Rethymno: Authentic Cooking Class with a Local

About This Experience

Pigi is a village a short drive inland from Rethymno, and the class happens in a large garden there rather than indoors - the wood-fired oven is already hot when you arrive, and the tables are set outside under the trees beside the pool.

You start by walking the vegetable and herb beds with your host, which is where the day's menu gets decided, and then you cook. Aprons on, recipes walked through one at a time: homemade cheese, ntakos, tzatziki, stuffed vegetables, Greek salad, and more depending on the season. This is a hands-on class rather than a demonstration; the phrase the reviews keep using is that you do the work.

Everything goes into the traditional wood-fired oven, and the meal is eaten outdoors in the garden with raki and local wine. Meat and vegetarian versions are both prepared as standard, which is unusually explicit for this niche - most Crete listings leave you to ask.

Four hours, in a garden, with a local host who is there to talk as much as to teach. It is the most relaxed of the Rethymno options and the one to pick if your idea of a good afternoon involves a long table and no schedule.

Highlights

• Cook traditional Cretan dishes with a local host in the village of Pigi
• Spend the afternoon in a garden, picking the vegetables and herbs you use
• Bake in a traditional wood-fired oven
• Eat everything you make outdoors, with wine and raki

What's Included

• ✓ Hands-on cooking class with a local host
• ✓ All cooking equipment and ingredients
• ✓ Full meal, with meat and vegetarian menus both prepared as standard
• ✓ Cretan wine and raki throughout

Not Included

• Hotel pickup and drop-off (available for an extra charge)

What to Bring

• Comfortable closed shoes
• Sun protection

Good to Know & Caveats

• The meeting point depends on which option you book - check your confirmation, and message the operator if anything is unclear.
• Hotel pickup and drop-off is available but costs extra; it is not in the base price.
• Vegetarian versions of the dishes are prepared as standard, so no advance arrangement is needed.
• Almost all of it happens outdoors in a garden, which is lovely in shoulder season and hot at midday in high summer.

Meeting Point

The class is held in a garden in the village of Pigi, outside Rethymno. The meeting point varies with the option you book, and hotel pickup can be added for an extra charge.