2024

Amazing private tour and tasting!
As if an olive oil tasting wasn’t cool enough, Maria makes this experience absolutely over the top. We took a walk around an olive grove and learned so much about olive trees and olives, then went to an olive oil factory to see how it’s made!
Then we did a Greek lunch in downtown Kalamata with Maria. Simply the coolest experience! Maria also gave us the most precious and thoughtful parting gifts.

Very interesting. A number of things we didn’t know. Thanks a lot Maria!

Marvelous Insight to the Olive Tree and the Gifts It Provides
Greece offers a stunning variety of hidden gems for those who visit. Many of those gems are hidden by the obvious glories like the Athenian Acropolis, Mycenae, and others.
The tour provided by Maria was one such amazing gem. As a guide, she provided my wife and me with insights into the gastronomic delights of cuisine from the Peloponnese. The tour of her olive grove, the mill where the olives were processed, and the olive oil tasting were an eye-opening experience for us; we now know the difference between "virgin olive oil" and "extra virgin olive oil."
No exaggeration at all, her tour was among the VERY best experiences we had on a trip filled with many marvelous experiences. The best part? Maria provided us with recipes that will allow us to use the knowledge she imparted to us. With the holiday season approaching, we will most certainly try her recipes out. LOL, we won't be boring family and friends with endless photos and stories. Yeah, they'll get those, but we can feed them with her recipes as we drone on about what we saw and did. Food is marvelous for covering a multitude of shortcomings.

Gregarious guide, informed experts, and fabulous food
My 13-year old children were a little wary of this event. I had dragged them to historical site after historical site and they were beginning to seem a little bit bored with all the history.
Enter Maria and Mamas Flavours!
This was a completely different type of experience, and in every way good. The kids were excited to try a lot of different types of local food, my wife was happy to see more of modern life in Greece, and we were all happy with how engaging and welcoming Maria and all the local experts we met were.
The highlight was learning about olives and olive oil, not just through discussion and videos, but with hands on (and mouths on) tasting and analysis. But the snacks, the coffee, the candy, and perhaps most of all, the meal were fantastic.
Greece has thousands of years of history and is justly proud of its culture. But Maria reminded us that the culture is still alive and well today, and it tastes terrific.

Educational, fun and delicious
Very interesting and educational experience for the first half touring the grove and olive oil facility. The tasting was great and never knew the depth of olive oil flavor.
You must get the lunch with the event. They take you to the hidden gems of restaurants. Great experience all around!

This was a really excellent tour and well worth the price! Maria is a passionate and informative guide who is easy to talk to and learn from. We knew nothing about olive oil going in, and we learned so much by the end. Visiting an olive grove, an olive oil mill cooperative, and then doing a tasting with a professional taster, we learned all about the process of making olive oil and the history of olives in Greece and had a great time doing it. I would recommend this tour to anyone I knew was going to Greece.

It was one of the highlights of our trip. So much fun and incredibly special. Maria curated an excellent tour and provided opportunities to try great food and speak to the purveyors. You must do this tour!

Super journée!
La gentillesse ainsi que la connaissance de notre guide Maria et très bonne dégustation ou l’on a appris beaucoup de choses!

English:
Great day out!
The kindness and knowledge of our guide Maria and very good tasting where we learned a lot!

Mama's Flavors
We booked a private tour of the traditional food of Kalamata with Maria, and were impressed from the booking until the end of the tour.
Maria's knowledge of the local food, herbs, wild edible plants and their preparation is exhaustive.
She works with some of the best suppliers of local and imported herbs and spices, as well as with producers and suppliers of olive oil, wine and spirits. Maria is personable, energetic, and positive. She exceeded our expectations. We would return for more of her tours. Thank you, Maria.

Een fietstocht door Kalamata die je niet mag missen
Gisteren een fantastische fietstocht gemaakt met Maria! Buiten de goede en enthousiaste uitleg over alles wat er in Kalamata te zien was, nam ze ook de tijd. We wilden graag het gerecht Loukoumades proeven, nou dat kon en werd direct geregeld op een mooi terras aan de haven.
Verder nog wat delicatessen geproefd van Kalamata in plaatselijke winkeltjes. Afgesloten met een zeer uitgebreide lunch met traditionele gerechten.
Maria is een professionele gids met een zeer warme persoonlijkheid en met een hart voor haar vak.

