Milk Street on the Road: Athens and Peloponnese
OVERVIEW
Greece off the beaten path is the theme of our trip to the Peloponnese. An experience created by Milk Street and Culinary Backstreets, this week will focus on the hyperlocal cuisine of Mani in the far south of the country. Your resident chef is Maniot chef Stavriani Zervakakou and your guide is Athens native and cookbook author Carolina Doriti.
We’ll start with a short stop in Athens where we we will position the cuisine of Mani within the diversity of Greek cooking. We’ll sample it all—traditional items like spanakopita and real-deal Greek yogurt, seafood classics from Crete, and contemporary interpretations of regional cuisines. Then, we head south. There, Stavriani will lead us in three days of hands-on cooking and exploration that unlock a Mani that typically only locals enjoy. We’ll forage from land and sea, cook with the best agricultural products and meet small-scale producers of traditional foods. Expect to make meals with wild herbs, blood oranges, rose vinegar, sage-studded sausage, fish, local sfela cheese, unfiltered olive oils and sea salt harvested right off the drying pans. We’ll take part in the olive harvest, immersing ourselves in Mani’s most important crop and the rituals surrounding this celebrated time of year. To relax, we’ll take walks in nature and have free time to explore, read and rest in a boutique hotel where we are the only guests.
This is a Greece few travelers see and even fewer ever explore so carefully.
HIGHLIGHTS
Foraging & cooking like a local
Spend three days foraging for wild ingredients, harvesting olives, and cooking Maniot feasts with local chef Stavriani Zervakakou.
Agricultural visits & private tastings
Visit a weekly market, small family-run farms and DOC-certified wineries to sample locally produced cheeses, olives, honey, sausages and wine.
Urban immersion
Walk and taste your way through Athens to experience the diversity of Greek cuisines.
Coastal exploration
Forage for ocean vegetables and harvest sea salt along the Peloponnese coast.
Great Meals
You’ll eat spanakopita and loukomades; cuttlefish over local orzo pasta; a sampler of Athenian spritzes; goat milk custard pies; grilled prawns with fava beans and much more.
ITINERARY
Day 1
Arrive and meet your fellow travelers and guide
Day 2
Explore Athens’ traditions and innovations
Day 3
Wine tasting and travel to Mani
Day 4
Forage, cook and feast
Day 5
Tour a farmers market, cook and feast
Day 6
View Mani from the sea, cook back on land
Day 7
Return to Athens and dine at an Athenian taverna
Day 8
Say Goodbyes and Depart
ABOUT US
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- Pricing and Accommodation
- The total cost of this trip is $5,250 per person in a shared accommodation. For travelers wishing to have single accommodations during the trip, an additional $775 will be due at the time of the final payment. A $500 non-refundable deposit per traveler is required to secure space on the trip. The balance is due 90 days prior to the start of the trip.
- Activity Level
- Travelers should be reasonably fit and feel comfortable walking 2 to 4 miles each day and remaining on their feet for long periods of time. Keep in mind that Athens is a bustling and crowded place! In Mani we will be on dirt paths and rocky coastal trails. The distances of our excursions on foot will not be very long, but the terrain will be uneven at times.
- Arrival and Departure
- For flights in and out of Athens International airport, we suggest you arrive by 3 p.m. on Day 1 and depart anytime on Day 8 We are happy to book you extra nights at the group’s hotel, and provide suggestions for things to do and see in the city on your own.
- Inclusions
- • All accommodation throughout the trip in stylish, boutique hotels.
• Professional guides throughout the entire experience.
• All meals and drinks included in the above activities.
• Admission to all proposed activities, locations, and events.
• Private coach for visits inside and outside the center city
• A hungry group of Culinary Backstreets and Milk Street travelers, excited to explore all that Greece has to offer! - Exclusions
- • Private individual arrival & departure airport transfers
• Airfare and transportation to/from the start and end destination
• Meals beyond those specified in the itinerary above
• Alcoholic beverages other than those served at the table
• Accommodations outside those noted, including pre- or post-trip hotel nights
• Activities, tours & entry fees not included above
• Personal purchases and incidentals at hotels - Dietary Restrictions
- We encourage an adventurous palate! We try our best to accommodate dietary restrictions, though ingredients cannot always be substituted or omitted from particular dishes. This trip can feature plentiful pescatarian, dairy-free and alcohol-free options and can accommodate other diets. If you have food allergies or intolerances, please contact us to find out if this is the right trip for you.
- Notes on Itinerary
- Itineraries and daily schedules are subject to change. We expect to do everything listed in the itinerary, though the order may be rearranged based on weather or other local conditions.
- Our Commitment to Safety and Sustainability
- At Culinary Backstreets, we have reinforced our commitment to sustainability and safety with new guidelines to assure maximum safety of our guests on our trips while maintaining the quality of the experience. All of our experiences are designed to have minimal impact on the community and environment. For more details on our precautions, read here. Our cancellation policy is extremely flexible to deal with changes in travel plans.
Testimonials
“It will blow your mind! Besides the culinary experience, learning about the people and culture will stay with you forever.”