ECOCLUB Blogs™

  Petition created by Yiorgos Dimitriadis, Sustainable Organic Farmer in Crete, Greece: To: Mr. S. Arnaoutakis, Elected head of the Prefecture of Crete Island Cc. Mr. K. Skandalidis, Minister of Rural Development and Food, Greece We, the undersigned, members of the international community, strongly believe that, the official Cretan Diet dietary model, which is currently being formulated by your office and is intended to become the official guideline for the professional food-service, must include and promote as its first priority the use of local and, as its strong preference, certified organic food products. If this direction is omitted, Crete will have missed a historic opportunity to bring out the true value of its diet, offering healthy food for all, supporting the Cretan farmer and at the same time directing him towards a sustainable way of farming that protects the environment and ensuring self-sufficiency for the future. The link: http://www.gopetition.com/petition/44206.html (text in Greek follows)   κ. Σ. Αρναουτάκη, Αιρετό Περιφερειάρχη Κρήτης κ. Κ. Σκανδαλίδη, Υπουργού Γεωργικής Ανάπτυξης και Τροφίμων Εμείς οι συνυπογράφοντες, θεωρούμε ότι το επίσημο διατροφικό πρότυπο της Κρητικής Διατροφής, το οποίο επεξεργάζονται οι υπηρεσίες σας ώστε να αποτελέσει γνώμονα για την κρητική κουζίνα επαγγελματικής εστίασης, θα πρέπει να προβλέπει και...

  Washington DC, March 14, 6:30 - 10:30 pm: Historic Food Routes of Crete, Greece Lecture at the Embassy of Greece by Donald Haggis, Professor of Classical Archaeology, “Farming, Feasting and the Foundations of the Early Greek City.” Lecture followed by a 4-course dinner at Mourayo Restaurant. Program coordinated by Nikki Rose, Professional Chef-Author and Founder of Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries. http://www.cookingincrete.com/CCS-Donald-Haggis-Lecture-Greek-Embassy-2011.html

Ancient Grains and Modern Tastes Kritamon Restaurant, Archanes, Crete Tuesday, February 1, 2011 7:00 pm - 10:30 pm Presented by Chef-Proprietor Dimitris Mavrakis, Kritamon Restaurant Organic Vintner Evangelos Sinadinakis, Eltina Wines in collaboration with Nikki Rose of Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries A four-course dinner featuring fresh, local organic ingredients paired with organic wines. Full menu link 26 Euros per person Advance reservations required. Space is limited to 30 people. Contact Kritamon directly to make reservations Tel 2810 753092 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. www.kritamon.gr  

University of Missouri and Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries 10-Day Seminar Study Abroad in Greece: The Mediterranean Diet and Lifestyle May 17 - 27, 2011 Students will study aspects of the Mediterranean diet through activities: visits to organic farms, markets and olive oil producers, food preparation demonstrations and classes. The program includes private tours of historic sites, botanical hikes, cultural activities and community-based tourism projects. Learning opportunities will be provided by MU Nutrition and Exercise Physiology faculty, Professional Chef-Instructor Nikki Rose and Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries Eco-Agritourism Network (8-days in Crete) and Antonia Trichopoulou, PhD, Mediterranean Diet researcher, University of Athens, (2-days in Athens). This program is also open to teachers and students of other educational institutions (based on availability). Limited to 20 participants. UM program details: http://extension.missouri.edu/hes/studyabroad/Greece/ Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries: www.cookingincrete.com

Greetings, Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries 2-Day Seminars Discover a taste of Crete's fascinating cultural and culinary heritage.  Enjoy private guided tours of ancient sites, historic villages, an organic winery and organic vegetable garden. Savor wonderful fresh and local cuisine along the way. This program is limited to 12 attendees, providing a unique opportunity to discover Crete's heritage in the company of resident specialists. Available Dates in 2011 (please contact us first to confirm space is still available): May 10 and 11 June 21 and 22 June 28 and 29 Details are on the Schedule Page of our website. Crete's Culinary Sanctuaries Eco-Agritourism Network www. cookingincrete.com

  Greetings, A short slide show of Crete's Culinary Sanctuaries Historic Food and Wine Routes Seminar is up!  http://www.14dd5266c70789bdc806364df4586335-gdprlock/watch?v=RGED3W_SGRA Also, deadline for scholarships is December 1st. Information on our Schedule page. http://www.cookingincrete.com/Schedule.html Best regards, Nikki

Nikki Rose in Archaeological Institute of America Magazine Interview: The Joy of Cretan Cooking November 9, 2010| by Eti Bonn-Muller Chef-instructor Nikki Rose talks about the importance of protecting Crete’s natural and cultural resources—and how “green” the Minoans really were. http://www.archaeological.org/news/aianews/3303 Note that CCS is not affiliated with or supported by any public or private agency in Greece or anywhere else. [Finally, some media outlets are not deleting my text about UN-sustainable issues in Crete!] Excerpt ...modern, conventional agriculture, using chemicals that are harmful to all living beings, was not practiced on Crete until the 20th century. Illegal, industrial over-fishing in Greece is a major problem, in addition to global water pollution. I don’t know how our small-scale fishers survive. In fact, many of them have given up fishing or fish just as a hobby now, which is unfortunate. Yet we still enjoy many ingredients just as our ancestors did, as well as dishes that evolved from layers of history, discovery, and trade. There is still a lot of subsistence farming—urban and suburban gardens—and an increasing amount of small-scale commercial organic agriculture that is similar to ancient times. Most of our sheep and goats still have some territory to graze on...

  The Economist is hosting a debate and welcoming the public to vote on whether or not they think biotechnology and sustainable agriculture are complimentary. http://www.economist.com/debate/debates/overview/187 [Suicide seeds. Starve the world. Any other great ideas from the biotech industry?]

  Crete's Culinary Sanctuaries is offering partial scholarships for professional researchers and college students for our May and June 2011 public seminars.  The schedule: http://www.cookingincrete.com/Schedule.html Deadline to apply is December 1, 2010. Contact us for more information. Please use subject line:  Seminar Scholarships info[at]cookingincrete.com

  Greetings Everyone, FYI, my paper submitted to various international conferences focusing on cultural-natural heritage, tourism, sociology, sustainable organic agriculture and traditional cuisine. To me, all of these topics are interrelated and comprise our work in Crete. As those of us actually working in the field of ecotourism/sustainable tourism already know, it's impossible for us to travel the globe to speak about our work at conferences. Time and money is a major barrier to get the word out about small-scale projects. The media is in the dark if they don't know our projects exist. And we are at the mercy of people that present case studies they have not personally implemented or even experienced. Usually those case studies are about very large-scale projects that are heavily funded. That leaves the majority of crucial and worthy projects out of the media loop and the traveler's radar. So this paper was one solution -- when I could not attend conferences, I at least submitted it in the hopes that it would be included. And it was most of the time, thankfully. I suggest that all small-scale ecotourism practitioners consider doing the same. Your voices should be heard at conferences about your work, whether...