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Home Cooking Class in Crete: Greek Culinary Journey
5.0
9 Ratings
Roustika
Join a Cretan cooking class in Chania. Learn traditional Greek recipes, enjoy a family-inspired meal, and explore local markets with expert Ozlem.
Join a Cretan cooking class in Chania. Learn traditional Greek recipes, enjoy a family-inspired meal, and explore local markets with expert Ozlem.
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Sea, city and mountain view apartment - This is a unique opportunity to visit the home of a local and explore traditional culture and cuisine. Join Ozlem in her small kitchen for a hands-on Greek cooking class. In your two hour Cretan cooking class in Chania learn to make artichokes with peas and meat or fish or stuffed vegetables or Cretan…
- Sea, city and mountain view apartment - This is a unique opportunity to visit the home of a local and explore traditional culture and cuisine. Join Ozlem in her small kitchen for a hands-on Greek cooking class. In your two hour Cretan cooking class in Chania learn to make artichokes with peas and meat or fish or stuffed vegetables or Cretan chicken pie and a wild green salad. Or you can learn to make handmade pitas with a filling of your choice (greens or Cretan cheese or meat). Please let Ozlem know your preference in advance. She will also share stories behind food that you’re cooking and tip and tricks that she learned from her grandmother. After cooking, sit down together to share the meal you helped prepare.
If you select the optional market visit, meet your host at the Koum Kapi farmers’ market on Saturday morning. You will get to meet local producers selling fresh, local and seasonal fruits, vegetables, cheese, edible wild greens and herbs. Ozlem will explain to you how to pick fresh produce and you might even buy a few ingredients for your cooking class from her favorite vendors. Drink some Greek coffee before heading to Ozlem’s apartment for your cooking class and meal experience, a 4-5 minute drive by taxi.
What's Included
- Home-cooked Greek meal
- Private Cretan cooking class with your host Ozlem
- All fees and/or taxes
- Home-cooked Greek meal
- Private Cretan cooking class with your host Ozlem
- All fees and/or taxes
What's Not Included
- Hotel pick up and drop off.
- Hotel pick up and drop off.
Meal Options
- Select any 1 - Wild green salad or Sautéed wild greens or Cretan rusk salad
- Select any 1 - Artichokes with peas and meat or Mousakka or Shrimp Saganaki or Cretan chicken pie or Chania vegetable pie
- Select any 1 - Pickled artichokes or Marinated sardines or Snails or Stuffed veggies or Fish with okra
- Kazandibi - An Ottoman sweet
- Select any 1 - Wild green salad or Sautéed wild greens or Cretan rusk salad
- Select any 1 - Artichokes with peas and meat or Mousakka or Shrimp Saganaki or Cretan chicken pie or Chania vegetable pie
- Select any 1 - Pickled artichokes or Marinated sardines or Snails or Stuffed veggies or Fish with okra
- Kazandibi - An Ottoman sweet
Additional Information
Ozlem’s culinary style is deeply influenced by her Cretan, Turkish, and Venetian heritage. Her love for cooking began in her childhood, driven by curiosity as she followed her grandmother in the kitchen, collecting wild greens and herbs in a basket. Her grandmother taught her to engage all her senses in cooking – smell, sight, taste, and touch. Ozlem is…
Ozlem’s culinary style is deeply influenced by her Cretan, Turkish, and Venetian heritage. Her love for cooking began in her childhood, driven by curiosity as she followed her grandmother in the kitchen, collecting wild greens and herbs in a basket. Her grandmother taught her to engage all her senses in cooking – smell, sight, taste, and touch. Ozlem is a personal chef, participates in festivals, conducts workshops, speaks at panels and seminars, and contributes to newspapers and magazines. In addition to her culinary pursuits, Ozlem is also a translator and interpreter, having translated 19 books to date!