English: A bike tour of Kalamata not to be missed
Had a fantastic bike tour with Maria yesterday! Apart from the good and enthusiastic explanation of everything there was to see in Kalamata, she also took her time. We wanted to taste the dish Loukoumades, well that was possible and immediately arranged on a nice terrace at the harbor. Furthermore, we tasted some delicacies of Kalamata in local stores.
Finished with a very extensive lunch with traditional dishes. Maria is a professional guide with a very warm personality and with a heart for her profession.

A wonderful food tour with Maria
We had the most enjoyable time on our food tour with Maria in Kalamata. The time just flew but there was never a feeling of being rushed. The olive oil tasting was fascinating and we will never buy olive oil in the same way again.
The best bit of all though, was Maria herself. She is so wonderfully warm and personable, we felt at ease with her immediately. It was our first morning in Greece and she made me want to stay forever with a fabulous new friend. We cannot recommend Mama's Flavours highly enough. Thank you, Maria.

Fabulous experience
My husband and I had the best day with Maria. She instantly became our friend. We covered so much ground meeting local producers who welcomed us as friends also. It was so much more than what we expected and we were never rushed.
We highly recommend Maria and look forward one day coming back to Greece to do another tour with her.

Maria’s expert knowledge and experience provided was amazing. Highly recommend if considering.

Will Never Look at Olive Oil the Same Way
We had an amazing tour with Maria. She is very knowledgeable about agriculture, history and gastronomy. We learned so much about not only the olives and the process of making olive oil but also about the environment, history and Greek culture.
Thank you, Maria, for a fantastic experience.

Oil anyone !!!!! What is it all about and how old are the trees :o)
What an AMAZING time we had learning the intricacies of the Olive Oil refining process. So much care and attention to detail regarding the information and how it was delivered to us.
Maria was a lot of fun and very accommodating with our diverse group regarding Greek and English. We learned and were amazed at how resilient the Olive tree is and mostly how old they are. She showed us a 600 year old tree that was thriving on the Olive Tree grove we were on. So much care and technology it’s an amazing process.
For the second part of the tour we went to a small local shop to try 4 different types of Olive Oil. Much like wine there is a grading level, a way to sip and taste, hints of different things for each pallet to find. My favorite was the 3rd option while other family members selected their favorites. Maria, Kelly, and the whole team made us feel comfortable and welcomed !!!!
We also learned about the Sommelier version for Olive Oil. An intense training program of which there are few certified across the country.

We would recommend Maria and this tour to anyone interested in spending 2-3 hours learning and exploring Greece. Kalamata is a magical place and Maria makes it stand out and shine!!!! You can't go wrong here .... book this now!!!!!

Inspiring- great for foodies, history
A must do for all olive oil enthusiasts and foodies visiting Kalamata. A very worthwhile experience. Maria’s knowledge and passion for the area, the olive oil process and all things Greek was spot on. Thank you to her and George who shared their time and wealth of knowledge with us.

Wonderful food and city tour!
We cannot thank Maria enough for a fantastic morning discovering the food and history of Kalamata. We were a family of 5 and from young to old, the trip was enjoyed by all. Most of this was down to Maria -who is very knowledgeable but, foremost, a remarkably pleasant lady and extremely enjoyable company.
Her love for the food of Kalamata and her country was obvious throughout the tour and her popularity among all the people we visited during it was very clear. We had the pleasure of tasting lots of delicious food and drink during our trip and also met the nicest local people who were all very passionate about their produce, especially their olive oil!
Maria please pass on our heartfelt thanks to all especially the gorgeous baristas, olive oil vendors and wine merchants! The O’Brien family.

The highlight of our Greek vacation
Our olive grove tour and olive oil tasting with Maria was so wonderful — a highlight of our entire time in Greece.
In addition to being a personable and kind individual, Maria was so knowledgeable about olive farming, past and present. The tasting portion of the tour was eye opening, giving us a deeper understanding and appreciation for olive oil.
To top it all off, Maria was kind enough to keep our kids engaged, which was a plus.

