Last year, we all developed a kind of Gustatory Intuition (GU-INT) which began to foggily suggest to us what we would be having for supper. There was no real testing of these new powers, it was just known that someone would have a “feeling” about supper.

This year, we resolved to bring a more scientific method to analyse the composition of the suppers we ate at Myronas’, in the hopes we could pin down the elusive GU-INT. It turns out there is a very complex multifactorial process involved in the prediction of what was going to be for supper.

The first step was to operationalise the variables present. Things like weather, length of time since last ferry, need for long siesta vs. short siesta, Myronas’ hunting success, and last known meal all seem to play a role in determining supper. In addition, this year also had the extra bonus variable of the World Cup, so a new field of “Is there a World Cup game of interest on this afternoon/evening?” had to be added.

The First Principle

The First Principle we developed was that Goat was the default. Goat is Myronas’ “go-to”. Myronas can whip up a nice vat of Red Goat in his sleep with one hand tied behind his back. With that in mind, we preferentially would select for goat. The theory is documented in the diagram below. There is a lot of noise in the plot, but underlying is a unifying theory of Goat, which involves a regular sinelike waveform.

Weather
Weather plays some undetermined role in this model. Current working hypothesis is that when it is really hot, meals that don’t involve heating up the kitchen all day are preferentially selected.

Length of time since last ferry
This plays a huge role in meal selection as documented last year in the famous Tomato Limit breakthrough. The ferry schedule was a little more erratic this year, but Myronas seems to have relied more on a smaller ferry from Neapoli, as we didn’t approach the Tomato Limit as often this season.

Long siesta vs. short siesta
If Myronas needs a long siesta, then supper is likely to be something like pasta or vegetable stew or sausage, that doesn’t take long to cook. Otherwise, things like goat or things that need to be defrosted tend to be on the menu.

Myronas’ hunting success
If Myronas can’t get a goat, then the First Principle would be diluted. One day, I went down to supper really early with Sach and Libby. Most everyone else was still back at the hotel watching a World Cup game. No one was at the taverna, and it was all closed up. We set up the tables and sat and waited. Past 8:20, we were still waiting.

Then close to 8:30, Myronas comes puffing round the corner, sweating like crazy, his hair all frizzed out, and a wrapped goat carcass on his shoulder. Apparently, he had been out and shot a few times but had missed and he was very very delayed. I think we had pasta that night, but since Goat had been achieved we did have Grey Goat the next night (documented below).

Last known meal
As you can see, the First Principle plays a dominant role here in influencing supper choices. Knowing what we last had and keeping a little running tally of odds in our heads, we began to really exercise GU-INT.

I began to record each day in a notebook, which I would bring out when the talk invariably turned to supper. Our memories would begin to fade after a rosy evening of Red Goat, or a particularly nasty Sausage episode would colour perceptions for a week at a time. As you can see below, there were some distinct patterns that bear deeper examination.

Pasta and Red Goat have a distinct temporal relationship. Sausage carries distinct dread that made it a frontrunner in declared meal each evening, but it really did not represent. Goat and souvlaki seem to have a relationship as well. Vegetable stew + Red Goat is a favourite Friday-Saturday 1-2 combo.

Wagering Behaviour and the Mind
After coming back from the field, we almost always would go for a swim. After the swim, we also would often swing by the taverna to get ice cream. This was also a chance to try and get some information about supper. Those in the know would then race back to the hotel and try and influence (or simply mess with) others.

Then upon arriving down for supper, we would eagerly vye for a look.
“Sausage!!!” (fists raised in victory)
“Sausage!!!” (collapse on table)

No sooner than our plates were placed, however, when it would begin again.

“What do you think we’re going to have for supper tomorrow?”

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