Greek Gourmet Tour
May 3-9, 2017
Day 1
DESCRIPTION Before dinner, and depending on the available time and the group’s will, we will enjoy a short walking tour in Plaka area, eventually ending in Syntagma, where the tavern will be located. There, a Greek traditional dinner meal with set menu will be offered, to set the tone for what will follow in the next days. The social way of eating will be offered on full display, a central part of the Greek dining experience, and certainly the true essence of the tavern experience for foreigners. After dinner the group will return to the hotel on foot.
DAY 2
Outline: Visit to the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum – Walk and souvlaki – Greek food tastings – Phyllo dough preparation and Greek meal
DESCRIPTION Visit the Acropolis and all its gorgeous monuments, including the stunning Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Temple of Athena Nike etc. Enjoy the great panoramic views of the city from above, stretching from the Northern hills down to Piraeus and the Athens Riviera. A professional English-speaking guide will make sure you make the most of the visit, narrating the history and anecdotes related to this world class monuments of great symbolic relevance.
After the Acropolis you will visit the modern Acropolis Museum, which always ranks among the best museums in the world in the polls and reviews. The same guide will take you through its main exhibits.
After the visit the group will enjoy a walking tour in the city center and grab a typical Greek souvlaki as a light lunch.
After the walk the group will go to Greek café/ eatery that features a coffee shop, bakery, kitchenette, dairy products and pastry shop in a single space. , including Greek honey, extra virgin olive oil, spreads and sweets
DAY 3
Outline: One Day Cruise – Seafood dinner
DESCRIPTION You will embark on an elegant vessel for a one day cruise to three different Greek islands of the Saronic Sea (Aigina, Poros and Hydra) with Hydraiki Cruises. By far the most beloved day cruise around Athens, the excursion includes Greek food, live music and dancing and entertainment.
DESCRIPTION Upon return from the cruise, a set menu dinner will be offered in one the most revered fish and seafood restaurants in Athens. In the picturesque setting of the cozy Mikrolimano harbor the group will experience the taste of extremely fresh seafood delivered in very simple yet mouthwatering Greek preparations.
DAY 4
Outline: Epidavros Ancient Site – Olive grove and olive oil tasting – Cooking Class – Nafplio town visit
DESCRIPTION The first stop of this day excursion to Argolis region will be at the archaeological site of Epidaurus, set amidst the lush Argolis pine forests, and one of the top destinations in Greece
Regarded as the birthplace of Western Medicine, due to the sanctuary of healer god Asclepius,
it is part of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites (optional professional guided tour at extra cost).
Walking around the archaeological site you will get the chance to see ruins of temples, the old stadium, baths, and of course the majestic theater, which still hosts theater plays in the summer and is considered the most splendid theatre structure surviving from the ancient world.
DESCRIPTION The group will then be driven in the countryside to meet a local olive oil producer. There the participants will learn all the secrets of this sacred tree from prehistory until today and taste fresh olive oil and various olive derivatives accompanied by small Greek snacks.
DESCRIPTION This cooking class will happen in an authentic traditional setting, a tavern in the rural hillside village of Kefalari. The group will actively help in the preparation of typical meat dishes of the Greek cuisine and especially of the country’s inlands; then they will taste the meal they will have contributed preparing.
DESCRIPTION After the cookery, the group will be driven to the cozy seaside town of Nafplio. Flanked by Venetian fortresses from all sides, it is one of the most history-rich and visited towns in Greece. Its quaint alleys and nice promenades by the sea are ideal for strolls. The participants will have some free time to spend in the town – mostly pedestrian – and have some dinner, if they will wish so. Then late in the evening the bus will take them back to Athens.
