Opinion
By Michalis Michaelides
The video of Mrs. Evroulla that accompanied her award at the Wiz 50 Best Restaurants, where she looks straight at the camera and asks, completely sincerely, “Can I take a break to go check on my food? I can hear it” was easily one of the night’s highlights.
It was her authenticity, really.
Halfway through the interview, while we were filming, she calmly and naturally asked if we could pause so she could check on the kolokasi bubbling away in the pots just behind her. After forty full years of doing this, day in, day out, with almost religious devotion, she has reached the point where she can literally hear her food. Even when she’s not standing over the stove, she knows when a dish is ready, when it has settled, when the sauce has thickened, and when the heat needs to be lowered.
Her love for what she does comes through in every plate, every recipe, and every bite. Cooking, for her, isn’t just a job; it’s vital. “I can’t live without my space,” she says with a smile, talking about her small shop in Klokkari Arcade, a place that carries not only her name but also her energy and temperament stamped into every corner.
As much as we tend to forget it, authenticity is the real goal.
Whether we’re talking about a simple white plate piled with juicy seftalies, a porcelain bowl of scallops served at the highest gastronomic level, a boutique hotel, a street-food spot, a destination restaurant, a young chef growing his own produce, or a cook who still consults her grandmother’s handwritten recipe notebook, what matters is that the final result is defined by honesty and authenticity.
This year, at the Wiz 50 Best Restaurants 2025 awards, we were moved by the story of Mrs. Evroulla Ioannou. We admired the work being done around sustainability at Kuzuba. We felt a twinge of envy listening to a Scandinavian chef talk about his love for the Cypriot countryside, a love that earned him the country’s first Michelin Key for The Agora Hotel in Lefkara. We drew inspiration from the first Cypriot to earn the Master Sommelier title. And seeing so many outstanding Cypriot and Greek chefs on stage made us want to visit even more restaurants across the island.
Rooted in authenticity from the very beginning, the Wiz 50 Best Restaurants institution has built real momentum and secured its place. At the same time, each year it looks beyond the list itself, searching for surprises that will help it outdo its own past.
So yes, Mrs. Evroulla Ioannou “hearing her food” makes for a charming moment in a tribute video. But it’s also a statement. A reminder that what truly makes the difference in gastronomy is passion, quality ingredients, dedication, consistency, and a fair, value-for-money approach.
And sometimes, after forty years at the stove, it’s also about listening.
