It was over a bowl of Tyrells salt and pepper crisps, a Diet Coke and a sneaky cig outside my window that we recorded this conversation. We speak about food as both pleasure and connection, the table culture in Greece and Cyprus, what it means to cook alone, whether small plates will ever die and why recommendations culture has become an echo chamber.
My friendship with Pani spans restaurants and a pocket of north east London that we’ve occupied for years without overlapping. We first met outside Jolene, where I’d hosted a lightly-attended SNOA meet up. Me eating a sausage roll, Pani rocking up looking effortlessly chic – not a one off, I’d discover, but simply who she is – and when the one other person left the table, we continued our conversation about food, wine, restaurants and ex-boyfriends as we strolled up the road to her house.
It was over drinks and a cripplingly delicious meal at Kiln that Pani and I started talking about working together. She was telling me about a report she wanted to pull together – a piece of work that would combine a retrospective of the food, drink and restaurant scene and a look to what was to come. I fed her a few ideas, and she asked if I wanted to help. We spent two months talking, researching, eating and posing ideas of what would become In Service, which you can read here. It’s a combination of the GBC team’s and experts, chefs and critics thoughts on everything from menu trends to social media.
Learning more about Pani always leaves me feeling inspired. Not only to take pleasure in the act of eating or sharing a meal, but also to push forward in all parts of my life. That is because Pani is undeniable impressive. Only just turned 30 (fellow Taurus), last year Pani was listed in Code Hospitality’s 30 Under 30 Class, only shortly after she took a job at renowned (and generally wonderful) hospitality agency Gemma Bell & Company. A job that didn’t even exist until she arrived. A job that turned into Pani joining the leadership team almost immediately. No. Big. Deal.
When Pani isn’t leading projects at Gemma Bell & Company, she’s curating the chef programme for Carousel, a central London space that brings the most exciting chefs from over the world for residencies and pop ups all year long.
Pani will be sharing a few of her tips and a recipe for her mum’s famous butter beans later this week for paid subscribers!
🎧 Unfiltered: Table Culture & Restaurant Scenes with Pani Soutis