Here at the tavern of Agia Paraskevi, you will taste authentic Cretan cuisine with unique ingredients prepared by Yiannis. He cooks traditionally with wood-fired ovens, incredible goat meat, and all kinds of vegetables from his neighboring garden.
At the end of the straight road to Ierapetra, turn right and head towards the mountain village of Christos, in Agia Paraskevi, where you will find the church of the same name, carved into the rock by the hands of God and man.
I visited Agia Paraskevi in Christos for the first time at the urging of my good friend and master of dough and tradition, Kostis Kostakis, you know, the famous “A la Grek” in Halandri, who grew up in the Ierapetra area.
Kostis is a great connoisseur of authentic cuisine, and his encouragement alone was enough to make my destination inevitable.
That’s where you’re going…
“Is that Yannis over there, cooking on the wood fire”
So, when I got there, a forty-something, quick-footed, charming, true Cretan, Yannis, answered my question warmly:
Are you open?
Always!
And he showed me the steps to his own labor.
Climbing up, an unpretentious space in a party of birds, blessed waters, and the presence of God showed you your insignificant trace before them.
The recipes
So there, in the little tavern in Agia Paraskevi, quietly and with almost no electricity, Yannis Karalakis cooks according to the golden rule of Eastern Cretan cuisine.
With whatever is available!
With ingredients you don’t find anymore, on fires kept burning day and night with logs, and with the rock as a “refrigerator,” which keeps the bare essentials cool and dark like a good electric refrigerator.
And he takes care of that himself. In the side garden, as he characteristically calls it, he cultivates whatever the season and the water supply dictate.
He has decided that in order to delight his guests, he does not need elaborate recipes. Does not need the terror of image and complexity. He is satisfied with the “terrible” ability to remove and cultivate the essentials.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplants, small watermelons, which are transferred to your plate when harvest time comes.
The service
And while Mother Nature takes care of the “foundlings,” Yannis or his best man takes care of the blackboard that goes from table to table. There, the dishes are written down and crossed off according to the appetite of the guests and the availability of the blackboard…
A truly unique sight!
The dishes are few but authentic, with a different feel, with the smell and taste of wood and mountains.
You start with the sacred raki, born in the scorched Athanora, the endless effort of an enlightened alchemist, an elixir of immortality.
Followed by tomatoes on dakos and summer potatoes, local yogurt, mizithropites (a type of pie), and pasta in goat’s sauce. Smoky liver, freshly picked zucchini flowers with fresh herbs and rice.
Salad from his garden and oven-baked goat with potatoes, melting with sweetness.
Antikristo, ofto, bamiedes, spongato, a list that changes daily. All accompanied by cool thrapsathiri for those who want white wine or a musky liatiko. Varieties that have been born and cultivated for centuries in the flower beds of Lasithi.
The conclusion
When you visit the tavern of Agia Paraskevi, Yiannis Karalakis’ tavern, you experience a moment when the entire universe comes to a halt.
You hear only the tenderness of the water, the birds, and the people.
I started to leave, and he ran after me, giving me a large jar of honey. Honey from his hives, worth as much as my meal and even more—and a wish for a quick reunion.
This is Crete.
This!
Texts and photos by Giorgio Grigor
Main photo by Leonidas Klontzas May 19
At #TasteLocalGreece, we taste and promote all our favorite hangouts.
The local products we discover, the places we visit, and those that fit our philosophy.
The taverns we discover in our culinary quests. Our articles have no commercial benefit. Often, the restaurants we visit are unaware that we will be mentioning them.
They are all our personal experiences, and we share them with you. We strive to highlight forgotten flavors, authenticity, and simplicity that have been lost from our lives.
We strive to highlight forgotten flavors, authenticity, and simplicity that have been lost from our lives.
The information we provide is based on the period when we visited the place.
