CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR FOOD TOUR
Go where locals go to shop for Christmas specialties. Learn about the foods of the Fast before Christmas. Visit some of most favorite shops and enjoy regional delicacies and sweets while I tell you, legends, and stories about Cretan Christmas and New Year culinary culture, rituals, symbolic practices and tales about celebrations during war and far from home .
Since Arabs, Ottomans Jews, Venetians, Greeks from Asia Minor, and immigrants have passed through Chania, adding their flavors to the local cuisine, you will also learn about their impact on the festive cuisine of the city.
ON THE MENU
Ashure (boiled wheat, spices, nuts, sugar~ 19th century recipe)
Fotokollyva (mixture of wheat berries, seeds and nuts).
Lenten foods (and a short lesson on the fasting rules- and taste- of the Byzantine diet)
Festive foods
Christmas bread made according to 18th century recipe and traditional Cretan bread
Local cheeses.
Local cheeses.
An array of Christmas and New Year sweets.
About Mariana
I am an experimental archaeologist-food historian, who recreates Greek historical recipes using ancient or modern techniques for spectacular food events.In 2000 I founded the 'Greek Culinary History & Cooking Adventures' to create interactive, edible experiences that bring historical Greek gastrono...
I am an experimental archaeologist-food historian, who recreates Greek historical recipes using ancient or modern techniques for spectacular food events.In 2000 I founded the 'Greek Culinary History & Cooking Adventures' to create interactive, edible experiences that bring historical Greek gastronomy to life through synesthesia (union of the senses) as well as explore the relationship between art and food.My work takes many forms, including pop-up dinners, experiments, lectures, historic cooking courses, edible installations, and food walking tours. On the walking tours, we do not only eat, we also explore the tales behind the foods and the preparation of each food item.I am the author of a Gourmand award-winning cookbook, The Language of Taste, which is a dictionary (in Gr.) of the history and culture of Greek food and the founder and organizer of the biennial Symposia of Greek Gastronomy (conference).You can also find me at www.historyofgreekfood.weebly.com and www.historyofgreekfood.eu.
Reviews
Wonderful experience with Mariana. Enjoyed her company, knowledge and selection of food in Chania. Went to places we would never have found on our own. Highly recommend you do this at the beginning of your visit to gain greater insight and a better understanding of Chania and Cretan culture and h...
Wonderful experience with Mariana. Enjoyed her company, knowledge and selection of food in Chania. Went to places we would never have found on our own. Highly recommend you do this at the beginning of your visit to gain greater insight and a better understanding of Chania and Cretan culture and history.
Brava Mariana!!
Rob Unger
Monika
Mariana's cooking lessons are extraordinary. We spent a few pleasurable hours learning about ancient Greek cooking and recreating astonishing historical dishes. An unforgettable experience!
The Sensing Crete food tour is not the typical experience! Mariana took us places I could not imagine finding my own. Amazing food and an ecstatic sensory approach to the culinary culture of Chania.