As someone with Cypriot roots and a distant Greek background, I often get asked: which is the best island? People lean in, expecting a secret—some tiny, untouched spot only locals know about. My answer is always the same: Crete. With its strong sense of pride, warm communities, and amazing food, it feels both deeply Greek and completely unique.
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For our anniversary weekend, my husband and I head to Lassithi, in the far eastern corner of the island. As a chef and food writer, I’m drawn to the area’s reputation for outstanding local produce: Sitia extra virgin olive oil, creamy xigalo cheese, mountain honey, and plenty of excellent tavernas.
After an early start, we check into our hotel and freshen up. The Sand Suites is a new, adults-only retreat with just seven suites and a path that leads straight to the wide, sandy Almyros beach and its clear, shallow waters. Our suite is a peaceful hideaway with a private pool overlooking dramatic mountains.
For our first evening, we head to Karnagio in the pretty harbor town of Agios Nikolaos, a 10-minute drive up the coast (or a 45-minute walk). We’re told it’s the perfect introduction to the flavors of Lassithi. Despite a warning from Dimitri, the knowledgeable manager at the Sand Suites, we order way too much food. We start with Cretan classics: dakos (barley rusks softened with grated tomato, olive oil, and mizithra cheese), along with mizithropitakia (delicate pies filled with mizithra). More plates arrive. Spring onion-topped fava, tender horta (wild greens generously dressed with lemon), followed by melt-in-your-mouth sautéed lamb with locally made pasta and torched anthotyro cheese. Weeks later, I’m still thinking about that lamb.
Eventually, we give up. Unfazed by the unfinished dishes, the waiters bring out a tray of complimentary sweets. Then comes a small carafe of raki. “Only if you join us,” I tell our waiter in my Cypriot-Greek. He doesn’t need much convincing. “Yamas!” we say, raising our glasses before downing the fiery spirit. The glasses are refilled. I know I’ll regret it in the morning, but we drink again, lifted by good food and excitement.
The next morning, fueled by a delicious breakfast of fresh juice, coffee, pastries, and freshly cooked eggs delivered to our room, we jump in the car and drive half an hour southeast down the coast to Evotry, a roadside bakery we’re told to visit early to have any chance of getting the best of the day’s bakes. Inside, it’s a treasure trove: cakes and biscuits, along with trahana (cracked wheat fermented with yogurt), all made by Stefanos and his wife Maria. Like many families in Greece, they press their homegrown grapes each September to make petimezi—a dark, naturally sweet grape molasses. Besides being sold in bottles, it also forms the base of many of their bakes, especially kalitsounia (traditional Cretan sweet cheese pies). Found all over Lassithi, here they’re unique: Stefanos doesn’t use refined sugar, relying only on his petimezi for sweetness. We leave with a box and some cookies, and regret traveling with only hand luggage.
We sit beneath the branches of a 3,000-year-old olive tree and eat the kalitsounia, surrounded by birdsong and the hum of bees.
On the way to our next stop, Mochlos, we hear about a 3,000-year-old olive tree and make a detour. The road climbs into the mountains, winding and steep. The tree is exactly as expected—vast and commanding, yet somehow gentle, like a great grandmother rooted in the landscape. We sit beneath its branches and eat the kalitsounia, surrounded by birdsong and the hum of bees.
We continue east to Mochlos, a peaceful fishing village rich in Minoan history on the fWe arrived at the far side of Mirabello Bay and settled into Ta Kochilia, a waterfront taverna, for lunch. Octopus was hanging in the sun to dry, and the sea was just beyond the edge of the path. We kept things simple: grilled squid, horiatiki (Greek salad), and bread with local olive oil. The squid was tender, slightly charred, and perfect. As always, there was fruit at the end, followed by something sweet—here, halva dusted with cinnamon—and strong Greek coffee, which gave us a quick reset before we headed inland.
After a 10-minute drive into the hills above Mochlos, we arrived at Nektaria’s Kitchen, an open-air cookery school. Every detail felt carefully thought out, from the rustic tables and benches built by Nektaria’s father Tassos to the wood-fired oven and herb-filled demonstration kitchen.
On Nektaria’s website, there are several four-hour cookery classes to choose from, including vegetarian and meat menus, olive oil tours, and local wine tastings. But I got the feeling that whatever you want to learn, Nektaria can teach you.