- Experience a home cooking class in Crete with a local expert
- Learn to prepare traditional Greek dishes using cherished family recipes
- Savor a traditional Cretan meal inspired by family gatherings
- Gain insights into Greek history and culture through its cuisine
- If any travelers in your party have any allergies, dietary restrictions or cooking preferences please advise at time of booking
- Menu may vary depending on the season
- Private, personalized experience
- Lactose free, gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options are available, please advise at time of booking if required
- Please check the ‘Before you go’ section on your voucher for the Google Maps link to the exact location
Location
79PG+9CP
Please meet your host directly at her apartment in Roustika. Please check the 'Before you go' section on your voucher for the exact details. The above only offers neighborhood details. Exact address can be found in your ticket upon confirmation.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(9 Ratings)
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954bradv
Nov 13, 2024
Amazing cooking class on our honeymoon! - Simply wonderful. This cooking class was the highlight of our 10 day trip to Crete. If you are passionate about food and jumping into the local vibe and culture, this is the class for you! Ozlem is a well of knowledge on cooking and Crete which she will share with you in her home as you cook delicious food together! Cannot recommend this enough!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lynnette_b
Oct 30, 2024
Superb Cooking and Lunch Experience - Warm and engaging, cooking and lunch with Ozlem is not to be missed!! I booked this class for my last day on the island of Crete, and requested dishes centered around fish and seafood and Ozlem created a fabulous menu including Seabream cooked in salt, squid with Cretan greens, and shrimp-stuffed calamari. Everything was incredibly delicious!! Ozlem and I had fabulous conversations about everything from the food we were cooking to the history of cooking and even just talking about books. It was a marvelous time! If I ever findyself in the area again, I will definitely book with Ozlem!!
Review provided by Viator
Anne_m
Oct 24, 2024
Cooking with Ozlem was the highlight of my trip to Chania - Cretan and Greece cooking are very different. People had told me that. But with Ozlem, I experienced it!. Of course Ozlem is a delightful, calm, organized and gracious hostess who knows a lot about real Cretan cooking. And she is so much more than that. I met up with her in a small apartment she maintains for her work, about 10 minutes walking time out of Old Town. During my 3 hours with her, she brought to life the cultural mash-up I was sensing in Chania. She asked about my interests before I arrived and planned a perfect meal for me. I experienced goat for the first time in a preparation that was heavy on wild greens and topped with staka - a particular Cretan food made with milk cream and flour. It is addictive! We also made a sea bass, okra and tomato dish. We chatted as we peeled the okra and cleaned the wild greens. I wish I could stay longer in Chania so I could get to know this amazing woman a little better! In addition to her cooking classes, she teaches Greek to people around the world and is a writer. If you have a chance to cook with Ozlem, do it! You won't regret it.
Review provided by Viator
Susanpryor
Oct 10, 2024
Those skilled in their art make it look easy! And Ozlem gifts you the skill! - This has to be one of, if not the best tourist experience I have had. It was personalised. From the moment I booked Ozlem was in contact with me asking about food preferences, what I liked and did not like. She did her homework to provide me with a cooking experience that was sublime. She met me as I was anxious I was at the right place - but you can look on her web site and see a picture of the place she cooks. We laughed and chatted about everything the way women do when they cook together. It is a time of sharing from the heart and pouring that heart and soul into the foods. I would love to wrap her up and take her on my journeys - a true host, a exceptional cook and chef and creatrix of food from ingredients you can find in your home town!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brcvln
Jul 19, 2024
Epic experience - I had an amazing experience with Ozlem. Learning how to make super delicious Cretan food in an easy way was my dream! While cooking she gave me tons of tips about cooking. Her knowledge is out of this universe!! I literally cannot wait to apply them in my kitchen!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Burcu_r
Jul 9, 2024
Epic experience! - Ozlem was an amazing host and teacher. She taught me so many important details that I can use in my daily life, that it migjt take years to search and find through books or internet. We made cery delicious foods and I have never tasted that quality of ingridiens and combinations.. i cannot wait to make those foods by myself and hopefully catch the same level ♥️♥️ thank you Ozlemaki♥️♥️♥️♥️
Review provided by Viator
L2591viandreaw
Jun 3, 2024
Cooking with Ozlem in Chania - Ozlem provides an amazing Traveling Spoon experience. With her background in both Greek and Turkish cooking, she suggested a sample of six possibilities and we conferred on three. Her cultural and ethnic additions to the conversations during the cooking, deepened my understanding of the Greek countryside, life in Crete and her additional experiences cooking in Turkey. The dishes we worked on were - Boreki (summer Turkish pie without the filo wrapping), avgolemeno- lamb with artichokes, onions, carrots, green almonds and calamari stuffed with prawns.
She was also careful with my request for No Chocolate (I’m allergic) and no dessert. Throughout our working together with the preparation, Ozlem took the time to provide other tips that were wonderful recipe additions: how to prepare and stuff the calamari; fillings for stuffed zucchini flowers; preferred spices and how to correctly use a mezzaluna. It felt like I was cooking with an old friend…
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Zeynepsj5466yq
May 27, 2024
Special tastes from Smirni (İzmir) and Chania - I have visited Özlem's house and tested her very interesting plates, mezedes and main dishes, sweets, all was amazing.
She is from Smirnis and lives in Chania for many years and has a taste of both culinary cultures.
Uses many different ingredients, vegetables and meat (and also seafood).
I am very glad that I had such an experience in Chania.
Thanks a lot Özlem.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