METHONI SUPER BARCA DEI SOGNI AL TRAMONTO.
Non posso che pubblicare foto che descrivono i paesaggi emozionanti che arrivano nel più profondo dell'anima, meraviglie indescrivibili che tolgono il respiro, e che si possono riassumere soltanto con la loro rappresentazione concreta.

English:
SUPER DREAM BOAT AT SUNSET: Today's trip on the SUPER DREAM BOAT AT SUNSET:
DREAM BOAT AT SUNSET: I can only post photos describing the exciting landscapes that reach to the deepest depths of the soul, indescribable wonders that take one's breath away and can only be summed up by their concrete representation.

So much to know about olives - Maria can tell you
Maria met us at a meeting point near the port and we then drove to the olive grove. We spent an hour at the grove learning about Greek history, gastronomy and how much the simple olive had shaped the history of the Greek people and cuisine.
Being a librarian, Maria had access to lots of detail and made the session very interesting and informative. Her english speaking was also excellent. She allowed us time to take photos before we moved on to the olive oil cooperative refinery.
At the refinery, Maria explained the entire process of how the oil is extracted, showing us all the mechanical processes involved. As well as seeing what took place, she described how the local producers would each have preferences that would impact the ratings and tastes of their final product.
The final part of the tour took place in a shop near to the old part of Kalamata town.
This was a highlight with five samples to taste and rate.
We learned about the scaling system used for olive oils worldwide. We tasted each sample and experienced fruitiness, bitterness and spiciness in varying forms. Each one of us had slightly different preferences. This showed us that choosing olive oil is not just as simple as looking for Virgin or Extra Virgin on the label.
All in all, our while group of 9 people thoroughly enjoyed Maria’s company and benefited from her extensive knowledge. Well worth trying out this tour. You’ll never look at olive oil in the same way ever again.

Des rencontres enrichissantes et humaines
Merci pour cette fin d'après-midi et cette soirée exceptionnelle. Tout d'abord, nous visitons une oliveraie où les techniques traditionnelles sont respectées mêlant respect de l'environnement avec un travail sur le respect de l'écosystème et en agriculture biologique et un travail méditerranéen quasi antique. Maria nous parlera avec beaucoup de passion de la Grèce et son histoire et ensuite, nous visiterons une belle coopérative.
Passons à la dégustation, où nous rencontrons des passionnés de l'huile d'olive (et du voilier :)) qui nous auront appris à déguster de l'huile d'olive comme du vin, et qui nous ont fait partager leurs passions de l'huile d'olive grec (et nous auront fait comparé avec l'huile française et espagnol que nous connaissons depuis toujours).
Étant des hôtes remarquables, ils nous ont même conseillés pour la suite de notre périple en voilier pour pouvoir voir les endroits grecs magnifiques et pas trop touristiques. Un grand merci de la part d'Anais, Jennifer et Arthur. Ps: Bien prévoir une voiture, nous avons failli nous faire avoir, car ce n'est pas très bien expliqué et clair sur la présentation de l'excursion.
Enriching, human encounters
Thank you for an exceptional late afternoon and evening. First of all, we visit an olive grove where traditional techniques are respected, combining respect for the environment with work on respecting the ecosystem and organic farming, and almost ancient Mediterranean craftsmanship. Maria will talk to us with great passion about Greece and its history, and then we'll visit a beautiful cooperative.
On to the tasting, where we meet some olive oil enthusiasts (and sailboat enthusiasts :)) who will have taught us how to taste olive oil like wine, and who will have shared with us their passion for Greek olive oil (and made us compare it with the French and Spanish oil we've known all our lives). Being remarkable hosts, they even advised us on the next stage of our sailboat trip, so that we could see the beautiful and not-too-touristy places in Greece. Many thanks from Anais, Jennifer and Arthur.
Ps: Make sure you bring your own car, as we almost got taken for a ride, as it's not very well explained and clear on the excursion presentation.

Amazing Cooking Experience with Mama's Flavours!
I booked a cooking class for my daughter and me with Mama's Flavours, and we had a great time! Chef Chris was incredibly patient and helpful throughout the class. His depth of knowledge on cooking and different cuisines was impressive. We requested to make moussaka, and the dish turned out delicious! I hope we can replicate it at home.
Maria was also wonderful, providing excellent translation and support. She was fun to talk to about Greece and general subjects, giving us a great local perspective. It was a warm and welcoming experience that added to our Greek vacation.
Maria followed up with the recipes and pictures from the class. The entire experience was both educational and enjoyable. I highly recommend Mama's Flavours to anyone looking for a fun and informative cooking experience!

