Homemade Greek Food Just for You

Tired of restaurants? Book a cooking lesson and a delicious meal at a food blogger’s home

Traveling Spoon features photographs of mums from all corners of the world cooking in their own kitchen, began with the bright idea of enabling travelers to find a home while on holidays where they could enjoy home-cooked food. The website’s users can spend an afternoon with a family in another part of the world for a homemade meal as part of the overall cultural experience. In Greece, travelers may enjoy such meals in Athens, Thessaloniki and the island of Mykonos.

Angelina Kalogeropoulou is an Athens-based Traveling Spoon hostess. A food journalist, accustomed to presenting Greek culinary specialties to people from abroad through her bilingual blog twominutesangie.com and by cooking for guests at luxury villas on the islands during the summer, she welcomed us to her home in the capital’s northern suburbs. Like all housewives who are particularly keen to pamper their guests, Kalogeropoulou never really settled into her seat during our visit. She frequently sprung to her feet to serve us one specialty after another. “Try the giouvetsi (casserole with chicken, lamb or beef with pasta in a spicy red sauce). You still haven’t tried the prasopita (leek pie),” she reminded us while shuttling back and forth. The irresistible food temptation aside, we were focused on taking optimal shots of her dishes.

Typical everyday Greek food may not be that Instagram friendly. Certain dishes may appear slightly drab in terms of appearance, but they carry a long history and are really good. Feta, locally produced Naxos cheese and slow-cooked revythada (creamy chickpea soup) are just some examples of the ordinary-looking yet special Greek food experience. The Greek culinary range also offers abundant choices for vegetarians. The underlying philosophy at Traveling Spoon is to offer foodies the opportunity to try all sorts of comfort food. “Seasonal, local and well-cooked food is the international trend at present, and Greek cuisine combines all these aspects,” Kalogeropoulou points out.

Kalogeropoulou’s dishes are uncompromising in terms of quality. She purchases all her ingredients at organic markets or from small-scale producers. Visitors are also provided the opportunity to cook with her, if they wish. “You can’t compare us to a restaurant. In our case, hospitality is offered on an entirely personal basis. Guests and hosts sit together at the same table,” she points out.

As one can imagine, the food served ends up not being the main factor at play during the experience. “I’m always rejecting myths about Greece. During these dinners, you are given the opportunity to listen to the other side’s reality and talk about yours. Ultimately, no matter how different our respective environments are, we end up talking about human issues. They want to know about things like where you met your husband and how you raise your children. It’s very important that we continue to sit around one table. The food served enables this. It opens up hearts.”

Learn more about Angelina Kalogeropoulou
Meal prices range from 50 to 170 euros per person.

∗Photos by Marika Tsouderou