Food that is real, authentic, and made with great passion is the best food there is. Ralpheal Abrahante, the Chef of Thalassa Restaurant, a Greek-inspired seafood restaurant in Tribeca in New York City, exemplifies a true passion for cooking and health, while providing his customers with the most natural and pure experience possible. NYC Tastemakers had the pleasure of sitting down with the Chef and learning more about Thalassa Restaurant and his love for Greek and Mediterranean cuisine.
Q: When did you realize that cooking was what you wanted to do for the rest of your life?
I was going to school trying to figure out what I was gonna do with the rest of my life. What profession or career was I going to choose, and what did I like? Computer graphics, web design, comic books, I was always an art guy and liked to work with my hands. I signed up to do a course at John Jay College for web designing and computer programming. My first day, I was ten minutes late. The teacher sent me to the Dean, and she gave me a lecture about how I’m wasting my life away. She told me to go home and come back when I was ready to learn.
That same day, my friend was signing up for a cooking class, so I went with him. I did the 18-month course and got an internship in a Greek restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen. I just loved the whole intensity of it – and it was intense, I wasn’t expecting it to be what it was, but I kept going back.
Q: Did you have a mentor or someone you looked up while you were coming up?
I learned the hard way. I learned by watching other people work in the kitchen, and I learned from my mistakes. I used old Greek cookbooks as my guide, but the recipes were old, everything was in grams and liters, the language and techniques were old-fashioned. Even though I worked in the kitchen and the chef was showing me the recipes, I used the books. I studied the books and recipes, and would read the bios of the chefs, and lot of their recipes were passed down from generation-to-generation. That became the staple for me to succeed and do well. I used all of those to mentor me.
Q: Early in your career, you became very passionate about seafood and Greek cuisine, what led you to connect with those types of foods?
I connected with Mediterranean and Greek cuisine because of the simplicity of it and the pureness of the ingredients themselves. Everything that’s grown [in Greece], any fruits or vegetables, it has this amazing, unique taste and flavor to it and it’s healthy. It’s the healthiest ingredients I’ve ever worked with in my life. The whole pureness of the ingredients that Mediterranean cuisine has I find very intriguing and I love working with them.
Q: It seems that health and freshness are very important to you.
Well, in the past, I used to be obese. I was a big guy; I became, like, 310 pounds at one point in my life and it was the discipline of the Mediterranean diet that helped me lose 150 pounds. I didn’t even know that was possible, but it worked, you are what you eat at the end of the day, and I preferred to be healthy, and the Mediterranean cuisine is the healthiest to me.
Q: What is your go-to signature dish?
All my dishes are signature, I think. I put the same passion into each dish every day since I started cooking with Mediterranean or Greek ingredients. I really love a nice heirloom Greek tomato salad with dry oregano, extra virgin olive oil, and organic feta cheese. I also really love preparing our home grilled Branzino from Greece, [with some] capers, olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice, fresh parsley, it’s amazing. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
At Thalassa Restaurant, popular dishes are, for instance, our scallops wrapped in kataifi and shredded filo. Filo is used as a dessert in Greek cuisine, but I use it for something savory as an appetizer. People love that, it’s a fan favorite.
I love the grilled lambchops, with oregano and lemon juice, it’s my to-go, I love it!
Q: Can you tell me a little bit about Thalassa Restaurant and what attracted you to it?
Thalassa Restaurant opened in 2002, and I’ve been working there since day one. So, that’s about nineteen years. We took a little break because of COVID, but we just re-opened again about two weeks ago. We showcase Greek seafood with a little modern twist. But the modern twist is really about just my take on old Greek recipes or traditional Greek dishes because we are in Tribeca (New York City), so I’m putting my own little spin. I also have a Latin background; my parents are from Puerto Rico. I do a little spin, but I don’t complicate it, I keep it as simple as possible, but I add or take away certain things to make it more appealing visually or to enhance the flavor, or to even fix something I felt the recipe didn’t need.