A beautiful day with spectacular wine ❤
Maria is amazing. The best tour guide. So warm, knowledgeable, thoughtful & fun! We toured a local winery in Messinia and the winery owner, Theodoris was a great host. His wine is outstanding. We had a wonderful time!

A Must-Do Authentic Greek Experience
From start to finish this was an amazing tour. It was very cool to learn not only about the olive oil making process, but also about the history of what makes olives so special to the Greek people.
The tour guide, Maria, was incredible. She was very knowledgeable and very passionate about what she does, which made the experience that much more memorable.
At the end of the tour we were able to buy olives and olive oil from the local shop where we did our tasting!
I would highly recommend this tour for anyone looking for a truly authentic Greek experience, or if you just have a love for olive oil. I'd suggest signing up for the added lunch and wine to complete the experience.

Lovely afternoon spent learning about Olive Oil - Maria is fantastic! Highly recommend!
Thank you to Maria for such a wonderful afternoon. We loved visiting the olive groves, the manufacturing facility and then doing the tasting with loveliest people! You have so much knowledge and love for Kalamata. We loved learning about the rich history of olive oil and sharing your beautiful city with you.
Thank you for such a special time in Kalamata! Amy and Matthew from Chicago.

Grossartig!!!!!
Die Tour mit unserer Gastgeberin Maria war ein einmaliges Erlebnis. Sehr kompetent und mit Herzblut wurde uns alles über die Olivenölkultur vermittelt. Die Begegnung war auch menschlich auf höchsten Niveau. Das anschliessenden Olivenöl-Tasting war ebenfalls sehr lustig und aufschlussreich.
Wir sind sehr froh, dass wir diese äusserst angenehme Erfahrung machen durften.

English:
Great!!!!!
The tour with our host Maria was a unique experience. We were told everything about olive oil culture with great expertise and passion. The encounter was also on the highest human level. The olive oil tasting that followed was also very fun and informative.
We are very happy that we were able to have this extremely pleasant experience.

Absolutely amazing family experience!
Maria provided a very memorable experience for my family. She is extremely knowledgeable and taught my family and I so much about olives. I’m confident that this knowledge will even change the way my children eat and search for the “right” olive oil well into their adulthood.
The tour started with a walk through an olive grove and learning about olive trees, their growth, and harvesting. We then moved to the processing facility where we learned about the process of making olive oil, the machinery involved, the ancient method, and even considerations local farmers make when deciding when to harvest and the cost involved. Lastly, we finished with an olive oil tasting at a small local shop. We got to know the owners and learned how to recognize “true” olive oil by taste and smell. My children youth to teen enjoyed the entire experience.
If we make it back to Kalamata we will definitely seek out Maria again. I can’t say enough about her passion and she was an incredible host.

Unbelievable day with generous people
We had an incredible day with Maria. She was so passionate about her country and the process of making a high quality olive oil. We started at the olive grove and then continued to the co-op to see how they process the olives to make olive oil. We met an actual expert and taster of olive oil, who explained what makes an exceptional olive oil.
Their combined love for the process and explanation showed how much olives are part of who the Greek culture is. We finished with a light lunch, which left all of us full with traditional Greek dishes.
We had a wonderful day and will not forget the hospitality and generosity of Maria and Kelly. Thank you for all you did to share with us your love of country and olives!

Informative and fun!
Everything was amazing! It was so well organised, friendly and chill, Maria is so easy to talk to and she provides the perfect way to learn about olive oil from the tree to the bottle. The tasting experience was so interesting also, before this I did not know olive oil could be spicy!
I will only buy extra virgin olive oil from now on! I bought some olive oil products from the local area and am loving using them back in Scotland.

