Johannesburg - When it comes to cuisine – and particularly cooking tours – the French appear to have cornered the market.
But what about Greek cooking?
Anthea Georgiades (no prizes for guessing her ancestry) believes that the Greek and Mediterranean way of cooking (which are being acknowledged for their health benefits as well as their flavour) can be just as fascinating as the French.
She is arranging a special cooking tour of Greece in May to allow South Africans to experience the best Greece has to offer, and to try their hand at making Greek dishes at exclusive cookery classes.
The tour will begin on the island of Kea, which is part of the Cyclades island group, whose speciality, amygthalopita, is a confection made from ground almonds.
Participants will get the opportunity to make amygthalopita in the cookery class.
They will also harvest grape leaves and make dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with rice and herbs) for meze; peeling and cooking artichokes for lunch, to accompany the kid or lamb that will be roasted in a traditional unglazed Cycladic ceramic pot in the wood-fired oven.
The cooking classes will be hosted by expert Greek cook Aglaia Kremezi.
Georgiades points out that Greek cooking is inextricably bound up with the culture and history of the country, going back more than 3 000 years. Simple eating is the watchword, continuing the theme established 2 000 years ago by the physician Hippocrates, who encouraged his students and patients to eat only seasonal fruits and vegetables, and to exercise.
Simple and seasonal are the themes in Greek cooking. Little is wasted – for example, the juice of lemons is used for flavouring, but the skins are used for a sweet preserve, the blossoms for a similar sweet, and the leaves as flavouring in herbal teas or boiled to be used in washing hair.
Included in the tour will be wine and cheese tastings as well as a range of cultural activities, including a visit to museums and a guided walk through the Greek capital, Athens.
The tour leaves Joburg on May 23 and returns on May 30.
Further information, call Anthea Georgiades, Harvey World Travel Illovo, on 011 268 0335.
Saturday Star