Food & Beverage Tour

Enterprise Greece has hosted a delegation of gastronomy and tourism journalists, restaurant critics and opinion makers from France, on a journey of exploration to Greece to discover the country’s special food products and its excellent cuisine.

With Dina Nikolaou, well-known food writer and chef, as  guide, the French visitors were conducted on a gastronomic tour of Crete 24-29 September 2018, where they discovered Cretan delicacies made from unique, local and high quality products. The aim of the trip — part of a series of events targeting the French market — was to raise awareness of Greek cuisine, its health benefits, and increase Greek food and beverage exports to France. Among the participants was Mr. Gilles Pudlowski, writer and journalist, gastronomic and literary critic, and blogger and author of Pudlo’s Gourmet Guide.

The first stop on the tour was Eastern Crete, where our French guests had the opportunity to visit traditional food producers where they witnessed the making of local cheeses and bread, and sampled traditional Cretan meat products. With the Krousson Women’s Association as hosts, the delegation experienced the cooking of local sweets and savory dishes while the Aldemar Group, which helped organize the tour, also arranged a food tasting event.

The French visitors were briefed on local wines and products, actively participated and became familiar with the local cuisine. During the group’s stay in Heraklion, participated in a guided tour of Knossos, an important center of Minoan civilization.

Finally, in Athens, the delegation were introduced to other unique Greek gourmet products. They participated in an olive oil tasting, visited the Athens central food market, and had the opportunity to sample modern, Greek cuisine.

The next rendezvous will be at France’s major food fair, SIAL, to be held at the end of October in Paris.