Eat, Drink and Be Merry
The Tennessee’s main focus for our trip to Cyprus was to document the meze and the production of the meal. The meze is a traditional Mediterranean cuisine consisting of multiple cultural dishes. Our focus was on the traditional meat meze but we also had different concentrations on the halloumi cheese, Cypriot bread and baklava dessert.
We have met extraordinary people who make these traditional dishes and experienced the Cypriot culture by doing so. We have experienced the loving people of Cyprus along with their hospitality, welcoming us with generosity into their workspace. Filming the process makes me appreciate the hard work that goes into making the meze possible.
The tavern we went to for the meze was quaint with the quiet atmosphere and older decorations surrounding the tables. The tavern was simple but charming in every possible way. We sat in the back corner in order to have the space to film and not disturb other guests. As a group, I can say with confidence we were beyond excited to sit down and have a large meal. Personally, I didn’t eat anything all day so by the time we got to dinner, I was very hungry and couldn’t wait to eat.
The first of the nineteen dishes brought out was a Greek salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese and olive oil with spices. We also got bread and all kinds of dipping sauces: hummus, tzatziki (yogurt with cucumber flavored with garlic), tahini and various other types used for several different things. Of course olives were present on their own separate dish. Beets and marinated carrots were among the other types of vegetables first brought out.
Potatoes in olive oil with spices were brought out next; the odd thing about the potatoes is that they were cold, good, but cold. Next, we received a Russian potato salad – made specially by the tavern’s wife who is Russian. Of course, grilled halloumi followed short after. I put a piece of cheese on a bread slice and it was amazing. We were eating like kings and queens at this point, we just couldn’t get enough food fast enough.
The rest of the meal started to bring out the picky eaters’ remarks. Our next dish consisted of mushrooms. I personally love mushrooms but several people opted out of eating them because of the texture. Oh well, more for me! Next, the meat started pouring out of the kitchen. Sheftalia and pork bacon were the first to arrive. Both were semi-fatty but delicious. The next dish was the kleftiko with more potatoes, just like we filmed it being made. I enjoyed the kleftiko a lot.
Souvlaki and roasted chicken were the next kind of meats to be served. At this point, everyone drastically slowed the amount of food being eaten. We definitely underestimated the amount of food nineteen dishes consists of and were feeling full by about the tenth dish, but we had to press on. Carbohydrates filled the table, right on time considering we were well-fed at this point. Ravioli filled with halloumi cheese was placed in front of us. The best way to get flavor from the dish was to add as much cheese on top of the ravioli as possible otherwise it was rather bland. Couscous followed the ravioli. My absolutely favorite dish was the spinach with egg and olive oil. I’ll be making this at home on a normal basis from now on.
The next couple of dishes was where people had the most trouble: snails and liver, two cuisines I am not particularly accustomed to. We all had to take part in eating both, and the cameras were on everyone’s faces as they tried these dishes. Personally, I picked up the smallest snail I could find, put some lemon on it and didn’t think twice about it. It wasn’t terrible, I would never order it as a meal but it was worth eating in order to brag about when I go home. Next was the liver. I tried my absolute hardest to stay quiet so no one knew I hadn’t tried it. I was caught and then both cameras were placed in front of me to catch my reaction of disgust. I tried a bit and swallowed it whole at first. I received some disapproval so I had to try a bigger bite and actually chew it. It wasn’t awful – I’ve definitely had worse. But again, I would never order it as a main course.
The next dish was stuffed bell peppers with meat, this was actually very good and probably another dish I’ll make at home. And for our final dish, anari stuffed bourekia. It was a puff pastry filled with flavorless cheese covered with sugar. I mostly ate the edges but it was relatively good, not my favorite dessert but I was happy to try it.
The experience of the meze was unlike anything I have ever encountered. We had a blast being on camera and being slightly dramatic when it came to eating the snails and liver. The group has been bonding ever since we got here but I believe this experience really connected everyone. The meze consisted of a lot of dishes and I don’t think I’ve eaten that much in a very long time. The Cypriots enjoy eating and that’s something I can definitely respect.