A NOTE ON TUTTO PASSA
“Let’s open a pizza pop-up!” Aleks bursts into the room. It’s mid-May 2021, and we are sitting in Aleks and Em’s apartment in Paphos, brainstorming new ideas for The Agora Hotel. “What?! How?!” Em and I are both a little stunned, but the excitement rolling off him as he explains the details of his plan can’t be mistaken. “We need to practice making pizzas for the hotel. This way, we can get to know our potential hotel guests, and they can get to know us and the type of atmosphere we are creating at the hotel!” Two weeks later, the deal is signed, and the plan is in motion.
Fast forward four months, and I am walking into the newly opened Tutto Passa. “Hey, how are you doing?” A familiar voice booms at me from behind the bar. It’s Ibrahim, The Agora’s head of guest experience and Tutto Passa’s right-hand man. He’s come to Cyprus from Miami after ten years of connecting with people all around the world while working in food and beverage. To say he’s got experience would be an understatement. Around us, the bar is buzzing, with people filling up the community tables inside and even enjoying their pizzas spread out on the sidewalk. A mix of disco and other groovy music fills the space at just the right volume. There really is no way you could walk into Tutto Passa and not have a good time.
”groovy music fills the space at just the right volume.”
“Everything just fell into place,” Aleks answers when I probe into how the bar came together so fast. We’ve sat down on one of the benches outside with a Pikantiko each while we wait for our pizzas. Even out here, the air is thick with ambiance. Lights decorate the trees outside as the music flows through the open glass doors. Everything naturally coming together seems to be a theme within the Agora projects, but I have a feeling it isn’t quite as easy as Aleks makes it look. After all, “Making things seem effortless takes a lot of effort” is his favorite saying and rings true in most cases. He credits his team for the swift execution of his vision. “I have people around me who make the line between an idea and actually doing it very short. They pick up on what I throw out and roll with it.”
Nic is one of the people skillfully handling several of Aleks’ concepts and who is at this very moment strolling out the door carrying a steaming hot pizza. He sets the box down on the bench next to me and gives us a shy smile before returning to his post behind the till. On a regular day, Nic works as the chief strategist for The Agora Hotel, but just like the rest of the team, he’s jumped straight in and serves pizza like a pro.
Having gotten lost in the conversation, I almost forget my main reason for coming here, the pizza. It’s a Neapolitan-style pizza with an airy, pillowy crust, thin and authentically floppy. I’ve ordered the Spicy Pep, loaded with tomato, mozzarella, spicy salami, and finished off with fermented honey and pickled peppers. It is a selection of flavours carefully curated by the young Chef disco-dancing pizzas to life behind the bar.
Ed is 22, and a Le Cordon Bleu graduate Em discovered on Instagram a few months prior. He is set to be the head chef at The Agora Hotel, serving three meals a day to a dining room full of guests. However, he couldn’t be more excited to play with flavours at Tutto Passa until the hotel opens. I say “play” because that is really what this place feels like. It is lighthearted and fun, centred on sharing a product that the team involved loves with the people around them.
”everything comes to an end, so enjoy it while it lasts.”
“It’s been a rollercoaster, but such an exciting ride” Ed exclaims as he sits down next to me, leaving a trail of floury footsteps. “I had never made pizza before, and I only had one day of testing before we opened!” He tells me that he took to YouTube for information and inspiration before nailing down his ultimate pizza recipe. “We knew exactly what we wanted it to be like, so it was just trial and error to get us there. Now we know that we need three different types of flour for the perfect dough and exactly how much cheese is the right amount.” Ed is enthusiastic as he leads me further and further into the art of pizza making. What I am left with after he returns to his job is not only an appreciation for pizza, but an understanding of this man’s genuine passion for food.
Tutto Passa is Italian for “everything comes to an end,” a fitting name for a pop-up pizzeria. However, the name also has an alternative interpretation. “We understand it as yeah everything comes to an end, so enjoy it while you can!”