Nikos Kouroumlis

Interview: Vassilis Bonios | Photo: Stavros Niflis

Food means civilisation
and taste is part of human aesthetics


Mr Kouroumlis, you’ve got a little story to tell us about Thea (The View). For instance, tell us about the first time. When was your first day at Thea?
It’s simple, a lot simpler than it seems. You want to get away from Athens. You happen to go to Paros for a weekend, you see the Aegean, the sky, the air, the view of all these and you just stay here. You also need a job, so you get Thea. Of course there were more people of the same opinion in the team, such as Dimitris and Marilena.

Thea is in Paros but overlooks across to Antiparos. You are on an island but you support the tastes and aromas of the East, where Hellenism once used to thrive. May we suggest that Thea is a ferry boat for lovers of voyages into place and time?
I wouldn’t call it a ferry boat but a tribute to my ancestors and my parents who taught us that food means civilisation and taste is part of human aesthetics.

What other part of the world would you like to create a new Thea?
Place is not important.

Who is the good customer in your opinion? What are their characteristics?
It’s the person who comes willing to enjoy and appreciate all the effort.

What is the greatest wine you’ve ever tasted?
Quite a few, but we can’t compare an Hermitage to a Barolo or an Agiorgitiko to a Xinomavro. Every wine, when opened, will tell you the story of its land (85%), the microclimate (10%) and the producer who made it (5%).

Any dreams which have not yet been realised?
The ones I have not yet imagined.

Tell us about your friends on the island. How do you spend winter time?
People who can appreciate that getting up every morning is a gift of nature and really enjoy it. But what is most important of all is time, which cannot be bought with money and here in Paros one can have time.

Summer 2013