Suddenly, American magazines are paying a lot of attention to Greece, not the economic crisis but with the country’s famed if often overlooked cuisine. The French get all the notice and the Italians take all the Greek olive oil and repackage it, but more Americans are learning about the value of Greek products, particularly dairy products such as yogurt and feta.
There are feature stories but Greek companies are now doing something they’ve been reluctant to do: pay for advertisements instead of hoping people would find their businesses and products.
The most prominent ad is for Athenos feta cheese – which is made in Wisconsin and not in Greece – as American companies try to capitalize on the Greek cuisine craze. Athenos uses Greek-American actress and comedienne Tina Fey as a lure and also offers a version showing a Greek grandmother who gives a recipe for a Greek summer salad with feta.
There are skeptics. The blog Epikouria, dedicated to Greek foods, said that Athenos is not authentic feta. “Manufactured by Kraft-subsidiary Churny, this “feta” cheese holds a 64% share of the retail category. It’s made from cows’ milk and bears about as much relation to authentic Feta as Processed American Cheese Food does to a Farmhouse Cheddar,” it said.
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