By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Joseph Brant Museum welcomed chef and cookbook author Irene Matys on May 26 for the second instalment of its Speaker Series, where she discussed her award-winning cookbook My Cypriot Table. The event’s theme aligned with the “eat make share” exhibition, which is currently on display at the museum.
Matys is a chef who has appeared on Breakfast Television, The Good Stuff with Mary Berg, and contributed to the LCBO Food and Drink magazine.
In an introductory video, Matys explained that “the book is more than just a cookbook.”
“It’s a love letter to Cyprus,” Matys said. “It’s a collection of family stories and a reflection of the two places I call home, Cyprus and Canada.”
The book was recently named one of the best cookbooks of 2025 by The Globe & Mail and was awarded a Gourmand World Cookbook Award.
Before discussing the book itself, attendees were treated to some traditional Cypriot food prepared by Matys, a reflection of her family history and the themes of her cookbook.
To explain the roots of the cookbook, Matys began by sharing her family’s experience during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
“My dad went to serve,” Matys said. “We lived in refugee camps, and my dad was held captive for six months in an underground Turkish jail in the north.”
Matys recounted that her father’s life was saved by a Turkish soldier who was sympathetic to him because the soldier had daughters of the same age.
The family emigrated to Wallaceburg, Ontario, in 1976.
“It was very rough for us the first couple of years,” Matys said. “We needed missions and soup kitchens, and we didn’t speak the language.”
Eventually, her father opened up a pizzeria in Sarnia, Ontario, called Sissio’s Pizza. This is where Matys discovered her love of cooking.
“My first job at the restaurant was making boxes for ten cents each,” Matys said. “That’s how I got my foot in the door, but I wanted to cook.”
Matys eventually wanted to take over the business, but her father refused. She instead went to university and worked at Manulife for several years.
After some years working outside the food industry, Matys returned to her passion for cooking. She began culinary school and started collaborating with Plan B Organic Farms, often promoting them on her social media accounts.
It was then that she was approached by The Marilyn Denis Show to be a food stylist for the program.
“I said to my husband, ‘Is this real or is this spam?’ And he said, ‘No, it’s real,’” Matys said. “Marilyn said, ‘You need to be on TV.’ Then LCBO Food and Drink reached out through Instagram, and I’ve been with them for almost ten years now as well.”
After establishing herself in the food industry, Matys decided it was time for her family’s story to be told.
“Having three daughters and now grandchildren, I didn’t want our story to get lost,” Matys said. “So I decided it was time to tell our story through food.”
Matys bought a camera and taught herself how to photograph food professionally for the book.
“This book was written as a legacy to my mom and dad,” she said. “Those refugee parents who came with nothing, who endured so much to raise two children and give us a better life here in Canada.”
Matys worked on the book for three years, during which she travelled to Cyprus twice for research.
After My Cypriot Table was released, the Cypriot tourism board reached out to Matys to see if she would like to guide tours of the country for Canadian visitors.
“I started last September,” she said. “The trips are nine days, and we leave from Toronto. It is a full food, wine, and cultural experience where I take you from one end of the island to the other. You get to hear the stories and cook with me as well.”
“This book has really opened up so much for me and has brought Cyprus around the world,” she continued.
Matys stayed after the event to sign copies of her book, which were on sale for a discounted price.
More information about Irene Matys and My Cypriot Table can be found here.
The next Speaker Series event will take place on June 25 and will highlight the New Indian Basics cookbook written by Arvinda and Preena Chauhan.