DAY 5
Outline: National Archaeological Museum – Papagiannakou Winery – Greek organic farm and cooking class – Cape Sounio visit- Greek wine and food
DESCRIPTION The National Archaeological Museum of Athens is the largest archaeological museum in Greece and one of the most important museums in the world devoted to ancient Greek art. Its abundant collections, with more than 11,000 exhibits, provide a panorama of Greek civilization from the beginnings of Prehistory to Late Antiquity. In our visit we will focus more on The Vase and Minor Objects Collection, which contains representative works of ancient Greek pottery from the eleventh century BC to the Roman period and especially on the amphorae depicting food scenes. In this way we will draw a virtual line between today’s Greek gastronomy and the past culinary traditions, and make the relevant connections.
DESCRIPTION After the winery, if there will be enough time, the group will briefly stop in a cheese-producing unit, where to taste the typical award-winning feta cheese and Greek yoghurt.
The cooking class will then take place inside an organic farm in the countryside not far from the sea, where all cultivations are done following the permaculture philosophy. The participants will see in person the cultivations and hear about the vegetables and herbs that grow in this area of the Mediterranean.
Later they will take part in a hands-on cookery session, focused on Greek-Mediterranean vegetables, wild herbs and some cooked meat. The participants will then enjoy their meal with their own preparations plus some other treats.
DESCRIPTION Cape Sounion is a spectacular place populated since the archaic times. The goddess Athena, patroness of Athens was worshipped there, along with Poseidon, God of the Seas. Except for a sanctuary, Sounion featured a fortified settlement, important due to its strategic location on maritime routes, and proximity to the rich silver mines in the area. You will be able to admire 16 original columns of the Poseidon Temple, the military walls, ancient roads and dwellings below the temple. The area is associated with many ancient Greek myths, some of which we will share with the group. The time of our visit will lend an extra magical touch as the Cape is famous worldwide for its stunning sunset views and breathtaking landscape.
DESCRIPTION Once back to town, the group will join a presentation offered by an oenologist in a renowned wine bistrot. A wine tasting session showcasing wines from many different regions of Greece will take place so as to illustrate the variety of terroirs and grapes that characterize the Greek vineyard. Along with the 6 wines (2 whites, 1 rose, 2 reds and one sweet wine), excellent small plates made with Greek regional products will be offered, each wine paired with a specific plate.
Day 6
Outline: Athens food walk tour – Cooking class at the Greek Gastronomy Museum– Greek pastry shop – Modern Greek tavern dinner
ACTIVITY Athens food tour and central market
DESCRIPTION Greek food is on the surge, especially regional products of excellence are gaining worldwide praise and being increasingly exported and used in new modern Greek cuisine creations. In this tour you will have the chance to both visit the center of Athens and taste authentic traditional Greek food in handpicked locations and stores. The atmosphere in the historical food district of Athens, is captivating for its authentic character, a mix of Europe and the Orient- as is the food in
Greece. You will be able to both taste and purchase if you wish some of the best Greek deli products.
In the central market you will select together with the chef of the Greek Gastronomy Museum some of the main ingredients to be used in the following class.
DESCRIPTION The cookery will be held in the Greek Gastronomy Museum, which showcases Greek Food Heritage, where the group will learn more about the cultural and historic aspects of Greek Gastronomy through a periodic exhibition. The class will be hands-on and hover around traditional Greek fish preparations. The group will then have lunch with the food prepared.
DESCRIPTION Different from Japanese gastronomy, pastries play a significant role in Greek culinary habits. Therefore, the program would not be complete without visiting a Greek pastry shop where the group will have the chance to see a wide variety of well executed Greek sweets, learn about them and of course taste a selection of them.
DESCRIPTION The dinner will offer an insight into new and creative ways to cook using Greek seasonal and regional products of excellence, in line with the modern New Greek Cuisine school. The participants will have the chance to experience in person this phenomenon, witnessing and tasting successful creations in Mani Mani restaurant, providing plenty food for thought and for challenging the conventional Greek traditional cookery. That will show them a different perspective and hint to a path that the participants may want to venture in their following Greek food preparations. A custom set menu will be fixed for the group.
DAY 7
09.05.2017
DESCRIPTION In the morning of the departure day, the group will be free to rest at the hotel, walk in the city center, go shopping or perhaps autonomously visit some of the museums/ attractions that we will suggest (if enough time).
