The Pleasure Lists Q&A: Panayiota Soutis
Pleasures, Curated by Panayiota Soutis
We’re back with another installment of
: Pleasures, Curated.I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy getting to know members of the Pleasure Lists community and what makes their Pleasures tick.
Pleasures, Curated by of
Panayiota Soutis - known to everyone but her family as Pani - is a culinary cupid obsessed with restaurants and people. Pani is a consultant and connector, communicator and curator, working on projects within the world of taste. She writes The Goal is to Eat, a weekly newsletter of notable nourishment, featuring essays on dining (Digests), opinions on hospitality (Stocktake) and restaurant guides (Food and the City), and she also hosts a monthly PARLOUR at her home in London, building space for conversation and connection between those working in and around food. She refuses to ever follow a recipe and always has the energy to chat.
Location: Hackney, London
Social: @panayiotasoutis / The Goal is to Eat
Pleasures
A Mediterranean Horizon
It’s where I find the most peace, next to the water, mesmerised by the waves, watching the sun sparkle on their edges. It’s one of the only times I’m entirely absorbed by the vast beauty of Mother Nature. Perhaps I’m on some rocks with the heat scorching my salty skin. Maybe I’ve spent some time floating in the sea, looking up at a flat blue sky. I’m probably topless and feeling free. There’s the smell of cigarettes in the air, frying and grilling in the distance. I’m still, but my senses are captivated. This is really many of my pleasures wrapped into one.
Cherries
Fresh, fake, candied or in cartoon form. My boyfriend bought me a bag of cherries last Sunday. It was a sunny afternoon and it was the sweetest gift. I find them the most fun fruit to look at and consume. I love cherry flavoured sweets, my lip balm is cherry scented and I order Manhattans for the maraschinos. Any illustration of a cherry brings me instant joy – I still haven’t quite worked out why.
Rose Season
From May, there are so many rose varieties all over London, adding a spray of colour to an otherwise grey-brown backdrop. I love spotting them, sniffing them and getting up close to admire their majestic layers of petals. Roses always have exceptional names, rosewater is one of my favourite flavourings and I love a rose as a motif. I dined at Oslo Court recently, and their logo is a 1930s woman smelling a rose, embossed on the leather bound menus and printed onto the receipt. It doesn’t get more romantic than that.
Long Hot Showers
Especially when they’re accompanied by old Greek music, playing from my phone speaker. I have a habit of listening to the same songs over and over again for months on end. Generally though, my shower is un-soundtracked. I find it’s the only time I spend in my day not consuming anything, and under the hot, heavy water I let my mind rest while I connect to my body.
Flying
Again, it comes down to disconnection. I used aeroplane WiFi for the first time earlier this month and hated it. Never again. I find flying so magical and I’m always emotional sailing through the sky. I’m often crying during take off, and I love that even just for a few hours, you are totally untethered to the rest of the world. I like to fly alone and I find I do some of my best thinking up in the air. It’s all very cathartic somehow. Plus, I sometimes get to see a great horizon too.
What does Pleasure mean to you?
Being completely at ease and present. Experiencing all consuming joy where nothing else matters. Total satisfaction – even if just for a fleeting moment.
Who do you want to see next? Send me suggestions for who to feature in the next Q&A!
What Is “Pleasures, Curated”?
Each week, a new Pleasure-seeker will document their personal Pleasures and ruminate a bit on what Pleasure means to them. True to
style, I keep the list-maker’s je ne sais quoi in as much as I can — only minor editorial changes are made when necessary. I do this intentionally so that the writer’s inner world really comes through. The style of the list says as much about the writer as the list itself.Read Previous Q&A’s:
The Pleasure Lists Q&A: Yasmine Ganley
We’re back with another installment of The Pleasure Lists: Pleasures, Curated.
The Pleasure Lists Q&A: Sophie Haigney
We’re back with another installment of The Pleasure Lists: Pleasures, Curated.
Why submit a list?
Pleasure Lists are a summary of what you need, want, or have, or see at a particular moment in time. They are a survey, an overview, a summary of the crucial facts of the state of one aspect of your life. It’s a kind of blueprint that can be a guide to the future.
Mull it over and if you’re moved to, send me a list.
Questions? Comments? Send any recommendations or suggestions for what you’d like to see in these newsletters my way. I’d love to hear more about what you’re currently finding pleasure in.
Join the chat below to connect with other members of the Pleasure List community:
Please share this newsletter! The Pleasure Lists is meant to be a collaborative project that calls people from all over to write, read, and share their pleasures — a global community of artists, writers, and pondering minds alike.
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