Wonderful experience for the family. :)
My husband, children (ages 4 and 6), and I did the Olive Oil Tour with lunch with Mama's Flavors last week during our Greek vacation. Maria was incredibly warm and welcoming to us. She provided us with history and insight into Kalamata's olive oil industry through touring a grove of olive trees and olive oil mill.
Then we went to a small shop in town and had the opportunity to taste olive oil. I feel like we are now equipped to assess the quality of the olive oil we are buying, and I am excited to try more olive oils at home. At the end of the morning, we had lunch at a small restaurant in Kalamata's town center.
The food was amazing and was incredibly fresh. I was especially thankful for how much fun our kids were also able to have- Maria helped include them while keeping the tour incredibly educational for us.
Efcharistó Maria! If we are ever in Kalamata again, we will plan on taking another tour with Mama's Flavors.

Great experience!
We were looking for an olive oil tasting experience in the area and we were glad to stumble across Maria's website.
We learned a lot about the whole olive oil production process and how important it is to the locals, we will definitely remember to "buy only extra virgin olive oil" and much more!
It was a really interesting tour, hosted by great people, we recommend 100%.

Do this tour...now!
This is not so much a tour, more a memorable experience. A quick summary (!) - quick taste of local oven cooked pork, bread baking, ouzo (with pre lunch!), coffee, wine tasting (Inc tsipouro), olive oil experience, stop for breath, light lunch ('light' is loosely defined!) - full on Meze...
But this not even half the story. Maria brings to life the food, wine, culture and history of Kalamata and the Peloponnese. Not to be missed.
Very enjoyable, fun and interesting experience with a lovely, friendly and knowledgeable guide.
I booked this experience as a gift to our friends for their golden wedding anniversary (with us of course!) We were late arriving as we got lost, but Maria was very accommodating and welcoming when we did arrive. Throughout the day, Maria was a great guide, informative, friendly and sensitive to our needs. She told us about her family and took an interest in ours as well.
It was really good to visit (and eat at) so many of the local food and drink producers. We learnt so much about Greek traditions and flavours, recommendations about where to eat locally sourced food and how to judge the quality of olive oil.
We also learnt about the history of Greece, particularly the different areas, rulers, historical sites, myths and as we walked around Maria pointed out local monuments and statues and their meaning. We all find history very interesting, so this was appreciated.
Our friends said that we could not have chosen a better gift for them - they love learning about history and other cultures and traditions and tasting different foods and flavours. They are vegetarians and Maria had provided for their preferences.
We are all very grateful to Maria for such an enjoyable and memorable experience and could not recommend it more.

Do not miss this experience in Kalamata!
Maria took us on a wonderfully paced, enjoyable, friendly and interesting tour of Kalamata, visiting authentic local food stops, while also telling us about the history of the town and sharing stories about the local culture and vibe.
This is a very special and personal tour designed by Maria who clearly loves her city and creates an unforgettable and experience for her guests. We totally recommend this worthwhile experience when you are in the Peloponnese.

One of the best!
Great tour with Maria! Very personalized and really able to get off the tourist path and experience the local life and of course food! Don’t miss the olive oil tasting as it was a real education.

Promenade épicurienne et historique à travers Kalamata
Belle occasion de découvrir et de déguster les produits locaux avec une guide grecque enthousiaste et une interprète fort sympathique. Unique occasion de faire du shopping avec des conseils avisés. La balade s’est terminée dans une taverne autour d’un bon repas. Sympathique et chaleureuse expérience culinaire ! Maria Monastirioti a été aux petits soins pour nous. On recommande!

Engish:
Epicurean and historical walk through Kalamata A great opportunity to discover and taste local produce with an enthusiastic Greek guide and friendly interpreter.
A unique opportunity to shop with expert advice. The walk ended in a taverna with a good meal. A warm and friendly culinary experience! Maria Monastirioti took good care of us. We recommend her!

Excellent Food Tour in Kalamata!
Our family had a great morning and lunch with different food/dining experiences in Kalamata. It was the perfect send off, as we were flying out of Athens later that day.
Our host and organizer, Maria, was wonderful. We highly recommend this tour!

Kalamata food tour
We had a great half-day tasting in Kalamata with Maria. She's the owner of the company, and has set up a nice route of very local shops to taste in. We had slow-roasted pork (amazing) from a butcher who carries only this product, and some traditional Greek bread products (a little like dried Italian breadsticks) at a tiny factory run by 4 women.
There were many other stops, but all of them were very welcoming. Maria is also very warm and works hard to make the tour a memorable experience. Definitely a great choice if you want to get a sense of the foods of the region and interact with local small businesses owners!