Self-Catering

Up until recently, I wasn't the greatest fan of self-catering' holidays. I had visions of boring stuff you do at home, such as cooking, cleaning, shopping and washing up and eating what you'd eat at home. It was, I thought, purely for families seeking the cheapest option.

But, what it really means is the freedom to eat what you like, where you like and when you like, without the constraints of hotel dining room menus and opening times. Often, the food offered, while very good, isn't local' cuisine.

The apartment I rented in Crete, changed all that. All I bought at the supermarket was some coffee and yoghurt for breakfast. I do like to have my breakfast before I've showered and dressed; that's something you can't really do in a hotel. Later, I bought some cheese and crackers, for when I felt like a snack. The rest of the time, I ate out.

And, I didn't have to clean or wash up. The room was serviced just as a hotel room would be; the bed made, the bins emptied and my coffee cup washed.

I was looking for real Cretan food. I'd already been informed that Cretan cuisine was like Greek, only better!' but where was I going to find it? There were bars, cafes and restaurants all along the beach, and the road paralleling it. Out of curiosity, I checked the menu of one of them, picked at random, and, out of the twenty dishes on offer, only four could be said to be genuine Greek cuisine.

However, I'd been given some good advice by the apartment operators. Go up the hill, I was told. The further inland you go, the more Cretan and better the food is!

I climbed the hill to the old' village, passing quite a few restaurants on the way. I went to the highest of them all. Here, home-cooked food is served, and live local songs are sung. We were simply brought a selection of mezes and a huge platter of mixed meats, and told to help ourselves.

Other occasions, I ate at a restaurant in the plateia just down the hill. There was an outside veranda with a superb view of the White Mountains, and it was so new, they hadn't had any menus printed yet. But Mamma', in spite of apologies for her poor English, did a good job of explaining what was on offer; succulent, oven-baked pork on one night, and lamb chops cooked as only Greeks can cook them on the second.

And salad! I swear, if I wanted more, she'd have to send someone out to the garden to pick some.

At both of these places I found the little extra touches that make a Cretan meal so memorable. The sweet little something, brought with the coffee, at no extra charge, and the little carafe of raki.

That's something they don't do in hotel dining rooms very often at the prices they have to charge to attract the tourist, they can't afford to provide many extras'

So, generally, the rule to find real Cretan cuisine is go inland; go uphill. There's another advantage to this practice, too. With a load of Mythos' beer, wine and/or raki on board, the way to your bed is mainly downhill!

Learn more about this author, Keith K..
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