Meet Lita’s Culinary Director

The essence of Lita is Mediterranean. Prioritising seasonality and bringing warmth to Marylebone's bustling Paddington Street, the Michelin starred restaurant balances relaxation and glamour as carefully as it balances culatello on top of a harissa rosti, or shards of sourdough in a tomato and peach gazpacho. Lita is not, the team are quick to remind us, Spanish or Greek, nor Italian, instead carefully pulling threads from across the Mediterranean, forming a tapestry of its continental inspiration. At the helm is Chef Kostas Papathanasiou, who steers an ambitious team who share his determination, precision and generosity.

Moving from Lamia, Greece to Galway, Ireland at the age of sixteen, Kostas worked for a year learning the fundamentals of cooking, and also, English — "I only knew 'hello', that's about it!" — before deciding he wanted to move to London. "Aged seventeen and completely naïve", Kostas made a list "of the ten best restaurants in the world and emailed them all… Of course, I didn't get a response, I had no experience." Undeterred, he continued to research and reach out to restaurants, before setting his sights on The Fat Duck "the year they were voted the best restaurant in the world." Despite, or perhaps because of their silence, "I decided to go, put the suit on and everything, and give them my CV." After mistaking Kostas for a customer, they agreed to a month of work experience, and after three months offered him a permanent job.

Kostas stayed for another five years. But when the opportunity arose to work in Singapore, he grabbed it with both hands — "bear in mind, I'd never been to Asia before that." Liking the idea of more travel, and wanting to work to support his adventures, it was "the best decision I've ever made in my life." In the midst of different cultures and customs, Singapore was " the perfect setting to learn and adapt." Leaving Europe brought a whole new experience of markets, seasons and produce, with Singapore's large ports offering different ingredients from its surrounding countries. "Countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have fantastic produce, but different to what you are used to having here… When it comes to fruit, vegetables, spices, everything has a totally different element." Adapting the European character of his palette to local appetites, Kostas found a new perception of flavours, and a broader understanding of food — "it kind of opens your mind."

Returning to Europe with new skills, inspiration, and an appreciation of spicy food, Kostas embraced his next ventures. After some years in London he joined Restaurant Frantzén, a three Michelin starred restaurant in Stockholm. There, he designed a menu that was carefully arranged around the gradual building of flavours, with produce selected to elevate the density of dishes across twelve set courses. With tightly controlled menus, precisely focused on select ingredients (langoustines and caviar were particular favourites), and with people travelling from around the world to eat there, it offered a new experience of cooking for Kostas: "it's not often that you're in the position of a chef… where you're in the position to say, 'this is it."

Today, Kostas' travels and experiences shape Lita's menu. Bold and ambitious flavour pairings, from strozzapreti with duck ragu and aged parmesan, to grilled monkfish, accompanied with clam beurre blanc and fennel salad, reflect Kostas' tenacity and sense of adventure: "I think you have to take your chances. I think when you want to do something, you have to try." While inspiration arrives from abroad in the shape of his travels, "the most inspiring thing is the constant notion of how we can do things better, and how we can improve."