FOCUSING ON THE FOOD & NOT ON THE EGO OF THE CHEF
Because we are entering the new culinary season and our eyes will see many new things and many of our palates will taste, I am sitting and “koutalometro (counting using a tea spoon), as my grandmother would say, the emerging summer memories. The sweetest and strongest was that of the cook at the restaurant MAZI in Syros. I've been observing her for two full days, feeling her gentle stride as she carries the groceries for her daily cooking. After I tasted her food, it was meaningful, substantive, and infused with the scents of the Cyclades. Many dishes acrobat on a dangerous balance in putting together strange materials, but while swallowing the last bite, you know that the finale is magically completely successful. Note her name; she is called MARIA KRINA and whatever she touches reflects the enthralling, scintillating energy of the person who feeds people with a distinctive passion for food and not with one’s ego. I am writing this as we enter the new culinary season, and there is a great risk of savoring food focusing on the ego of the chef! While this may have been thrilling in previous eras, it no longer embodies the essence of our current times.
Mirsini Lambraki
chef, and author of culinary books