The author grates zucchini under the watchful eye of Koula Barydakis, the chef-instructor who believes that the food of Crete, Greece, is the healthiest in the world. Photo of Heather Rath

Koula Barydakis, our ebullient chef instructor, began our local cooking lessons by pouring a shot of raki for herself and her students as we toasted the traditional Cretan diet, one of the healthiest in the world, which is a quality Barydakis makes clear in her book, Foods of Crete: Traditional Recipes from the Healthiest People in the World.

Cretan Cuisine Through the Eyes of a Local

“We Cretans eat abundantly but simply, consuming much olive oil, olives, seasonal fruits and vegetables including wild mountain greens (horta), yogurt, cheese, lentils and beans,” Barydakis explained to us. “We eat meat once a week and on special occasions. We always drink a lot of mountain tea (malotera, good for the stomach) while eating bread and olives.” It doesn’t hurt that the food is routinely flavoured with native herbs like oregano, thyme and sage, and that red wine commonly accompanies lunch and dinner.

Even cats have something to contribute to food sustainability in Crete, Greece. Photo courtesy of Heather Rath

When it comes to food, Barydakis even proudly proclaims that Crete has practised sustainable living without using the name. Raki is derived from the residue of grape pressings. Most fruits and vegetables consumed are seasonal, not imported from faraway places. Crops are grown naturally without fertilisers and pesticides, just as they have been for generations. In Barydakis’s village, goats make short work of any scraps of food. Chickens are free range and their fresh eggs contain bright orange yolks. Even the scavenger street cats of Crete are part of the solution!

Modest Origins, Modest Practice

Barydakis recalls how her parents sent her to hairdressing school to learn how to earn a living unaware she also attended cooking school, where she refined the culinary skills learned from her mother and grandmother. At 16, she left Crete to travel abroad but spent most of her new life as a chef in Toronto, Canada’s Greektown before her “blessed island” lured her home again.

Delicious handmade dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with rice) are typical of the cuisine on Crete, Greece. Photo courtesy of Heather Rath

Now she conducts her cooking classes under a patch of cobalt blue sky in an old olive oil press building renovated 10 years ago in Vamos, a traditional Cretan village. In case of rare inclement weather, she moves to a house.

During our session, we chopped, grated, mixed, pressed, formed – and dined on – rooster with Cretan pasta, kalitsounia pies (a sweet cheese pastry), grape leaves with rice (dolmades), zucchini fritters, Greek salad and garlic beets with yogurt salad washed down with liberal amounts of village wine.

A Greek Island Full of Grace

Cretan cooking is not the only lesson Barydakis taught us. She is an exuberant ambassador for her island.

“Crete is a beautiful island filled with bountiful food.’ she enthused. “The wild, natural beauty of the mountains and the ocean make you think that when God created Crete, He created all the beauty the human mind can imagine. The land is so rich with olive, lemon and orange trees, and gardens, the smell alone can make you drunk. The wide variety of herbs and flowers from ancient times found on Crete is still used to cure pains and diseases. Writers, explorers, scientists and tourists all come to Crete to see it, study it, eat the tasty foods, drink the raki and get high on its immortal wines. The people of Crete live simply and always win your heart.”

The market of fresh greens in Crete, Greece, help to make the local cuisine so rich in variety of and nutrition. Photo courtesy of Heather Rath

Barydakis lives her philosophy. Following my lesson, our weekends in Crete soon featured Saturdays with Barydakis. Each week we met for coffee in a different place of Chania, the ancient city on the island’s western shore, after which she took us on a leisurely walking tour to show us excellent local restaurants, and markets, and pointed out where to purchase good local wines. She led us to special churches, monasteries and gave us a thumbnail sketch of Cretan feast holidays. Our education included the island’s Second World War history and how it affected her village and family.

A Dish to Savour: Cheese and Spinach Pie

The dough
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup raki (Barydakis says white wine or lemon juice can be used instead)
a pinch of salt
warm water (as much as needed)
½ cup olive oil

Directions
Mix the ingredients and knead them well. The pastry must be a little soft. Leave it to ‘rest’ for half an hour, covered with a towel.

