HERBS IN HER
POCKETS
POCKETS
I’ve spent years walking remote mountain paths and coastal trails across Greece, seeking out hidden landscapes, heirloom ingredients, and the artisans who still craft food with tradition and soul.
What began as a personal passion soon became a calling — friends asked for my “secret spots,” and I realized that sharing these discoveries brings me as much joy as making them.
If you’re looking to experience Crete through its most intimate flavors and stories — beyond the guidebooks and tourist routes — I would love to host you on one of my upcoming culinary journeys.
Prefer something private and fully tailored? I can curate a bespoke experience designed exclusively for you.
A handcrafted culinary journey to Greece’s most flavorful island:
When it comes to food, Cretans truly know best: how to cultivate it, how to cook it, and—above all—how to savor it.
After years of exploring the island’s most remote villages and kitchens, I’ll take you directly to the heart of the Cretan table. Together, we’ll visit exceptional dairy farms, boutique wineries, historic olive mills, and master artisans who still work with reverence for tradition. We’ll enjoy meals prepared just for us by some of Crete’s finest cooks—both celebrated professionals and gifted home chefs. And we’ll linger with them over glasses of wine (or a celebratory shot of raki), talking recipes, techniques, and the stories that keep Cretan culinary culture alive.
Our journey will lead us through millennia-old olive groves and along iconic coastlines. We’ll help harvest olives destined for high-phenolic extra virgin olive oil and join a real rakokázano, the festive gathering that accompanies the distillation of raki. We’ll honor the 1900 BC civilization that crafted some of history’s most refined cooking tools, and we’ll stir fresh milk from local-breed sheep to make Graviera—Crete’s answer to Parmesan.
What makes Crete truly unforgettable?
Here, food is inseparable from the land and its people. It is nourishing, vibrant, and profoundly connected to a way of life. Yes, the island reflects the health and longevity of a Blue Zone—but more than that, Crete is a place where sharing food, stories, and laughter at the table is an essential ritual.
Will you join me?
To request more information, please contact at [email protected].
Day 1
Heraklion
Heraklion airport early afternoon pick-up
Free time to spend on the beach or in the swimming pool
“How far would you go for food?” Isabella’s food storytelling welcome dinner, featuring a selection of artisanal products from all over Crete
Day 2
Heraklion
A visit to an excellent artisanal cheesemaker who strives to maintain local breeds of sheep and specializes in graviera cheese, aged 36 months
A tasting of unique cheeses, including Crete’s proud answer to the Italian Parmesan, and a try at cheesemaking
Cooking over fire with Markos, the man who brought an abandoned mountainous village back to life
Optional hike on the scenic seaside slopes of the Asterousia Mountains
Discovering the food tradition of skouteliko
Day 3
Heraklion
My big slim Cretan Breakfast – a special breakfast where we discover longevity secrets inherent to the Cretan Diet
Wine tasting and lunch at an awarded winery that has pioneered in rescuing local grape varieties
The elaborate food culture of the 1.900BC Minoans is presented through an entertaining guided tour of Heraklion’s Archaeological Museum
A walk around Heraklion, with recommendations for places to check out
Dinner in a farm-to-table restaurant that has revived forgotten recipes
Day 4
Chania
A visit to a traditional wood-fire bakery where we learn all about rusks
Mastering the art and essence of meze with Manolis and Eleni
Check in at Chania hotel
A walk in the old city, with recommendations for places to check out
Dinner in a zero-waste bistrot sourcing from dozens of artisanal producers
Day 5
Chania
A meditative walk among ancient olive trees
A guided visit of the olive mill where the world’s first high-phenolic olive oil to be certified as a food supplement is produced
Olive-oil tasting & lunch with poet-chef Michalis
A delicious and inspirational plant-based dinner with chef Stelios
Day 6
Chania
Tracing the history of food, water and entertainment in the ancient city of Aptera
A game of gastronomical recitations in a beautiful ancient theatre set at the foot of the White Mountains
Roasting antikrysto lamb, the Cretan version of the Argentinian asado
Experiencing a genuine Cretan feast
Day 7
departures
Optional visit to the Chania Archaeological Museum
Zorba the Cretan waves goodbye -one last surprise before we take you to Chania airport
* The Cretan Kitchen Confidential tour starts at Heraklion international airport and ends in Chania international airport.