We are heavy seafood. When you walk into the restaurant, everything’s marble, [with] white curtains, exposed brick, tall ceilings, you feel like you are inside a boat, sailing in the Greek ocean. When you come in, I have ice displayed, with the fish in there, you can see it. Whatever is in the ocean, I try to put on that display. I feel [like] one day I’m gonna have a mermaid on the display! But it’s all seafood there, our customers see the fish, they pick which one they want [from the display], I take it, and I can cook it for them.
Q: What is your favorite part about being the Chef for Thalassa?
My favorite part of being the chef there is that I have unlimited access to Greece. I’m millions of miles away from Greece, and I can’t speak the language to save my life, but I’m fortunate to have Thalassa as my ship that I can sail to Greece and get what I need within an hour. I get access to so many different ingredients from Greece, instead of having to go through purveyors, or the middle guy. Dealing with the purveyors, I’ve noticed that they will do what they need to sell the product, or save money on the product, like cutting corners. I don’t nickel and dime, especially for the customers, what they pay for is what they get. With Thalassa being my vessel, I’m able to get access to the real, high-quality ingredients that I use at the restaurant to cook with.
Q: The seafood at your restaurant is imported directly from countries like Greece, Spain, and Portugal, how important is that authenticity to the strength of your food?
It keeps everybody healthy. If you have a balanced diet, I recommend eating fish three times a week, plus vegetables, grains and nuts, you live longer. And when you get sick, your body is strong, it has those antibodies to fight off diseases, or anything. I was reading articles about people in Greece, and they used to live 20-30 years longer versus people now, but here in New York City, with all the fast food and unhealthy eating, I’m sad to say the average man lives to their fifties or sixties. It’s being cutdown by 40-50%, and it’s scary.
But the whole thing of eating healthy, eating fish or seafood, all with moderation, you don’t want to eat too much of it, but steer more towards the pureness and naturalness of what Mediterranean [cuisine] has to offer.
We want to provide a service and be happy with the service we provide. As soon as the customer walks in, they feel like, “oh my God, I’m in Greece, I feel like I’m with family.” That’s why I like Thalassa so much, and I’ve been there forever.
Q: Can you give me some insight of the process of putting together that menu at the restaurant?
In developing the menu, obviously the owners are from Greece, so they have their favorite dishes or what they want to see on the menu. I take all their comments and I start adding my own spin to things. When I was thinking of developing the menu, I had a few [other] menus I was looking at and I was like, “oh, let’s see what other people are doing.” And if you notice in the Greek cuisine, our menus kind of mirror one another when it comes to the seafood. The display, the whole showing of the fish and the whole dressing of it with olive oil and lemon and fresh herbs. So, that’s been happening since the first Greek restaurant, I guess, when they came up here in New York City.
What I chose to do to separate us from them [was] to make sure the ingredients were 100%, the flavors [are] there, smothering it with the naturalness and purity of the actual dish. I [decided] we were gonna be 70% seafood, 30% vegetables, meats, [and] we only have two-three meats on the menu, [so] the rest is gonna be seafood and vegetables.
Through trial and error, we developed the menu that we started with, which was mostly grilled fish, a selection of, like, 30 different types of fish. Now, coming out of COVID, I took a look at the menu. A lot of [other] places, they subtracted a lot of stuff from their menu. [Some menus] that had 20 items went down to five items, for example. I said, “should I go down that route, and do that?” I said no, I’m not doing that, I’m going to keep our popular dishes, and add. We added pan seared scallops over feta and mushroom risotto with truffle oil. We [also] added some other interesting dishes, even the fish tacos. People love tacos, and we have the branzino, which is from Greece, we use that as the fish… it’s another amazing addition to our menu.
I try to keep the ingredients very, very pure and very, very high quality, which enhances the dish itself. You can taste it, when you taste it, you know. It melts in your mouth, it’s like heaven, like you’re eating heaven. When you eat the real ingredients, and they’re 100% natural, it speaks for itself.
Q: Where is your favorite place to eat in New York?
