GOURMET FOOD HOLIDAYS IN CRETE FOR SINGLE TRAVELLERS
Crete is a wonderful place for ‘foodies’. In the first place we have the wonderful ‘Mediterranean diet’ but with a huge focus on local produce. Then of course we have the fruits of the seas surrounding the island. Include fabulous olive oil and a burgeoning wine industry and the scene is set for a great value week of gastronomic foodie delights for the palate.
WEEKLY RATES AND WHAT’S INCLUDED
If you have the appetite (and you need a bit of one!) for all the trips, visits, tastings and meals you can add the complete week-long package to your holiday for an additional €395. However each foodie event is priced individually, and you are welcome to ‘pick and mix’ as much or as little as you like. Read on further down the page for the full ‘menu’ of events.
CRETAN FOOD CULTURE
Our Flavours of Crete Week is a celebration of the senses as we take our single guests on a journey through the authentic components of the island’s healthy Mediterranean diet. In a feast of the finest food and drink solo travellers get the opportunity to discover what gives the Cretan people their famous vitality and longevity. We’ll be providing important insight into how to boost your immune system and cook tasty dishes made of seasonal, organic ingredients, with delicious “foodie” twists and flavours at every step of the way.
GETTING YOUR TONGUE AROUND DELECTABLE CRETAN COOKING
Overall we will be highlighting the provenance of Cretan food and showing why the island’s wonderful culinary offering is considered the healthiest on earth. During the week we organise cooking classes where you will see how to prepare various Cretan specialities. We will introduce you to Cretan extra virgin olive oil, its history, and its role in the Mediterranean cuisine. You’ll meet artisan producers, visit the local farmers market, call in at a winery and taste amazing Cretan wines paired with cheese. Last but by no means least we will show you a little paradise of native and self-sown Cretan and Mediterranean herbs, trees, and plants at the Botanical Gardens of Crete.
WE’LL STEP UP TO THE MARK OF CRETAN QUALITY
Perhaps best of all we’ll meet producers and restaurateurs who have, like the Mistral, been awarded the Cretan Quality Agreement Mark as champions of the island’s cuisine and culinary traditions. This is awarded to those dedicated to sourcing local produce, exclusively using extra virgin olive oil and offering traditional Cretan cooking. Naturally each evening that we dine in the Mistral hotel restaurant the emphasis will be on “homegrown, home-made,” Cretan dishes.
There will be gifts to take away with you at the end of your stay with a bottle of our finest extra virgin olive oil and a recipe book of our favourite dishes so you can recreate them once you get home. Flavours of Crete is a mouth-watering opportunity to sample, savour and learn more about Cretan food and drink and, perhaps, kick start a healthy, savoury and immune boosting diet to follow for life.
Our Flavours of Crete weeks runs in May and October but rest assured – as well as enjoying the best of Cretan cuisine and learning how to cook some of our dishes, there will also be plenty of time to relax by the pools, enjoy our spa facility or visit the Venetian harbour town of Chania.
A DAY-BY-DAY GUIDE TO THE FINEST CRETAN FOOD AND WINE
WEDNESDAY – EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL DAY
Visit the ancient olive tree of Vouves, considered to be the oldest in the world. Then we’ll head to a local Cretan olive press where you will learn about the olive oil production, taste various samples and share a masterclass on how to recognize authentic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Light lunch on the terrace with local dishes.
Price 65€ includes tour tickets and lunch
THURSDAY – COOKERY DEMONSTRATION AND LUNCH
We visit an organic vegetable garden in one of the villages nearby then return to the hotel restaurant for a cooking demonstration, with the chance to get hands-on with some renowned Cretan and Greek dishes. Lunch is taken meze style, including some of the dishes prepared this morning, accompanied by ou5r local Cretan wines.
Price 60€ – includes lunch
FRIDAY – LOCAL FARMERS’ MARKET, WINERY TOUR AND WINE TASTING, LOCAL HONEY PRODUCER
We start at our local farmers market, a vibrantly colourful place with fruits, vegetables, fish, cheese and other local products. Then we head to a local honey producer where we learn about the amazing world of bees and how the honey and other apiary products are made. Then on to a local winery where we tour the production facilities, the wine cellar and the wine museum before by a wine tasting session including snacks.
Price 60€ includes honey tour, winery tour and wine tasting with snacks, honey tasting
SATURDAY – BOTANICAL GARDENS OF CRETE
Visit to the Botanical Gardens of Crete, a unique place where you will be amazed at the range of fruit-bearing trees, herbs, spices, medicinal and decorative plants thriving under the Cretan sun. We’ll taste local herbal teas, learn about what makes Cretan Cuisine so healthy and then take a leisure walk among the citrus trees, tropical plants and aromatic herbs. Light lunch on their award-winning terrace restaurant with incredibly views.
Price 70€ includes entrance tickets and lunch
SUNDAY – FREE MORNING THEN TRIP TO CHANIA OLD HARBOUR WITH SUNSET DINNER
Free morning to relax at the hotel or explore the nearby area. In the afternoon we go to the Venetian Old Harbor of Chania, where we have an optional walking tour through the narrow, cobbled streets dotted with souvenir shops, bars and restaurants. Then wine and dine at one of the best waterfront restaurants overlooking the port and the lighthouse.
Price 65€ includes dinner
MONDAY – FALASSARNA BEACH, COOKING DEMONSTRATION, FISH LUNCH
We end the week at Falassarna, one of the most beautiful beaches of Western where you can relax and spend some time sunbathing and swimming before we adjourn to the restaurant Panorama to learn how to prepare some fish based dishes. Lunch is a sumptuous event with dishes prepared from the freshest catch that fishermen have brought in the morning.
Price 95€ includes fish lunch
Whether you choose the ‘full fat’ foodie package or want to dip into a ‘foodie lite’ version of our culinary extravaganza, we hope you find the menu of flavours mouthwatering.
If you have any further question, or to go ahead and book, simply email us directly on [email protected]
