From Pythagorean diet to vegetarian Cretan cuisine

Discover step-by-step how to make a vegetarian meal based on ancient Greek information and traditional Cretan recipes. It will be prepared according to ancient and traditional methods of cooking and baking (open fire, hot rocks, hot ash)  or applying contemporary changes. Many ingredients come fresh from the garden.

In this class, guests will:

• Explore the history of vegetarianism in Greece, the values ancient Greeks and Cretans ascribed to herbs, legumes, and vegetables, and the social context in which they were prepared and eaten.
• Explore the seasonality of vegetables and understand what it means to eat “in season” through history.
• Discover historical Greek and traditional Cretan vegetable-centric dishes.
• Take-home recipes.

Class includes demonstration, hands-on and tasting.

The menu is subject to slight change. Please notify us in advance if you have any dietary restrictions. If not notified ahead of time of any special needs, we may not be able to accommodate them.

Menu
Herbal tea made with Cretan herbs, cinnamon, and lemon peel
''Pythagorean'' breakfast
Dried figs, cheese, olives cured in honey and sprinkled with aromatic seeds.
Eggs baked in ash.
Semi-leavened bread, made with ancient varieties of wheat. It is baked on hot stones.
Lentils cooked with leeks and herbs and honey. They are served with olive oil, pomegranate seeds, and honey.
Fava ( Lathyrus clymenum, Spanish vetchling) according to the taste of Byzantine monks.
Kalitsounia (small Cretan pies) filled with a) wild greens, b) wild greens, and local cheese. 
Wild or garden greens.
(The vegetables and wild greens vary according to the season)
Bread stuffed with cheese and dates or small desserts made with dried and fresh fruits and nuts.
Byzantine spiced-wine

The lesson lasts 4 hours, from 10.00 -14:00


If you would like to register for this class please contact us through  mkavroulakis@gmail.com or fill out the Booking Form  to send you instructions and further information.

Eating in Ancient Greece.

If you would like to register for this class please contact us through  mkavroulakis@gmail.com or fill out the Booking Form  to send you payment instructions and information.  

A brief introduction to food, cooking methods and trade routes of Classical Greece will be followed by a dipping back into its cuisine. Using Athenaeus’ «Deipnosophistai» * and archaeological research data as inspiration, class will enjoy learning how to reproduce ancient Greek recipes both in modern kitchens and according to experimental archaeology.

After the cooking the team will eat what it has been prepared.

Blood sausages: the ancient Greek aimatitis hordi and omathia of the later years.

Numbers are limited to  8 participants, so that your experience is as hands-on as possible. Minimum attendance: 2 cooks.  

The class lasts around 4 hours  and the price is € 100 per person.

• The lessons are given in English and Greek but some lessons can also be arranged in French and German.
• The majority of classes include a complete meal and one glass of wine. Additional wine is available for purchase by the glass or bottle. 

Different themes and recipes are available depending on the products of the season and request. 


Children of all ages can be involved in cultural and nutritional learning through cooking. Of course, not only do they learn to make interesting menu items, they also get to eat them.
Remember that these classes require that each child be accompanied by an adult!

*A compilation of hundreds of ancient Greek works on food, drink, manners and customs.




You can also hire me to create a period cookery course for you or for you and your friends, in the privacy of your own home.
If you like, create your own group of  3 or more people and I will arrange a class just for you.

Pie making

Pie making is inseparably connected with Greek culinary tradition.

Ancient Greek plakous made with wheat, milk, fresh cheese, and honey.

Sarantopitta is made with 40 leaves of dough  (saranta= 40)

This class centers around both savory and sweet pies- from ancient ones such as plakous to pies from the 19th and early 20th century- and regional delicacies such as  zucchini pie, small wild green pies, bread meat, boureki, sesame pie, and more (Pies vary depending on the season).


The class learns to make a simple homemade phyllo dough, and cornmeal layer and also works with commercial phyllo to make savory and sweet snacks and main courses.

Sesame pie

Numbers are limited to 8 participants so that your experience is as hands-on as possible.

Minimum attendance: 2 cooks.

The class lasts around 4 hours  and the price is 90 per person.

• The lessons are given in English and Greek.
• Classes include a complete meal

Our Daily Bread

An introduction to the history of Greek breads and cooking class for home bakers.

You will be taken through the many aspects involved in creating 3 different types of  breads of the pre-industrial period-  from making sourdough to kneading and from baking to using the bread as an ingredient in various dishes- using period cookbooks and other primary sources. Then, you will bake them in the heat of  a traditional wood fired oven and a replica of a 5th century pnigeus (portable earthenware oven).

