A minute with: Florentia Kythreotou, gastronomy writer

Where do you live?
In Latsia, Nicosia

What did you have for breakfast?
Two kiwis to start, filtered coffee with milk, and sourdough toast with lots of butter and Cretan Gruyère cheese.

Describe your perfect day
I wake up at 5:30, drive to Protaras with my husband, drop him off at his favorite fishing spot, and then go snorkeling and swimming. Then I have breakfast somewhere with a view. We drive back to our house in Latsia before noon, and for lunch we cook the catch of the day. Most of the time it’s kourkounes (dusky spinefoot), skaros (parrotfish), and sorkos (white seabream). I rest for a while, read a book or draw, and at night I invite friends over for wine and bites.

Best book ever read?
Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Best childhood memory?
It was after a wedding feast at Ayios Therissos (Karpasia). My father and I, in our formal outfits, went down onto the rocks by the sea and ate sea urchins and limpets. My father had a small knife – he caught these marine delicacies, opened them, and fed me. It was a foretaste of paradise – a memory that makes me feel gratitude.

What is always in your fridge?
Fruit and yogurt

What music are you listening to in the car at the moment?
Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3

What’s your spirit animal?
A fox – for its adaptability, its ability to cross boundaries between wilderness and civilization, and its resilience. In The Little Prince (also written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry), the fox embodies wisdom and teaches the prince valuable lessons about taming, connection and the significance of meaningful bonds. It highlights the transformative power of time, trust and genuine relationships.

What are you most proud of?
I am proud of my husband: his talents in literature and music, his even-tempered character, his patience and his wisdom.

What movie scene has really stayed with you?
The scene with the angel in the Berlin library in Wim Wenders’ film Wings of Desire.

If you could pick anyone at all (alive or dead) to go out for the evening with, who would it be?
Marcello Mastroianni, because he was handsome, funny, witty and a bon vivant.

If you could time travel, when/where would you go?
Renaissance Florence, to the Medici Palace, and work as a food and wine taster – and of course, take in the works of the Great Masters.

What is your greatest fear?
To lose the people I love.

What would you say to your 18-year-old self?
Don’t feel guilty for having joy in life. Believe in yourself. Eat, drink, love.

Name the one thing that would stop you dating someone.
If he wears white socks above the ankle with formal shoes.

If the world is ending in 24 hours, what would you do?
Make “pittes me to meli” (Cypriot fried pancakes drizzled with honey) and eat as much as I can.

Florentia Kythreotou is a writer of several books on gastronomy and wine. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Taste Wine & Dine magazine. Follow Florentia her on Instagram: florita __ky, her website: https://www.kythreotou.eu and on youtube https://www.youtube.com/@florentiakythreotou8048