There’s no doubt whatsoever about eating out in Cyprus! Firstly, it’s never been as expensive but it’s never been better either (just see the additions to our listings below!) But look into the catering scene and a worrying fact emerges. There are very few eating places where a Cypriot chef is ‘doing his own thing’. I would say that more than half of the popular eating places are either franchises, or are based on an imported formula. For the customer, of course, a good franchise ensures an international standard of quality, as is evidenced in the new Noodle House in Limassol, a Dubai-based franchise of basically Chinese food taken up here by the Anthoniou brothers of Neon Phaliron fame. Noodle House customers, including our reviewer Francis Geldart, familiar with far-eastern food, are highly praising it.
Well and good, but where are the Cypriots? Has our cuisine hit the buffers? Has the meze run its course? Have we got any cutting-edge cooks? There are some very fine Cypriot chefs in some of our hotels, many of them producing high quality fare. But personalities of the kitchen are thin on the ground. Roddy Damalis at Limassol’s Ta Piatakia has been putting on his nightly show for a few years now and still innovates on a daily basis. Anthonis PIroutos is beginning to show what can be done with Cyprus cooking at the Apokryfo in Lophou… but where are others?
Dear reader! Nominate our local chefs! The future of cooking in this country depends on them.
March 2010