My house! [laughs] I am so used to cooking at work, at home, for the kids, everything. I try to go at least one restaurant a week to support restaurants and to try something different. I will try Italian one day, southern one day, a Greek place another day. I just love food itself, so I try to go different restaurants at least once or twice a week to treat myself and to try different flavors and see what other chefs are doing with similar dishes I have on my menu already. To narrow it down to a favorite, I haven’t found one yet.
Q: What advice would you give to young cooks who want to become chefs?
I would advise them to be patient, it will take time. Not to take things personal, it’s a very hectic environment, you are working with employees 17 hours a day at times, and this could go on for years, and tensions run high at times. You always have to remember it’s nothing personal. At the end of the day, you want to be a perfectionist. Everything perfect and exactly mirrored. Consistency is key. The customer is the last person you want telling you they didn’t like your dish, or the service, or the restaurant. To avoid that, you have to follow all the protocols, and repeat them day in and day out. You have to maintain cleanliness, wash your hands, wash your stations, sanitize everything, and taste everything. When in doubt, you throw out. If you’re not gonna consume it, a customer shouldn’t consume it, at all.
Keep the flavors and ingredients as simple as possible. In the real world and real kitchens, what you see on TV (with competition shows) doesn’t actually happen. You can be competitive, but you shouldn’t compete with your peer, you should work together to make an amazing dish or give amazing service. That’s what I would say to the young, upcoming chefs.
Q: Who are some of your favorite chefs?
Gordon Ramsey. He’s a character, and I never got the opportunity to meet him yet, but he loves food. He loves the food he cooks and is very passionate. He is very strict when it comes to how things are in the kitchen, and when you see videos of him working, that’s how it actually is. You’re there tasting everything, you’re shadowing all your chefs, and making sure everything is perfect because at the end of the day, it’s your name, your food and your menu and you want to showcase it. You don’t want someone else to mess it up for you.
Q: What does food mean to you? Describe your personal relationship with food.
My relationship with food is a love-hate thing. I hate it because, at one point in my life, I won’t be able to enjoy food because I won’t be around anymore. I hate it because I can’t enjoy it for the rest of my life, or my next life, I wish I could live forever to enjoy food forever. But I love food because I’m able to bond with it, as weird as that might sound. I’m able to understand it, and it understands me. When I’m adding ingredients, I understand the purpose of that ingredient, whether it be the onion or the garlic, I know what the purpose is and how to layer them, which enhances the flavor. You need to understand and respect each ingredient, even to the salt. That’s why I use sea salt. I do everything myself, by hand, because I understand the purpose of each ingredient.
Sometimes you can catch me in the kitchen talking to myself. I’m, like, having a whole conversation with my dish and when I taste it, I’m like, ahhhhh, there you go!
Final thoughts from NYC Tastemakers
After speaking to Chef Ralpheal Abrahante, I was able to feel his passion for food and cooking, especially for Greek and Mediterranean cuisine. The amount of care and effort he puts into every single dish he cooks is absolutely remarkable. His long tenure at Thalassa Restaurant, an impressive 19 years, along with his admiration for Greek food gives him a credibility in discussing the cuisine that so few possess.
Learning to cook by watching his grandmother, food has always been personal to him, which has only fueled his energy in the kitchen. When you go to Thalassa Restaurant, you can be assured that your meal will be prepared with detail, attention, and love. You’ll have an amazing experience there, with a feeling like you are on a boat traveling to Greece while consuming the amazing cuisine.
One of the most important things to know about Chef Abrahante is how much he prioritizes health. Through eating his food, he wants everyone to be healthier, and live 10-20% longer, which he believes is possible through a Mediterranean diet. He is the perfect example that a Mediterranean diet works, having lost 150 pounds at one point in his life. His emphasis on providing healthy options to people at his restaurant is a true testament to his character, he truly cares about everyone and wants to unite people through all his amazing food at Thalassa Restaurant, and knows the benefits that Greek and Mediterranean cuisine have. To quote Chef Ralpheal Abrahante, “Eat Fish. Live Longer.”
