2019-2021

We had a lovely time with Maria from Mamas flavours. She is a really spontaneous person with great knowledge of Kalamata, the special places and of course about the culture. Since we will be moving to Kalamata soon, this was for us the best way to get to know our new city. I think this should be mandatory for everybody who is coming to Kalamata. Because it is the best way to integrate ;) Now we know where to buy our dairy products, our meat and a lot more. Highly recommended!

TO DO IT IF YOU LIKE GREEK FOOD…
Maria, our guide for the visit and tasting of products in Kalamata was very nice, happy to share experiences, suggestions and her passion for food, local products and small shops.
We had less time for the visit than we would have initially pick up due to flight departure time, but we would recommend any activity proposed as we much enjoy the one we had and are looking forward to our next cooking class. Many thanks, Maria and see you soon.

We thank you very much for the wonderful evening. We had a great time and we enjoyed not only the cooking class but also the food, which was delicious!

We had a really great time with Maria. We can only recommend going with the ‘Traditional food and olive tasting’ tour. Maria will let you experience so many different local specialities that you definitely won’t go home not loving Greek food. Maria is really passionate about food and will surprise you with her enthusiasm and knowledge. The locals you will meet are equally passionate about their products and will give you a warm welcome. A great way to experience Greek traditional food. We really enjoyed our time in Kalamata, the food, the people, the atmosphere, and it was definitely a highlight of our trip!

Unforgettable, fun experience in Kalamata - a must do (Stephen)
Thank you Mama’s Flavours in Kalamata, Peloponnese, Greece! The generosity of time and spirit Maria, George V. Koutelas, and Kelly gave us on a beautiful, sunny day in Kalamata was a treat. Hours flew by discussing olive growing in the groves, tasting the differences in types of olive oil, and enjoying the delicious light lunch at a favorite Taverna. Easily one of the best highlights of an 11 day trip touring the Peloponnese. Do yourself a favor and book some time with Mama’s Flavours. Adds an important, personalized experience in between historic sites in this amazing country!

A great experience curated by Maria. Highly recommend it! (Carolyn)
Lovely, personalized experience with Maria. Visit to the grove, olive oil tasting and light lunch were fantastic! From the moment we met Maria we knew we were in for a treat. She goes above and beyond to create an authentic, informational and fun Greek experience. She is so positive, friendly, knowledgeable and truly cares about treating her guests to an authentic experience. The visit to the grove and olive oil tasting with George, a professional certified taster was perfect - he is experienced and answered all of our questions. If you are looking for an authentic small olive oil tasting that is fun, casual and flavorful, this is it! Be sure to enjoy the light lunch - the small bites were fantastic and a highlight of our taverna meals. Thank you so much for your gracious hospitality and awesome experience! You are the best! We hope to return again with friends. Highly recommend Maria and Mama’s Flavours!

The cooking class was excellent! Me and my wife cooked moussaka from scratch with Christos, the Head chef, and Maria who welcomed us in a very warm way. From cutting the vegetables, the potatoes, preparing the béchamel sauce to the oven! Moussaka was delicious and accompanied with appetizers and fine wine. Thank you so much for this experience!

Our family of 5 adults and 1 three year old had a wonderful time touring multiple, unique food venues and learning about Greek food culture and traditions.
Maria was so passionate about everything she shared with us and she really made us feel engaged and well cared for. Our three year old had a lot of fun with the hands on dough rolling and the adults enjoyed the many different tastes of Kalamata.
It was a lovely day that engaged all of our senses: sight, taste, touch, smell and sound!

As a travel advisor specializing in sharing authentic Greece for the last 17 years I have looked far and wide to find like minded trustworthy partners with a passion for the food, flavors and culture that makes Greece unique and special. Finding Maria was like finding an oasis in the desert after a very long journey. In Mama's Flavors Maria has made accessible the types of experiences that only a local knows - and she's developed relationships with the locals who are normally busy with their daily lives and the products they grow, harvest, prepare and market to the local community. The people one meets during her tours and classes aren't making their living off of tourism and that's important because it means these aren't experiences developed to sell to tourists, they're authentic experiences designed to off travelers a peak into Real Greece. Maria, you're simply amazing!

