TRADITIONAL FOOD TOUR & OLIVE OIL TASTING IN KALAMATA
Discover the richness and inventiveness of Greek cuisine!
Lock all the flavours of Greece deep in your heart through a one-of-a-kind 4-hour food tour experience in Kalamata. Learn how to prepare traditional local recipes just like a Greek mama and taste more than 20 delicious Messinian homemade products. We assure you won't have to worry about dinner by the end of this experience!
Where
You will visit the historic centre of one of the most beautiful coastal cities of the Peloponnese: Kalamata, in Messinia region.
The place is known for its exquisite olive oil and its world-famous black Kalamata olives. However, the city has so much more to offer and this experience will help you uncover its hidden gems.
When
The Food tour experience is available Monday to Saturday all year round either in the mornings or in the afternoons. Sundays and official holidays are excluded.
The Experience
Visit local family-owned food and pastry shops, learn old stories and feel the authenticity of the locals.
Part 1: Meeting Point
Maria, our passionate food lover and local host, will be waiting for you at the beautiful central square of Kalamata, Vasileos Geogiou Square, (Πλατεία Βασιλέως Γεωργίου) in front of the Statues (Agalmata) of the Messinian war Heroes of 1821.
After a warm welcome, you’ll set off on your gastronomic experience with a leisurely stroll around the streets of this magnificent coastal city.
Part 2: Visit to Traditional Workshop and tasting of Local Home-made products
Many times, you can find the tastiest local products in the most unlikely places of a town you visit, where you’d never think to look. Together we’ll discover a traditional Workshop, literally hidden in the tiny alleys of the city.
With a reputation that precedes it, not just in Messinia, but also in delis around Greece for its quality home-made Messinian products, it stays true to its authentic ancestral recipes, preparing two of the most iconic local treats daily.
The local women working at the Workshop will show how to make one of the oldest delicacies of Messinia and Mani, using the simplest of ingredients, flour and olive oil. Then you’ll get to see how the second delectable local recipe is made, full of aromas, flavour and lots of honey!
And while enjoying this staple of the Spartan warriors and satisfying your sweet tooth in the healthiest of manners, you’ll also learn about its long history and inextricable link to the local tradition.
Part 3: Tasting of Spoon Sweets, Corinthian Raisins and Healthy Local Delicacies
Ascending towards the historic centre of Kalamata, you’ll marvel at the two-storey neo-Classical buildings and discover this city’s rich past, as well as the long history of ancient and more contemporary Greek gastronomy.
Upon entering the shop, the aroma of the exquisite herbs and spices wafting through the air will transport you to the top of Mt. Taygetos, the local mountain.
You’ll get to taste homemade glyka tou koutaliou (spoon sweets), black Korinthian raisins and other products of the Messinian and Greek land, discovering their nutritional value and their importance in a well-balanced diet.
Part 4: Greek Coffee Tasting at Local Coffee Grinding Shop
It’s time for your morning coffee! And what’s better than a hot traditional Greek coffee prepared by Giorgos, who’ll reveal the secrets to its proper preparation. You’ll find out all about the origins of this type of coffee, how it got its name and how it has become a part of the Greek tradition and temperament.
Have you ever heard about the most popular Greek coffee custom? Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon and you’ll be delightfully surprised.
Part 5: Tasting of Local Appetizers at a Traditional Greek Coffee Shop-Cum-Ouzo Tavern
The ideal way to feel like a local is to visit a traditional Greek coffee shop and ouzo tavern.
Right in the heart of the city, under the shadow of an age-old plane tree, flavoursome Messinian appetizers - mezedes are waiting for you to discover them.
Revithokeftedes (chickpeas patties), kolokithokorfades (courgette flowers), anchovies, eggplant dip with fresh basil, olives, local cheeses and so much more are waiting to take you through a mouth-watering journey filled with Mama’s flavours!
Especially when paired with ouzo, tsipouro (strong local spirit) or local wine and the good company of locals, the experience becomes even more authentic!
Part 6: Visit to an Olive Oil Shop & short Olive oil tasting
Whether this is the first or umpteenth time visiting Messinia, olive-oil tasting is a must, given this is the birthplace of olives and olive oil. You’ll take part in a quick yet fulfilling olive-oil tasting with a professional and certified olive-oil connoisseur.
You’ll find out all about the Koroneiki variety and its unique features, and will taste different quality olive oils. This tasting will be enough for you to realise just how superior this olive oil is from the common olive oils in the market.
This is also the ideal place to buy authentic Kalamata olives in different packages, as well as Greek honey and selected products made by small producers across Greece.
Part 7: Visit to a Shop with Local Wines & Traditional Spirits
Did you know that in antiquity, Messinia was one of the largest wine-producing areas in the Peloponnese? Or that its wines carry the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and the Protected Designation of Origin Indication (PDO), due to their excellent quality and features?
Find out all the local varieties, including Fokiano, Roditis, Malaguzia and Moschofilero, as well as how they are combined with foreign varieties to produce excellent white, rose and red wines through a short wine tasting along with Mr. Giannis!