Over coffee, we chatted with Nektaria, her partner, her father, and her best friend. They offered us homemade treats: more kalitsounia, this time scented with orange blossom, and piles of biscuits—spiced melomakarona and almond honey patouda, both traditionally made for celebrations. A slow-cooked joint of pork was pulled out of the wood oven to tempt us to stay and join them for a meal later. And while the food was delicious, Nektaria herself was the star of the show. She left a career in finance just four years ago, and it’s clear that what she’s created is less a cookery school and more a gathering place—a life rebuilt around food, hospitality, and community.
We began our last full day in quaint Kritsa, one of Crete’s oldest villages, just a 15-minute drive inland from our hotel. The winding main street is lined with shops, traditional cafes, and a fascinating natural history museum and tapestry centre.
We started at the women’s cooperative, where biscuits and cakes were being prepared for nearby restaurants. A demonstration was also being set up in the outdoor kitchen and dining area. We stocked up on boxes of syrupy sweet pastries and a bag of skioufichta, a type of rolled Cretan pasta, ready to recreate the lamb dish from Karnagio when we got home.
Our second-to-last stop was an olive oil tasting at the family-owned Mourello, where visitors can book a range of olive oil experiences. To escape the midday heat, we sat in a cool, quiet room overlooking valleys of olive groves. Over two hours, Eleni walked us through her family’s growing, harvesting, and pressing process in such detail that I left feeling I could almost confidently try making my own olive oil. We tasted and compared different grades and types. Mourello’s Vedema oil was outstanding—peppery, punchy, and silky. We left with several bottles under our arms.
For our last evening, we drove back up into the hills to the village of Kroustas. Sitting at 520 metres above sea level, the view over Mirabello Bay was dramatic. We had booked a table at Xatheri, a destination restaurant that feels deeply rooted in family life and is much loved in the area. Chef Konstantinos has built the menu around recipes from his parents and grandmother, who we were told had just stopped by to check on service. We started with one of her recipes: dolmadakia, small, delicate stuffed vine leaves.The stew arrives rich and slow-cooked, tossed with spaghetti and topped with aged graviera cheese. Then comes gamopilafo, also known as “wedding rice,” which feels fitting since it’s our anniversary. It’s deeply comforting and incredibly rich.
Even though I protest, dessert still appears — a generous slice of galaktoboureko, with a just-set vanilla cream wrapped in crisp, syrupy filo pastry. It’s somehow light enough not to be overwhelming. There’s dessert wine, and then raki, of course. We leave not just full, but slightly changed — already thinking about returning to this peaceful corner of Crete.
The trip was provided by Simpson Travel, which offers a week at the Sand Suites from £1,124 per person on a bed and breakfast basis, including flights and car hire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about a chefs tour of Crete covering everything from the basics to insider tips
Beginner Questions
1 What exactly is a chefs tour of Crete
Its a guided food trip where a local chef takes you to their favorite spotsmarkets bakeries small tavernas and farms You get to taste authentic dishes and learn how theyre made not just eat at tourist places
2 Do I need to be a good cook to enjoy this tour
Not at all You just need to love eating and learning about food The chef does the cooking and explaining You can ask questions but theres no test
3 What are the best treats I can expect to taste
Expect fresh olive oil tangy feta and soft mizithra cheese wild greens lamb slowcooked in paper and sweet treats like kalitsounia and loukoumades
4 Is this tour just about food or do we see sights too
Its mainly about food but youll visit beautiful villages olive groves and coastal spots The chef usually picks places with great views so you get a little sightseeing with every bite
5 How long does a typical chefs tour last
Most run half a day but some fullday tours include a farm visit and a long lunch Check the descriptionhalfday is more common for a relaxed pace
Intermediate Advanced Questions
6 Whats the difference between Cretan and mainland Greek food
Cretan food is simpler and more rustic It uses more wild greens less tomato sauce and a lot of extra virgin olive oil The cheese is milder and the bread is usually barleybased
7 Can the chef accommodate dietary restrictions like glutenfree or vegan
Yes if you tell them in advance Cretan cuisine is naturally glutenfree friendly and veganfriendly Just confirm when booking