Zucchini fritters frying in olive oil in Crete, Greece. Photo courtesy of Heather Rath

The Cheese stuffing
Ingredients
Equal amounts of ricotta and feta cheese
2 eggs
chopped sprigs of fresh mint
salt

Directions
Mix all the ingredients together and place on the pastry as below. Roll the dough until it is not more than 1-2 mm thick and then cut it into round shapes of about 8 cm in diameter. Put in a little stuffing and fold in a half moon shape. Seal the edges with a fork. Fry in hot olive oil. When they are browned on both sides, remove and serve.

Kali oreksi, enjoy your meal!

Like anywhere, though, Mauritius is much much more. It can be difficult for visitors to get a real sense of all that this small island destination has to offer, but we try to help as best we can.

What is one tactic? Why not start with the gastronomy!?

Food is like art – a reflection of a country’s culture. Every place on the planet, even a small remote island like Mauritius, stands forever proud of its culinary traditions. And today, food is much more to travel than a simple means of survival. It has become a sophisticated and pleasurable integral part of it.

On Mauritius, Chinese and French cuisines are two gastronomic pillars: they have been not only instrumental in the evolution of our dishes, but are testimony to the interesting multiethnic qualities of our culture.

A visit to Mauritius is like time travel through three centuries of cross-cultural cohabitation, during which the give and take between local tastes and foreign influences resulted in something truly distinct. Like the many faces of our island – a crossroads for three continents – Mauritian cuisine is rustic in its simplicity and dazzling in its refinement.

A Kitchen Journey in Eureka House

When visitors to Mauritius travel with us, we like to take visitors on random journeys through our kitchens, paying special attention to indigenous practices and ingredients. We always begin by explaining the cornerstones of our cuisine – simple dishes such as curries and rougails. These are served with the basic elements of rice, brèdes and chutneys. They dishes never fail to charm our guests. To fully grasp their appealing simplicity, see below for a typical tomato chutney recipe that you can easily make at home.

One of our favourite stops – one we highly recommend – is Euréka House in Moka, a window onto Mauritian colonial history and Creole culture. This preserved period mansion was built in the early 1850s by an English notable, who sold it soon after to a wealthy Franco-Mauritian family. Today it is owned by Jacques de Maroussem, who has restored the property and opened it to the public, primarily as a museum, although a traditional Creole lunch can be enjoyed on the shaded veranda that encircles the main building. In keeping with the Creole style, the house has a large number of doors that ensure adequate ventilation during the hot summers.

Today, visitors choosing to take a meal on the property can also visit the traditional external stone kitchen (pictured above), in which the staff presents the various traditional items used in preparing the food. The kitchen is still very much in use.

After the lunch another Euréka highlight is a walk down the slope of the ravine to the Moka River that passes through the property. Here, three small waterfalls and exotic plants and flowers make for a rich display. Visitors can choose a guide or stroll around on their own for a couple of hours, splash in the river and enjoy the majestic views of the Moka Mountains.

Tomato Chutney – 6 to 8 servings

• 1/4 kg ripe tomatoes (or pommes d’amour)
• 1 small onion
• 1 teaspoon crushed fresh ginger
• ¼ teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• pinch of chilli powder
• small chillies, crushed or sliced (optional)
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• chopped coriander leaves (optional)

Plunge the tomatoes in boiling water for about 10 seconds or grill them over a charcoal fire. Peel off the skins and chop the pulp using a food mill or a food processor. Cut the onion into thin slices and add to the crushed tomatoes. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with parsley and coriander.

Note: The tomatoes may also be used raw and placed directly in the food mill or food processor.

Caution: Use chillies and coriander in moderation, as chillies in excess will cause more pain than pleasure. The strong taste of coriander is not a favourite of many diners.

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Visit the whl.travel Flickr photostream for a set of more pictures of Mauritius.