I offer a Food Lover’s Walking Tour of Athens and private cooking classes that cover the gamut from meze to festive to vegetarian and more delicious Greek food and wine.

FOOD LOVERS’ ATHENS – A THREE-HOUR WALK and TASTING

Athens is a city whose culinary charms are often hidden from view. But on this tour, we discover the delicious side of the Greek capital, meeting shopkeepers, tasting regional delicacies, comparing Greek olive oils and more. I like to give pople the history and background of the area and the food we’re tasting, too. We meet in the Monastiraki and wind our way through Psyrri, then the Central Market, tasting freshly baked sesame rings, buttery bougatsa (a cream-filled phyllo pastry), regional specialties from the Greek islands and mainland, olive oils, cheeses, and more. The tour culminates at one of my favorite shops, where we snack on meze and sip a little wine and/or ouzo.

Cost: 75 euro per person. 3 people minimum, 8 people maximum.

COOK WITH DIANE IN ATHENS

Taking a private cooking class in a local home is one of the most enticing ways to get to see real life in a foreign country. That’s what I offer in these classes. We visit the weekly farmers’ market, shop for what we’ll make, cook together and then enjoy lunch or dinner in my dining room. Classes can be tailored to your specific interests, i.e. small plates / meze; regional Greek specialties; fish & seafood; etc.  Typically, though, we do 4 – 5 recipes that cover a gamut of ingredients and techniques, including how to make phyllo, avgolemono (the Greek egg-lemon sauce), and classics like tzatziki or roasted eggplant puree. We taste various regional cheeses and olive oils together, too.

Cost: 120 euro per person. 2 people minimum, 8 people maximum.

To book, contact me here.

Matsoukas at Syntagma offers a plentiful taste of Greece.