Kissamos: Cooking Class & Greek Night Experience
About This Experience
This one is not a class in a private kitchen. It is an evening at a working restaurant in Kissamos, in the far west of Crete, where you spend the first part of the night in the kitchen as chef and the rest of it at the table as a guest.
You meet the chef and take a masterclass on mezze - the small plates that carry a Cretan dinner - and then you cook them for real, because the food you prepare goes out to the restaurant's paying customers that evening. Toque and gloves are provided. It is the only experience on this site where you are cooking for other people rather than for yourself.
Afterwards you sit down to the Cretan buffet, which includes the dishes you made, at what the restaurant claims is the longest dinner table in Crete at 15.3 metres. Then the evening turns: traditional Cretan dances taught on the floor, and plate breaking, which is exactly what it sounds like and is included in the price.
The buffet is served from 19:00. At well under half the price of the private village classes, this is the value pick on the site, and the one to book if you want the social side of a Cretan night rather than a quiet afternoon at a kitchen table.
Highlights
- Take a mezze masterclass and cook for the restaurant's own diners
- Learn traditional Cretan dances
- Eat a full Cretan buffet, including the dishes you made
- Break plates, the traditional way
What's Included
- ✓ Guaranteed seat at Crete's longest restaurant table, 15.3 m
- ✓ Toque and gloves for the class
- ✓ Mezze cooking masterclass
- ✓ Cretan buffet dinner
- ✓ Cretan dance lesson
- ✓ Plate breaking
Not Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Soft and non-alcoholic drinks
What to Bring
- Comfortable closed shoes
- Sun protection
Good to Know & Caveats
- The buffet is served from 19:00, so this is an evening rather than an afternoon.
- Hotel pickup and drop-off is not included - Kissamos is about 45 minutes west of Chania.
- Alcohol is part of the experience but soft drinks are charged separately.
- You cook mezze that is served to the restaurant's other guests, so the format is closer to a kitchen shift than to a private class.
Meeting Point
34 Kampouri Street, Kissamos 73400 - a restaurant on the cobblestone road, in the large yellow building.
What Travelers Say
Rated 4.9/5 by 10 verified GetYourGuide travelers.
It was a great experience After joining a two-hour cooking class, where we whipped up some local dishes with other folks, we dug into the buffet with all the other guests, starting around 7 pm. Then the party started: a bunch of singing, dancing, celebrating, and laughing. We smashed the plates in the Greek tradition, singing Mamma Mia songs with tourists from 13 different countries, and celebrated Greek culture with laughter and joy: it was a beautiful evening that I wholeheartedly recommend. One of the best moments was when we danced in a circle trying to repeat the dance steps they explained to us, so much laughter! A special thanks to Christos, the 'host' of the evening and owner of the place, who left a lasting impression on us with his speeches and explanations. It was a real honor to meet him and listen to him❤️
— Viola, Septemb
We had a great evening. It's incredible the way Chris and his team take us into an evening with dancing and the traditional plate breaking, where all the participants discuss, dance and sing together.
— vinciane, July 24
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you really cook for the restaurant's customers?
Yes - the mezze you prepare in the masterclass goes out to the restaurant's diners that evening. It is the only experience on this site where you cook for other people, and it is why the format feels different from a private class.
What time does it start and finish?
The buffet is served from 19:00 and the class runs before it, with dancing and plate breaking afterwards. Budget the whole evening - roughly four hours in total.
How do I get to Kissamos?
Kissamos is about 45 minutes west of Chania by car or bus. Hotel pickup is not included, so plan the journey both ways - the evening finishes late.
Is the plate breaking included?
It is. So are the Cretan dance lessons and a guaranteed seat at the 15.3-metre table. Non-alcoholic and soft drinks are the only extras.
Why is it so much cheaper than the other classes?
It is a restaurant evening with a cooking masterclass in it rather than a small-group private class, so the cost per head is lower. If you want unhurried hands-on teaching, a village class is the better use of the money.
