an international master. "It takes great discipline, diet and exercise," Fouros says of the rigors of competitive chess. "In that way, I believe the human will always overcome the computer, because of intuition." Having semi-retired to Wilmington at his wife Betsy's childhood home, most mornings Fouros uses chess to sharpen his acumen before taking a walk in his gardens. There, he'll begin the first phase of what will become his second biggest challenge of the day: what to cook.
Born on the small Greek Island of Lefkas in the Ionian Sea, Fouros moved to France after graduating from Greece's Naval Academy and serving in the Royal Navy. Then it was on to Montreal's McGill University before settling in New York after a stint as a graduate student at Columbia University. This was before his interest in restaurants began to eclipse his other ambitions.
Starting out as maitre d' of 5th Avenue's famous Sea Fare on the Aegean, he opened his first restaurant, Theodoros, a few years later in 1974. He later sold it along with his second, Hydra, in 1978, to open Tycoon, where he hired a French Chef. After a period of cross-pollination between Greek and French cuisine, Tycoon received a warm review in The New York Times in 1981, the text of which remains an inspiration in Fouros' home kitchen. With interests in other restaurants over the years, Fouros later became a consultant-for-hire, retraining cooks and instructing them how to manage their inventories more cost effectively. After 20 years in New York, Fouros and his wife moved to Connecticut, installed a custom-built kitchen including a 12-burner Vulcan range as well as a 5,000-pound stone wood-burning oven and grill. When they had me over for lunch one sunny spring afternoon to their new home near Airlie Gardens and the Intracoastal Waterway, I was greeted with a crisp German beer and some of the best spanikopita I have ever tasted light, flaky phyllo filled with spinach and feta cheese fresh from the oven.
Fouros later showed me around his gardens, designed with the help of a master gardener neighbor, where he plans his menus based on what's in season. Unlike those of us who carry recipe cards as we sift through rows of ingredients at the supermarket, he takes a more intuitive approach.
"I first go and see what's fresh and then decide what to make," Fouros says. "If it's not from our garden, we'll go to the farmers' market or visit Susie at Shelton Farms; or maybe Tom from Mott's Seafood will call and let me know he has something fresh like this mullet I will later preserve in beeswax; even Costco, which is the only place around where IÃ×e been able to find an entire rack of veal." This same market-to-table philosophy resounds throughout Fouros' cookbook Feast for the Gods: Classic Greek Cooking of the Seven Ionian Islands, a collection of 165 recipes, compiled with the sharp photography of Focus on the Coast's own Laurence Maultsby. "These recipes, many dated back thousands of years, are not like anything you will find in most Greek restaurants," Fouros boasted, as he began reddening local shrimp in oil prepping for our lunch of Shrimps a la Greque. "And they are free of Middle Eastern influence because the Lefkas Islands were never controlled by the Turks during the Ottoman Empire." I watched as Fouros added minced garlic and herbs to the chopped onion, while he described his grandfather's air-dried Lefkas salami, which sells so well in Europe. It rarely makes it to the States unless as contraband packed unexpectedly by his brother in his wife's suitcases before her return trip home. This, like most of his stories, is highlighted by resounding, contagious laughter.
Betsy, who lived in Wilmington as a child, is actually quite the fisherwoman, holding the record for a 40-pound striped bass caught on a 20-pound test in Montauk.
"A lot of chefs these days are trying too hard and are confusing the identity of foods by using too many thick sauces," Fouros continued. "The secret is to take your main item in this case shrimp and surround it with herbs that will enhance and help bring out the natural flavor, not overpower it." Paging though Feast for the Gods, one gets the sense from his detailed essays on Greek cheeses and the nutritional value of olive oil, Fouros scrutinizes every ingredient.
"The best lamb comes from Greece, American from Colorado, then Icelandic," Fouros says. "And always smell meat before you buy, even if they give you a look like you are crazy." Endowed with a Hellenic nose compared to a French perfumer for his ability to balance herbs and spices, Fouros once astounded a waiter by identifying a particularly rare squash by olfactory clues alone.
After years of sampling olive oils from local specialty stores, he found his favorite at Apple Annie's in the Landfall Shopping Center. But some specialty items, including Greek cheeses, tomato paste, olives, oregano and Attiki honey, made from bees that specifically pollinate thyme as their flowers of choice, he has flown in.
Minutes later, as Fouros added the finishing touches to his plate's presentation, Betsy described the concept for her husband's second cookbook: how to make dinner look fabulous by only spending $5-$6/person.
Lunch was served, followed by Greek yogurt drizzled with honey over fresh berries and toasted walnuts.
Noticing my gaze shifting out into the yard, Fouros pointed to a hanging pot of bright orangered flowers that had caught my eye. In the typical fashion of anticipation befitting a master chess player, he answered my unasked question: "That nasturtium is an edible flower that makes for an excellent salad garnish." RECIPE  Shrimps à la Greque
(Serves 6) INGREDIENTS
36 Cleaned and deveined medium to large shrimp
1 Tbsp. shallots, finely minced
2 Cloves garlic, finely minced
1 Medium onion, finely minced
Salt & pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried oregano
4 Medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 Cup of dry white wine
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
¼ Pound of crumbled feta cheese
In a large frying pan over a hot fire, sauté the shrimps in olive oil until they are opaque. Remove and set aside. Sauté the shallots and onion for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme. Sauté 1 minute, add the wine and allow it to evaporate for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the shrimps and place the pan under the broiler for 5 minutes. Add the feta and continue under the broiler for 3 minutes. Finish the dish by sprinkling the finely chopped parsley over the top.
Serving Suggestion: If you purchase the shrimp with the head on, leave a few with the heads on and sauté them with the rest of the shrimp. Use the heads when plating. This dish can be served with either rice or pasta. Finsel is the author of Cocktails & Conversations and Coloring Stories for Conscious Children. You can visit him at the Caff Phoenix where he tends bar and curates the commission-free gallery space.
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