Our stay will be at carefully selected accommodations — for example, Amirandes Resort or Rocca a Mare in Heraklio, and Domus Blanc, the Tanneries, or Domes Noruz in Chania.
Travel Information & Tour Details
Crete is easily accessible with just a one-hour flight from Athens. A group transfer from Heraklion Kazantzakis International Airport (HER) is scheduled for approximately 3:00 PM on arrival day. On the final morning of the tour, a group transfer will be arranged from our hotel in Chania to Chania Daskalogiannis International Airport (CHQ). Finalized transfer times will be confirmed in early October.
This curated journey is tailored for food professionals and for passionate lovers of Greek cuisine. If you have any food allergies or dietary restrictions, please inform us at the time of registration.
Participants should be prepared for daily walking of 1 to 3 miles. The itinerary may be subject to change due to weather or unforeseen circumstances; however, any adjustments will be thoughtfully planned to maintain the quality and integrity of the experience.
By registering, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to all terms and conditions.
Pricing
€7,000 per person sharing in a double room
Single supplement + €1,500
Airfare is not included
Deposit €2,000
due upon registration
What’s Included in the Tour Package:
What’s not included in the Tour Package:
Payment Information: To avoid processing surcharges, payments should be made by wire transfer. Credit card payments incur an additional 3% fee applied to the deposit amount.
Before registering, please read our full terms and conditions.
To request more information, please contact us at [email protected].
Chef Nicholas Poulmentis and food & travel writer Isabella Zampetaki invite you on a culinary tour to the Greek island of Crete. This 7-day experience includes visits to the best restaurants, wineries and olive mills, as well as cooking classes where Nicholas and local cooks teach you straightforward recipes that are both delicious and healthy. Crete is the birthplace of the Mediterranean Diet and it is no coincidence that many Cretans live to be over a hundred years old.
One-of-a-kind cooking classes
We will learn all the tricks to a perfect spanakopita and kleftiko wood-fired oven lamb, dolmadakia (vine-leaves stuffed with rice and herbs) and Sfakiani pita (crunchy and thin white cheese pie), dakos and Greek salad, boureki and maggiri pasta.
Cooking classes will take place in beautiful outdoor areas, by the sea and in verdant plains set at the foot of Crete’s mountains. They will be rich in seasonal local products, fresh herbs and extra virgin olive-oil.
There will be surprises! Like an invitation to join a night-time cooking class.
Highly curated selections
The restaurants and tavernas where we will be dining feature the best of Cretan cuisine and have been handpicked by Isabella who writes for food and travel for over 25 years. Among them, a top zero-waste bistrot, a family-run farm-to-table restaurant, a taverna whose cook prepares dishes just as if she cooked them for her own family. We will forage edible wild greens that grow around this time of year and enjoy delicacies that not even Cretans themselves know, like the grape caviar that is just ripe in May!
You will meet with some of Greece’s top wine, olive-oil, cheese and herbs experts and chat with them about anything you want to learn about making the right choices.
Day 1
Tuesday, May 12 – Heraklion
Heraklion airport afternoon pick-up
Free time to enjoy the beach or your private heated pool at Pnoe Breathing Life Resort
Food storytelling and welcome dinner, featuring a selection of artisanal products from all over Crete
Day 2
Wednesday, May 13 – Heraklion
Visit Knossos, Europe’s first organized city and discover traces of people who loved good food and nature back in the 2.500BCs
Wine tasting at one of Crete’s internationally acclaimed family wineries & a cooking class among the vines
Free time to walk around Heraklion / optional visit to its acclaimed Archaeological Museum
Evening raki and meze in a traditional village kafeneio, with a cooking demo by the local Women’s Association
Day 3
Thursday, May 14 – Heraklion
A visit to an artisanal cheesemaker who strives to maintain local breeds of sheep and specializes in aged graviera cheese
Cooking in a wood-fired oven atop Europe’s southernmost mountain range with the man who brought an abandoned village back to life
Optional hike/horse ride on the mountain slopes
A night-time easy dinner cooking class by Nicholas
Day 4
Friday, May 15 – Chania
A morning with one of Crete’s top foraging experts and a pick nick lunch on the beach
Check in at Domus Blanc Boutique Hotel which used to be the historic home of the French Consulate
Free time to explore Chania and its iconic old harbor and alleys
Dinner in a zero-waste bistrot that buys its produce from dozens of small farmers across Crete
Day 5
Saturday, May 16 – Chania
A guided visit to the olive oil farm where the world’s first high phenolic olive oil to be certified as a food supplement is produced
Olive oil tasting of monovarietal and naturally scented extra virgin olive oils and a farm-to-table lunch
Free time to explore the old city of Chania / Optional visit to the Folklore Museum
Bites and stories from Chania’s Belle Epoque
Day 6
Sunday, May 17 – Chania
Explore the ancient city and charming theatre of beautiful Aptera
Visit a verdant organic herbs farm where Nicholas teaches us how to make a light and crunchy Sfakiani pie.
