Maria is a professional chef who has worked in the culinary world since 1998. She is passionate about Greek cuisine and loves to showcase the unique ingredients and flavors that can be found in the various regions and islands of Greece. She loves creating food that has a strong sense of place by using local ingredients and techniques. Maria has lived on Syros for 4 years and strongly believes the island is a herbal paradise. She now specializes in collecting and using wild herbs and greens in her cooking, along with organic products from local farms, exceptional Cycladic cheeses, and spices and grains which give the dishes a unique, fresh and often unexpected flavor. Maria presents a journey into time, feeling the history and culture of Syros in your plate and enjoying Greek hospitality at its best. Enjoy a traditional Cycladic meal at Maria’s table. Her cooking highlights fresh, organic ingredients and wild herbs. Your meal will be heavily seasonal and might include dishes such as black-eyed beans, tomato, zucchini rocket, purslane and capers salad, fava padremeni (yellow split peas from Iraklia island served with slowly cooked onions, sun dried capers and sun dried tomato), vlita (local greens) with tyrovolia (local cheese from Syros island) and petroti (Cycladic cheese) baked in the oven with tomatoes, tourlou (a mixture of seasonal vegetables baked with chickpeas), melitzanes Dellagratsiano, a kind of mousaka, aubergines with local cheese, gruyere and San Michali, and tomato sauce and seasonal salads using both foraged ingredients as well as organic, cultivated vegetables. Your meal will end with tea or coffee and a sweet. Maria also offers a foraging tour and cooking experience, which begins with a walk near Maria’s home where she will teach you how to identify and gather wild herbs and greens. Depending on the season, you will collect herbs like sage, St. John’s wort, sea fennel and other greens and wild herbs. Maria shares her historical and scientific knowledge about the plants, as well as their use in herbal medicine and how to cook them in unexpected combinations. Once you have collected enough ingredients, you will return to Maria’s home kitchen and learn how to turn these wild plants and organic cultivated vegetables and legumes, into your meal. This is a hands-on cooking experience and Maria will guide you through the process, sharing cooking techniques, nutritional information and her stories as you cook together. You’ll prepare a unique, traditional Greek meal that is outside the mainstream of Greek food and highlights local cheeses, vegetables, legumes and grains. Traditionally meat was used sparingly so the meal will focus on vegetable-rich dishes that are highlighted with meat. Note that local Greek wine is included in the cost of your experience.