ANNEX I – MENUS
(indicative, small changes can occur)
DAY 1
Dinner
~ Tzitzikas & Mermigkas ~
Salads with mix vegetables, manouri and anthotyro cheese, and moutarde vinaigrette
Fried balls with wild greens, feta and aromatic herbs
Krithaoroto (orzo paste) with mushrooms and Naxos gruyere with white truffle oil
Small phyllo pies with cheese and aromatic herbs
Soutzoukakia grilled meatballs with tomato and yoghurt sauce
Santorinian pork fillet, with wine sauce and capers, with eggplant and potatoe puree
Portokalopita orange cake with orange custard
(wine and beverages not included)
5
DAY 2
Lunch
~ Souvlaki (Kostas) ~
1 souvlaki wrap plus 1 refreshment
(Early) Dinner/ cooking
~ Meliartos ~
Food tasting (olive oil, honey, spreads, sweet)
Phyllo dough pie (exhibition/ preparation and consumption)
Salad
Main course
Sweet
(wine and beverages not included)
DAY 3
Dinner
~ Papaioannou ~
Salad
Fish roe spread
Grilled sardines
Grilled octopus
Smoked eel
Grilled shrimps
Fresh fish on the grill
Wild boiled/ steamed greens
Loukoumades and fruits
12/15
DAY 4
Lunch/ cooking
~ Nafplio tavern ~
Greek bifteki and meat skewer on the grill
Dakos salad
Tzatziki dip
Sweet
(free consumption of non bottled wine included)
DAY 5
Lunch/ cooking
~ Perivoli tis Varis ~
Batzina
Traditional zucchini pie from Thessaly
Fava
Split yellow pea dip form Corinth
Tomato Salad
Mixed seasonal salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, wholegrain rusks and aromatic herbs
Coquerel Pastitsio
Free-range coquerel pasta bake
Tahinopita
Traditional sweet fylo pastry with tahini from Rhodes
Coffee
(water and a glass of beer/ wine included)
13/15
Dinner
~ Kiki de Grece ~
Malagouzia White Wine from Central Greece
Crostini with Mousse de Grece cheese and fresh herbs
Assyrtiko white wine Santorini
Taramosalata fish roe spread with citrus vinaigrette
Mosxofilero Rose Peloponnese
Eggplant rolls with PDO feta and tomato chutney
Agiorgitiko Red Nemea
Soutzoukakia Ottoman-inspired meatball in tomato sauce
Xinomavro Red Naoussa
Trahana risotto with kopanisti from Syros, Santorini tomato paste and Lefkada salami
White Muscat Wine from Samos
Pannacotta with dried figs from Evia
DAY 6
Lunch/ cooking
~ Greek Gastronomy Museum ~
Amuse Bouche – Chef’s choice
Appetizer
Garides Saganaki- Shrimps in tomato sauce with peppers melted cheese
Salad
Salad with Carrot, zucchini, fennel, carpaccio of dill, capers, mix green and mustard
vinaigrette
or
Salad with pear, orange, shrimp, mix green and citrus vinaigrette
Main
Grouper fish with squid ink sauce served with seasonal grilled vegetables
or
Garidomakaronada – Spaghetti with a shrimps and seashells red sauce
Dessert
14/15
Kunefe – Baked Kataifi pastry stuffed with Buffalo Mozzarela,
soaked in sugar-based syrup
or
Mille Feuille with Anthotyro-soft white cheese
(Welcome drink, Half
bottle of wine/person, bottled water,
beverages, coffee)
Dinner
~ Mani Mani restaurant ~
Handmade ravioli with feta and vegetables briam
Veal meatballs with smoked aubergine cream and spicy yoghurt sauce
Salad with pomegranate vinaigrette, gruyere cheese and chicken bites
Pork fillet with manouri cheese and figs in honey sauce, almonds and Kritharaki with xinomizithra
Diples with thyme honey cream and walnuts
(1 bottle of wine every 4 pax. included)
