The Best I Ever Had

Posted by Jonathan Leach on Jun 21, 2011 | 0 comments

Desserts– the grand finale of every good meal, including our meze.  Today we visited a confectionery, and I couldn’t wait for the aroma of sweet sugar to wake my senses up.  It was quite an early start to the day when we left at seven a.m., and the day was already blistering hot.  What I have learned about Cyprus is that when the sun comes up, it doesn’t waste time lingering low in the sky.  It feels as if when it comes up it is instantly at its brightest.  It was a hot day, and I was glad to spend it indoors, and even more happy that my group was not the one filming.  Because the area was small, our group once again spent the majority of the day outside the shoot.  I did get to see a lot of the processes and try the finished baklava, which I will talk about later!

One thing everyone should know about Cyprus is that it known for its bakeries.  Many bakeries here stay open 24 hours to help those late night cravings with a sugary fix; someone told me this started because it takes so long to make a lot of the baked goods that by the time they closed for the night businesses would have to turn around and open back up an hour later.  At the bakeries I have tried a variety of cakes, pastries and snacks, and I believe the 24 hour bakeries will be one thing I miss the most about here.

Now I should tell you about my day.  The confectionery is owned by a father and son who have been making sweets most of their lives.  The rest of their family has no interest in taking over the business, so like many of the traditional places in Cyprus this place will exist only as a memory.  But that will be many years from now since the son is young and has many decades left, so you have plenty of time to come try some food.  The bakery smelled heavenly and was covered in family photographs, certificates, and of course baked goods.  Also, it was located across from a school making it the perfect location for business.  With no responsibilities, I helped by taking some pictures for Emma since Kim and she were the on camera talent for the day.  They got to go help the bakers prepare their treats for the oven.

During this, I caught what I could of the baklava making process.  It looked quite delicious as they stacked buttery layers of crispy filo bread.  From what

I saw, the layers were stuffed with nuts, honey and syrup and baked to a golden brown.  The father and son smiled happily as they used their limited English vocabulary trying to portray their passion for the process to us.  Despite the language barrier, I could tell how appreciative they were that we were recording their lives for others to see.  After the group finished recording the bakers brought out pieces of baklava and glasses of water for the whole group.  I was fascinated that they gave us what amounted to multiple trays of the desert; they could have easily made many Euros off of what we got for free and this filled me with gratitude.  When I took the first bite of the baklava I was amazed; it was for sure the best I had ever had.  It was the perfect sweetness, flavorful and fresh.  I definitely recommend it to anyone who finds their way to the old town of Nicosia.