Retreats! Athens, Corfu and special discounts
Early bird discounts for you, my special subscribers!
Buongiorno da Milano!
I’ve hopped over to Italy for a few weeks but that’s not to say I’m not hard at work planning my favourite events of the year - my food focused retreats in Greece!!
Thanks everyone for being patient. A few of you have been in touch asking about the next retreats and now I’m really pleased to announce that I’ve added new dates on my website...
One is hot on the heels of Christmas in January (because who doesn’t need a food related pick-me-up in the middle of winter?) and the other is in May. There’s more info on each of the retreats below but I want to quickly note here that the two are very different from each other! Athens is a long weekend and really a love letter to my city. It’s a city break full of culture, heady nights and a TOP food offer. Corfu is a longer sojourn into nature, involving hiking, meeting producers and getting to know my island on a really personal level. You’ll meet my Yiayia and we’ll eat at my favourite places. I can’t decide which I love most but I can say I’ve packed an incredible amount of delicious stuff into both itineraries…
An Epicurean’s Weekend in Athens
12-15 January 2024
My Epicurean’s Weekend in Athens will take place on the weekend of 12-15th of January. That’s because it still tends to be a sweet 20 degrees C in January and I manage to swim right the way up until February. Athens in January is a treat for anyone living in colder climes… I so hope you’ll join me in my city to discover just how glorious it truly is.
Athens is a city that is best lived with a local. It’s sprawling and packed with hidden spots that you have to really know about to experience.
It’s a chaotic, frenetic meeting point between East and West but in this jungle, balconies drip with tropical flora, farmers’ markets pop up to colour the streets with the primary hues of Greece’s best produce and tavernas spill out onto pavements and plateias (squares), contributing to the rich, cultural tapestry of the city.
On this Epicurean’s weekend in Athens, we will dine in hidden tavernas, stay in beautiful mid-century apartments that showcase the best of Athens’ golden period of architecture and stalk out the very best places to shop (think wild mountain tea, spices, oregano and flea markets of course).
We’ll drink Greece’s best wines in buzzing wine bars and stay up late to the twang of the bouzouki and mandolin while swilling raki and ouzo. Then the next day we’ll recover with Greek coffee and a peek into our future…
All my subscribers get a cheeky ‘early bird’ discount that runs until Christmas with the code MERRYYIAYIA but if you want an even bigger chunk off the overall price, do consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Flavours of Corfu Retreat
11-16 May 2024
Every summer I’m flooded with messages for ‘Corfu tips’. This retreat is the ultimate combination of those tips. It’s wild flower foraging in endless olive groves that end in secret beaches, learning to brew traditional Greek coffee with my Yiayia, getting to know the inspiration behind my books Yiayia and Grand Dishes, those old ladies dressed in black, hidden behind beaded curtains.
On this retreat we’ll stroll the narrow, cobbled streets of Corfu’s UNESCO listed old town, we’ll meet producers and eat at the very best of Corfu’s restaurants and sea-front tavernas. We’ll cook Corfiot dishes as a group and enjoy the company of new people in a beautiful, 18th Century Venetian villa.
This is an eating holiday. There’s no yoga or mindfulness. What there is, is cooking, indulging, as well as hiking, swimming and some art workshops that combine our love for food with a playful, creative element. There’s also dancing. I can’t host an event without dancing!
It’s simply about showing you the very best of my island’s secrets while eating some really good food and having fun in the process.
Special discount code for my paid subscribers…
Writing this newsletter is a part of my job and I believe that all writing and journalism deserves to be paid for. Thanks so much for supporting me in my work. Your paid subscription helps me to continue what I’m doing, cooking with the world’s grandmothers and archiving their life lessons and special recipes before they’re lost forever.
As a thank you, I’d love to extend this £150 special retreat discount for you so that you might want to come and enjoy what I try and share in this newsletter in person.
It’s valid until Christmas day (25 December) - in case you’d like to also gift someone a space on the retreat…
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