Christina Theofilos is the chef at Psomi in Tampa Bay, Florida. A second-generation Greek American, born and raised in Tampa, her food celebrates the Greek concept of philoxenia, the art of making a stranger a friend.

She and host Si Willmore discuss Christina's childhood, growing up with the notion that 'food is love', and how that has shaped her cooking and her career. The name of her restaurant is Psomi -- which literally translates from Greek to English as 'bread' -- but the word represents much more than that. Psomi is about coming together to share the 'best bite' and to benefit from philoxenia; Christina wants everyone to enjoy her food - "whether you can pronounce the word or you can't".

Christina talks about My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and how far Greek wine has come from the old days of tasting like 'rubbing alcohol'. She mentions some of her favourite dishes that we might eat if we visited Psomi, including meatballs made from a traditional 60-year-old-recipe and the 'Bring Your Own Boat' dish -- approximated by Si to 'cheesy canoes of joy'. As a second-generation Greek American, it's important to Christina to celebrate her mixed Greek and American tastes and influences -- as such she tries to find ways to 'Greekify' various dishes and cocktails -- and she even likes to flirt with food influences from France, Italy and Spain.

Episode sponsored by Visit Florida.

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Cheesy canoes of joy and turning strangers into friends with Christina Theofilos 25:18 Share

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Cheesy canoes of joy and turning strangers into friends with Christina Theofilos