Part 8: Light Lunch with Mediterranean or Messinian Dishes and Local Wines
A light yet filling lunch will conclude your gastronomic experience and spoil your senses, in one of the cosiest Coffee Shop-Cum-Ouzo Taverns in the heart of the city.
The menu is mainly based on traditional and lesser-known recipes from Messinia and Mani, which are hard to find anywhere else.
The Mediterranean diet unfolds in all its glory: healthy, seasonal comfort food prepared with passion and an extra dash of artistry, made with ingredients from local farms and small Greek producers, slowly cooked in herbs and olive oil.
You’ll also get to taste a classic Messinian dish and find out its interesting history, but we won’t spoil the surprise. Join us to discover it first-hand! We can guarantee that you don’t have to worry about dinner, as there’ll be no room left for anything else!
BOOK THIS EXPERIENCE
Suggestion: Visit to the Municipal Open Air Farmers’ Market (2 hours)
At the crack of dawn every Wednesday and Saturday mornings, Messinian producers set up shop at the Municipal Open Air Farmers’ Market.
Visits to the Farmers’ Market take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays and can be combined with the Food Tour. The duration of the experience may be tailored to your individual needs.
Are you a travel agency or company and are looking for a trusted local partner?
Do you wish to build a mutual, fruitful collaboration and would like to provide one of a kind gastronomic experiences for your travelers or team building events to your travelers?
You can contact us and organize it for you in the best way possible!
Tips
To make your visit even more memorable, here are some tips:
- Wear comfortable shoes and a hat, as you’ll spend quite a bit of time outdoors.
- Notify us of any special dietary needs (e.g. vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, flexitarian, etc.)
- Notify us of any allergies (e.g. food allergies, allergies to bees, etc.)
Pricing
Small, private groups of 5-8 people: 80,00€ / per person
Contact us to request a price:
- Max. of people: 8. For more than 8 people, please contact us.
- For transfer services or organize your transfer from Athens city or any other place in Peloponnese and join the Food tour experience.
We can also design and provide tailor-made tours and multi-day tours in the region of Peloponnese upon request.
Drop us a line at [email protected] and together we’ll come up with a tailor-made gastronomic experience just for you!
Included in the price
- Tasting of Greek mezedes, sweet and savory local delicacies (more than 20!)
- Short Olive oil tasting of 3 Greek olive oil varieties
- Short wine tasting of 2-3 wine labels
- Greek Coffee tasting
- Light lunch & drinks
- Local host throughout the experience
- All taxes
Excluded from the price
- Full lunch (upon request and at an extra small charge)
- Personal purchases from local shops (optional)
- Tips & gratuities (optional)
- Transfer services may be provided upon request and at an extra charge
Additional info
- The traditional workshop in Part 2 is open only in the mornings and it is closed on Saturdays. Therefore, the tasting is made to another stop of the Food tour experience.
- Olive oil tasting may be enriched with a visit to an Olive oil mill located 10' away from Kalamata city upon request and at an extra small charge. Transfer is needed.
- Availability: The food tour experience is available in the mornings from Monday to Saturday, excluding Sundays and official holidays. It is also conducted on Tuesday, Thursday or Friday afternoon after coordination.
- The duration of the Food tour experience can be tailored to individual needs of each guest.
- You can choose and make any of our extra gastronomic activities individually or combine them with the Traditional Food Tour.
- Meeting point and time: At the beautiful central square of Kalamata, Vasileos Geogiou Square, in front of the Statues (agalmata) of the Messinian war heroes of 1821 at 09:00 a.m.
- Languages: English & Greek. Other languages can be provided upon request and at an extra charge.
- Family friendly.
- Wheelchair accessible 80%.
Bookings & payment
- Bookings: In order to organize your experience in the best way, the booking and the full payment must be made the latest 1 day before.
- For last minute requests, please contact us via email to check availability.
- When the booking and the transaction are completed, the experience is officially confirmed by Mama's flavours through email.
- All payments can be made through our booking engine, bank transfer (you can contact us via email for this option) or Paypal.
- Cash is not accepted.
Cancellation policy
- Mama’s flavours reserves the right to postpone the Food tour experience due to bad weather. If it is postponed, no refund is given but, the experience is conducted the next available date and after coordination.
- For cancellations from our guests, there is no refund regardless of cancellation status but, you may choose a next available date.
- All sales final.
Mama’s flavours Philosophy
Our scope is to provide to our guests - travelers a high quality personalized and authentic local experience that goes above and beyond their expectations. That is why we always prefer to organize private experiences to couples, friends and families. This applies also for larger groups for e.g. a group of friends or a team building event.
When you, our guest, are interested in one or more of our gastronomic experiences, the day is exclusively dedicated to you, your friends and your beloved ones. With this way, we enjoy a beautiful day together and at the end we say goodbye as friends!
Mama’s flavours Health Measures & Guidelines for Travelers & Partners
Please read carefully this document before your booking.
Mama’s flavours is committed to caring for the health and well-being of its travelers and its partners.