Numbers are limited to 8 participants, so that your experience is as hands-on as possible. Minimum attendance: 6 persons.

Non-baking guests are welcome to accompany bakers and then join in the meal which follows each class.

The class lasts 3 hours, 11:00-12:00 and ends with lunch.


You can also hire me to create a period cookery course for you or for you and your friends, in the privacy of your own home.
If you like, create your own group of  3 or more people and I will arrange a class just for you.

In search of Byzantine cooking

If you would like to register for this class please contact us through  mkavroulakis@gmail.com or fill out the contact form  at the bottom of the page, to send you payment instructions and information.
 

Book  Now!!

An introduction to ingredients, cooking vessels, serving dishes, utensils and ingredients used by the Byzantines will be followed by a cooking class, which will explore the tastes of Byzantium.  Students will also learn how Byzantines viewed their diet and how others viewed it.

After the cooking the team  will sit down and enjoy their meal.

Numbers are limited to 8  participants, so that your experience is as hands-on as possible. Minimum attendance: 1 person.

The class lasts around 4 hours , 10:00-14:00. 

Please contact us for details.

Children of all ages can be involved in cultural learning through cooking. Of course, not only do they learn to make interesting menu items, they also get to eat them.
 Remember that these classes require that each child be accompanied by an adult!




You can also hire me to create a period cookery course for you or for you and your friends, in the privacy of your own home.
If you like, create your own group of  3 or more people and I will arrange a class just for you.

LET'S TASTE THE HISTORY

       ΓΙΑ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΙΕΣΤΕ ΤΟ ΚΥΔΩΝΙ !

Founded by food historian researcher and experimental archaeologist Mariana Kavroulaki in 2009, Greek Culinary History and Cooking Adventures have been exploring the evolution of Greek cuisine throughout the centuries and the relationship between food and art as participatory perfomance with socio-historical focus.
GCH&CA projects not only  encourage people to rethink historical dining through synaesthesia and interactive lectures but also use food as symbol,  metaphor and allegory creating moments of wonder and deep emotions.

Projects explore how the taste of food is altered by synaesthesia, performance and setting.

uses food as performance and social commentary. Trained at Central Saint Martin’s, Hobkinson creates one-off events and interventions, in both gallery and public spaces,that combine the act of cooking and dining as participatory

performance art, often with a socio-historical focus. She lives in and works both in London and Berlin.

With each event we design and cook bespoke food that takes many forms, including tasting menus, edible installations, food-based performance, modernist dessert bars etc… 
Animal Vegetable Mineral champion the use of food as an artistic medium, with projects ranging from museum-style exhibitions and sculptural installations to interactive lectures and limited-edition confectionary. The aim of Animal Vegetable Mineral is to create a moment of wonder, a contemporary cabinet of curiosity that’s silly and cerebral in equal measure. We hope you’ll join us on our edible adventure

Would you like to learn how to cook like ancient Greeks cooked? How to dine like the Byzantine middle and upper classes?
Are you interested in Greek pies and breads made with ancient varieties of  wheat and barley?

Our culinary experience in Chania of Crete combines life’s great pleasures: learning and food.

Hands - on cooking  classes will give you an exciting introduction to flavors and tastes of other times  and leave you with the knowledge and skills to recreate some of Greece’s most treasured dishes.

You will  discover the ancient spices, herbs, legumes, grains and cheese that were once part of Greek cuisine following ancient Greek and Byzantine recipes adapted for modern kitchens.

Food is a large part of Greek culture and learning about its evolution throughout the centuries and how to prepare  historical  dishes is a unique experience.

We also offer ancient Greek and Byzantine food tastings at museums, dinners inspired by ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman recipes,  catering for historical dinner parties in museums and private homes across the country and abroad,  food and art events and culinary tours into the dawn of Greek gastronomy. A believer in sharing knowledge, GCHA is behind the Edible history project (a sequence of historical banquets and lectures on ancient food) , the Edible Narrative project (food as symbol, metaphor and allegory) and many educational activities.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR OUR UPCOMING EVENTS




EATING  IN  ANCIENT  GREECE








EATING  IN  BYZANTIUM

OUR  DAILY  BREAD

THE  PIES  OF  GREECE

EDIBLE HISTORY PROJECT

EDIBLE NARRATIVE






CATERING






FOR KIDS


Previous clients include: