History, culture, arts and food from the island we call home.

Crete isn't just the backdrop to our wedding. It's home. We live in Heraklion, on an island with thousands of years of history, its own dialect within the language, its own songs, and a cuisine studied around the world. What follows is a short, sourced tour for anyone who'd like to know a little more about the place before they visit.

According to Crete's official tourism board, Cretan cuisine "embodies a whole philosophy of life" and isn't just a list of dishes. When American dietitians (led by pioneering nutrition scientist Ancel Keys) arrived in the late 1950s to study Cretans' remarkable longevity, what they found helped shape what we now call the Mediterranean Diet.

Antikristo

A traditional Cretan roasting technique: meat (usually lamb or goat) is skewered on stakes and propped facing the fire, not directly over it, then slow-cooked by radiant heat from the embers until tender, juicy and crisp-crusted.

Apaki

Strips of pork tenderloin marinated in vinegar with oregano and other herbs, then slow-smoked over aromatic wood, often sage or thyme. The result is a meat with a bold, smoky, slightly spiced aroma, especially popular around Sfakia and Chania. It's served cold, sliced thin, as a meze or wrapped in a pita.

Chochlioi (Snails)

A genuinely distinctive Cretan meze. Cooked with chondros (cracked wheat), in a tomato-courgette-potato casserole, simply fried, or "boubouristi" (boiled, then pan-fried with herbs).

Cretan Graviera

A hard cheese made from sheep's milk, sometimes with a little goat's milk, aged at least five months, with a distinctive sweet, caramel-like flavour. Graviera Kritis holds Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, and it's Greece's second most popular cheese after feta. Crete has the highest cheese consumption in the world.

Cretan Rusks (Paximadia)

Hard, twice-baked breads made from barley, wheat or chickpea flour, traditionally baked every ten to fifteen days and returned to the oven to dry out so they'd keep for months. They were a staple for Cretan farmers and shepherds, who softened them with water or oil out in the fields. They're the foundation dakos is built on.

Gamopilafo

Literally "wedding pilaf": rice slow-cooked in rich meat broth with butter, a traditional centrepiece of Cretan wedding feasts for generations. If you see it on the table, you'll know exactly what it's celebrating.

Herbs & Greens

Dittany (or "erondas") is endemic to Crete and was noted by Hippocrates for its healing properties; it grows only on steep cliffs. Malotira (mountain tea), sage, oregano and thyme are all part of everyday life. Crete's thyme honey is considered among the finest anywhere.

Kalitsounia / Lychnarakia

Small hand-pies with two classic Cretan fillings: savoury ones stuffed with wild greens, onion and herbs, and sweet ones filled with soft mizithra cheese, honey and cinnamon (called lychnarakia in some areas, from lychnari, oil lamp, for their shape). Fried or baked, they're a fixture of Easter tables and everyday Cretan cooking alike.

Ntakos (Dakos)

A twice-baked barley rusk, moistened with water or olive oil, topped with grated fresh tomato, crumbled mizithra or feta cheese, oregano and a generous drizzle of olive oil. One of the most iconic Cretan starters, and one of the traditional dishes named by Greece's official tourism board.

Olive Oil & Olives

Widely credited as the secret behind Cretan longevity: a natural product from simple pressing, no additives, low acidity. Harvest runs from November to February (in some areas as late as June). Table olives accompany almost every meal.

Sfakiani Pita

A thin, round pie filled with soft mizithra cheese from the Sfakia region in western Crete, cooked without oil on a griddle and traditionally served rolled up, drizzled with Cretan honey. It has won international recognition at food competitions and often closes out a Cretan meal, alongside a glass of tsikoudia.

Tsikoudia (Raki)

A clear, fragrant spirit (~37% alcohol) distilled from grape pomace, served chilled in shot glasses as a welcome or after a meal. In 1920, Eleftherios Venizelos instituted the licence allowing farmers to distill it. It's not just a drink. It's an expression of Cretan hospitality.