Traditional Greek Island Recipes in a Local Athens Home - Day Trip

Fotini is an economist, MBA lecturer, writer and independent journalist. She started cooking and experimenting with recipes when she was a university student in Thessaloniki. She loves cooking authentic Greek cuisine from the islands, with Cycladic dishes being her favorite. Fotini has traveled around the world, studying, working and traveling for fun. In addition to her passion for cooking, she also loves reading, gardening and classical music. Fotini loves to host and meet people and is passionate about sharing dishes from continental Greece and the Greek islands with her guests. As Fotini says, meals in Greece are a way to celebrate with guests over great discussion and music. She loves meeting people from all around the world and when she travels she makes it a point to taste the local cuisine. This passion for cooking and traveling has made her a collector and she now has over 100 cookbooks in her collection! Fotini lives with her husband and their beloved dog in an antique and plant-filled apartment in south Athens. Fotini's husband, originally from the beautiful island of Corfu, is also a good cook, and they will both welcome you into their home. While you sip a welcome drink, Fotini will tell you about traditional Greek cuisine, considered one of the healthiest diets in the world owing to heavy use of vegetables, Greek olive oil and cheeses. Gather with Fotini at the dining table to share a selection of traditional dishes from Asia Minor such as melitzanosalata (smoked eggplant salad), keftedakia (meatballs with potatoes), pastitsio (baked pasta dish that contains ground beef and béchamel sauce), or the famous Greek moussaka (baked eggplant with ground beef and bechamel sauce). For vegetarians or guests who are interested in something very different, Fotini can cook for you recipes of Greek Orthodox monks, which includes dishes like spicy eggplant baked with cheese. If you book a cooking experience, you will learn to make traditional Greek dishes from the islands which might include tomato keftedes (tomato balls, a traditional recipe from Santorini), fava (unlike Western "fava beans", "fava" in Greece refers to a delicious yellow split peas puree, a traditional dish from Santorini), froutalia (a traditional omelette from Tinos island) or ladenia (Greek pizza, a traditional dish from Kimolos island). The cooking lesson will last one to two hours before you sit down to enjoy the meal you prepared together. Please note, Fotini is available for dinner all days of the week but can can only host lunches on the weekends.