Food: More than Just Nutrition

A few years ago my family and I relocated to Cyprus. I had grown up in Melbourne, Australia and had got used to slathering Vegemite on my toast and eating hot-cross buns at Easter. Life seemed pretty set. But life has a way of making its own plans. Moving to my mother’s homeland was a huge shock to the system. Oddly enough, food was a detail which helped me transition to this beach peppered island.

In the beginning, I was puzzled as to why breakfast was quashed in favour of a miniscule but surprisingly potent cup of coffee. Then I realised many Cypriots awoke at dawn before the sun began to calescent (personally, I wouldn’t much feel like eating whilst still in my pre-dawn sleep stupor either).

But then, why does gen Y seem to have a natural inclination to chow down sugary cereal and text rather than talk? Globalisation has hit this once pristine island hard. Small fishing villages have transformed in the more recent decades. In the place of a kafene, where the men would spend an inertial afternoon playing noisy backgammon, there is now a glitzy neon sign offering 2-4-1 beers before midnight and a well worn bar with beer stains and high heel punctures.

Nevertheless, a culture is not just its everyday but also its special days. When celebrating, up to thirty small dishes keep the cheerful atmosphere buzzing: from rubbery halloumi cheese, to the main dishes of meat and, well, more meat. The convivial atmosphere begins when the first man arrives to put the meat on the spit, and ends in a slightly inebriated state as the sun is getting its last ounce of rest before starting up for the day. Hours of eating and drinking are dispersed with hours of talking too loudly and dancing to the sound of a bouzouki.

So now, when I travel to a new city, I don’t look to the tourist hotspots for inspiration. Instead I casually walk into a cafe, order my soothing liquid of choice, relax, and let the people and their choices tell their country’s story to me.