Maria, thanks so much!!

We had a wonderful time! Thank you so much for your friendly help, the amazing tour and for the lovely day!

Andrea Estell E.: Such an incredible day/experience!
Jessica P.: This was such an awesome adventure!
Erin E.: A beautiful, beautiful day!!!
Sheila E.: Best bachelorette extravaganza! And with the sweetest kindest ladies. Still smiling!
Pam A.: Thank you so much @mamas_flavours for the most perfect event yesterday- from the thoughtful snacks to the beautiful lunch with and Greek traditions. We had the BEST time....you are amazing!!
Georgia A.: Thank you Maria and Mama’s flavours for an amazing time and for making this bachelorette party so memorable and unique!! Everything was so very well planned, organized and executed. Maria, the host, provided thoughtful gifts to all of us and snacks on the boat. The lunch at the olive grove was exquisite and delicious with amazing views of the sea. The food was amazing made with local, fresh products and the explanation of local wedding customs was a great add on. The boat tour was also amazing, barba Yianni our captain was awesome. The boat experience was a true Greek experience with a local captain, we felt comfortable and relaxed. Communication was top notch and we were so very well taken care of. Thank you, we wish you much success and look forward to booking one of your other tours on our next trip to Greece. This experience was far above our expectations, I highly recommend it!

Nous avons fait un tour de Kalamata cet été en famille, dont deux adolescents, en compagnie de Maria et Vasiliki. Il s'agissait d'une demi-journée d'un tour gastronomique au centre ville. Sans cette visite, Kalamata, sans grand caractère par rapport à Neapolis par exemple, nous aurait complètement échappé.
Grâce à nos guide, nous avons pu entrer dans diverses boutiques pour en goûter les diverses spécialités, café, biscuits, huile, fromage, vin etc. (de quoi remplir l'estomac des jeunes) et pu parler avec beaucoup de gens sympathiques qu'il aurait été dommage de ne pas rencontrer. Notre visite du Péloponnèse en a été enrichie, merci.
English: We made a tour in Kalamata city this summer with our family, including two teenagers, and along with Maria and Vasiliki. It was a half day gastronomic tour in the city centre. Kalamata, which hasn't so special character, compared with Neapolis for example, if it wasn't this visit we would have missed it.
Thanks to our leaders, we visited several local shops and tried different delicacies such as coffee, biscuits, olive oil, cheese, wine etc. (enough to sate the appetite for the teens) and we had the chance to talk with a lot of kind people, who it would be very pity not to have met them. Our visit to Peloponesse was more enriched thanks to this Food tour, thank you!

The Food tour in Kalamata was just excellent!! We really enjoyed the time spent with you discovering the excellent local specialties. We wish you all the best!

We were very happy with the time of the tour, we saw and did so much and didn’t feel rushed!!
My wife and I took the food tour with additional wine, olive oil, and honey tastings. The tour was so much more than we expected. Maria was warm and very knowledgeable about Kalamata and its local products. This is the type of immersive cultural experience that we look for on vacation, where we get to interact with people and get both a literal and figurative “taste” of what it’s like to be a local. Last but certainly not least, the food was amazing. We learned a lot, ate plenty, and bought some treats to take back with us. One tip, don’t eat breakfast before the tour.
Thanks again for an amazing tour and best of luck with everything!

Regarding Kalamata, Maria has wonderful energy, put in a ton of work and creativity, and was very generous with her time. We generally enjoyed the day. But, it was a bit too long (especially because of the heat) and not very cohesive.
D and I agree that she could vastly improve the tour by sitting down at the very beginning with participants and giving an overview – perhaps a history of the food of the region (maybe with a map), explaining up front where we’d be visiting and why, and what the schedule would be. Also, she should shorten it to 4 hours. I personally think it might have been even better if only Maria gave the tour on her own (rather than splitting up tour guiding with a second tour leader).

Our review would contain only the best. Exploring Kalamata and the Peloponnese in general was very exciting with Maria. Maria herself loves good food and ingredients and knows where to get them. The 4.5 hours were a perfect mix of historical facts, stories about the food and traditions and friendly contacts with local stores who sell high quality products to fair prices. Nobody expected you to buy something so the atmosphere was very relaxing. Thank you very much for this experience! Thank you very much Maria!

