Traditional Cretan Cheese Making Workshop, Spiridi Farm

What You Do

A local shepherd runs the session. You start with the goats, milking and feeding them, then move to the cheese. With the shepherd you make malaka, the soft, stretchy fresh cheese used in Cretan cooking, and mizithra, the island's whey cheese. While the mizithra sets you taste two finished cheeses, graviera and anthotyros, and hear how cheese has been made in Crete. At the end you eat the fresh cheese you made with homemade meze and raki.

Prices and Booking

Adults pay €40, children aged 6 to 12 pay €20 and children under 6 are free. Book through the farm's website. The workshop runs only with two or more people. Cancel at least 24 hours ahead for a full refund; if the weather stops the session, you are offered another date or your money back. Children must be with an adult. Phone +30 28410 24139 or +30 6944 630 706.

Practical Details

The farm is at the 2nd kilometre of the Agios Nikolaos to Elounda road, between the two towns and easy to reach by car or taxi. The workshop is wheelchair accessible. Wear light, comfortable clothes and shoes you do not mind getting dusty in the goat pen. Spiridi is a working olive oil farm, so ask about its other farm activities when you book.

Elsewhere in Crete

For a longer day in the mountains, the Shepherd's Shelter on Psiloritis runs milking and cheesemaking from April to October, and the summer cheese festivals are worth timing a trip around.