Enjoy a festive dinner in the heart of a traditional village
Day 7
Monday, May 18
Our long goodbye breakfast
Optional visit to Chania Archaeological Museum
Late morning transfer to Chania airport
Crete is a big island! In order to minimize time spent on the bus, we have selected to start our tour in Heraklion international airport (HER) in the east and to depart from Chania international airport (CHQ) in the west.
Cost
$10,000 per person, sharing in a double room
Single supplement + $2,500
Deposit $3,000 due upon registration
Airfare is not included
See our analytical Terms & Conditions
Contact us for more information at [email protected].
Hotel Details
Pnoe Breathing Life Resort, Heraklion
Pnoé, meaning “breath” in Greek, is an elegant, adults-only designer beach resort that blends sophisticated relaxation with a strong focus on wellness. Set around a central courtyard anchored by an almond-shaped pool, its 60 private pool suites radiate outward in harmonious symmetry. The resort’s natural color palette mirrors the rugged surrounding landscape, while the architecture subtly echoes the bold forms of ancient Minoan design—a respectful nod to Crete’s storied past.
From the moment guests arrive, the renowned warmth of Cretan hospitality is on full display—beginning with a welcoming hand towel infused with sarandavotano, a traditional blend of 40 aromatic herbs known for their revitalizing properties.
Its comprehensive wellness facilities include a sauna, steam room, hydromassage pool, water paradise showers, ice fountain and bucket, a Himalayan salt-wall relaxation area and your own private heated pool.
Domus Blanc Boutique Hotel, Chania
Domus Blanc Hotel in Chania is a restored 19th-century mansion that once belonged to the French consul, Paul Blanc. Nestled in the aristocratic Halepa district, the boutique hotel revives the elegance of Crete’s Belle Epoque. With its art deco interior, the hotel features 12 refined suites—many with private jacuzzis—and a romantic balcony reminiscent of old aristocratic soirées. Owners Litsa and Aria Paraskevakis, along with the Varoudakis architects, meticulously restored the historic estate over four years. Their attention to detail, including reproducing the consul’s sapphire-blue walls, brings the building’s grandeur back to life. This one-of-a-kind hotel features bespoke furnishings, exposed beams, parquet floors, and marble-tiled bathrooms.
Guests can indulge in a variety of amenities, including an outdoor swimming pool with hydromassage points, a state-of-the-art gym, and a spa offering personalized massage treatments and a sauna.
Travel Information & Tour Details
Crete is easily accessible with just a one-hour flight from Athens. A group transfer from Heraklion Kazantzakis International Airport (HER) is scheduled for approximately 3:00 PM on arrival day. On the final morning of the tour, a group transfer will be arranged from our hotel in Chania to Chania Daskalogiannis International Airport (CHQ) around 11:00 AM. Finalized transfer times will be confirmed in early May 2026.
This curated journey is tailored for seasoned travelers and passionate lovers of Greek cuisine. If you have any food allergies or dietary restrictions, please inform us at the time of registration.
Participants should be prepared for daily walking of 1 to 3 miles. The itinerary may be subject to change due to weather or unforeseen circumstances; however, any adjustments will be thoughtfully planned to maintain the quality and integrity of the experience.
By registering, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to all terms and conditions.
What’s Included in the Tour Package:
What’s not included in the Tour Package:
Payment Information: To avoid processing surcharges, payments should be made by wire transfer. Credit card payments incur an additional 3% fee applied to the deposit amount.
Before registering, please read our full Terms and Conditions.
Contact us for more information at [email protected].