A fantastic cooking competition along with a famous Greek chef, under the Greek sun among olive trees ...Thirty (30!) amazing smiling faces, eager to learn and have a nice time! Delicious homemade food full of local tastes and aromas by Mama's flavours sealed the gastronomic experience!

The olive oil tasting was fantastic! Giorgos and Maria introduced us to the olive oil world with enthusiasm and professionalism, answered all our questions and we liked it very much. Time went by quickly and pleasantly and we left with the best impressions and more knowledge about this unique gift of nature: the olive oil! Highly recommend it!

Thank you so much for the fabulous gourmet tour of Kalamata today, it was a wonderful experience!

Greek Lunch
You should try it out! The wines were of high quality and very tasty! Of course the lunch was something that you cannot find easily to taste, except if you have a Greek mama to cook it for you! Maria our tour guide was also fantastic!!

A fantastic gastronomy tour with authentic people!! I loved it! Maria, our leader was great with her smile and her knowledge! Although Laconia region is something more than an hour from Kalamata, we did not get bored and she made our tour a great experience!

Wonderful Day with lots of Greek tastes in Messinia!
Wonderful travelling and organised tour to one traditional Greek place in Messinia. All was planned and wonderful. The teacher as we can say, the food, the whole was an extraordinary experience for us. I am from Kalamata but I didn't know so much so it was a surprise for me to learn and taste new traditional food. I would highly recommend it. It is worth it every euro. Maria has done incredible work.

19th century cook books!!!
I would recommend it without any doubt! The Cookware Museum with its old books of 19th century (!) really impressed me! The two storey stone establishment was one of the most beautiful libraries I have ever visited! Maria told us about the local gastronomy of Arcadia and customs of the area, very friendly and so so nice!

Gastronomy tour
All was awesome! The local people, our enthusiastic local guide Maria, who answered all our questions and kept our interest alive in the whole tour!! The women in the workshop were very friendly and with them we prepared delicious food!! Thank you all for everything!

Great tour!
Maria our tour guide is simply amazing from the beginning till the end of the tour! The view above the Castle was amazing! It was so beautiful to see an olive grove valley in front of you! Also the olive oil tasting was exactly as we expected it. Personally I loved the local delicacies!!

An exciting wine tour!!
A wonderful experience! The wine tasting was great and the wines were flavorful and accompanied with delicious local delicacies: the handmade pie was fantastic! Also, we liked very much that Maria introduced us to the local customs and Greek gastronomy during our tour! Smiling and very polite she made our tour a great experience, thank you, Maria!!

A..delicious authentic experience!
I love cooking and travelling in different countries for new tastes. This experience was one of my best! The cooking lesson with the local ladies had been for me a new great experience and sure I will come again to taste the Kalamata olives and trahana (a fermented milk pasta that Greek local women make in the summer!).
Maria, our tour guide was amazing and so friendly with us! I recommended it for anyone who travels to Arcadia and wants to taste authentic Greek food!!

It reminded of my childhood years!
I love eating good food, especially when it is made from old traditional recipes of our grandmothers! The tour has exactly this characteristic, which impressed me! A unique experience for me!!

Amazing olive oil experience
So close to Kalamata and Ancient Messini this small village has its own interesting history! Thank you mama’s flavours for the tour, everything the service, the olive oil tasting, the treats were fantastic!!

Laconia Olive Oil & Wine tasting tour
We enjoyed it very much! Well organized, Maria, our leader, ‘’travelled’’ us into the past with her interesting narrations during the tour! Our visit in the Olive Oil Museum in Sparta in combination with the olive oil tasting gave us an all embracing icon of the great history of the olive in Greece!

Hospitality and delicious food!
Laconia is one of my favourite regions to travel! During our tour, Maria told us about the exciting and very interesting history of Greek Gastronomy. Visiting the eco-touristic farm was something more than I expected! Maria, Fragkiskos and Marilena were absolutely professionals!
Very friendly, they explained to us about the ingredients of the recipe and revealed some secrets about how to cook the best gemista (stuffed peppers and tomatoes)!! It had so much fun! Definitely do it again, thank you guys!