Food & Photography Retreat
Ikaria, Greece
May 19 - 23, 2024
You are invited to the Greek Food and Photography retreat on the magical island of Ikaria.
Located in the eastern Aegean, Ikaria is blessed with a unique natural environment with waterfalls, beautiful streams and idyllic beaches: it is a nature lover’s paradise.
Immerse yourself in five glorious days and four nights of collaborative workshops and activities with Meni Valle, Lean Timms, Stephanie Stamatis and Tessa Kiros and immerse yourself in traditional Greek village life and culture.
If you love food, travel and photography; if you’re a foodie, photographer, blogger, stylist, writer, creative; or if you just want to spend some time on a beautiful Greek island with like-minded souls, then this is for you.
On Ikaria, you will learn about this blue zone region of the world. With one of the world’s highest concentration of centenarians, it is known as the island where people forget to die. What is the secret to their longevity, joy and peacefulness? Forage, visit local villages, shared long table meals to appreciate the lifestyle and understand the people of Ikaria.
Meni Valle
Born to Greek parents, Meni grew up surrounded by tradition and a love of food. Meni’s love of travel, a rich Greek heritage and great skill in the kitchen has seen the Melbourne-based cook become one of Australia’s most-respected authorities on Mediterranean cuisine.
Meni has 6 cookbooks to date, including the award-winning IKARIA which was awarded the Eugeine Brazier prize for the transmission of women’s culinary heritage, a French prize created for cooking books written by women.
She lives with her family in Melbourne.
Lean Timms
Lean Timms is an Australian travel and lifestyle photographer working across editorial, commercial and publishing fields.
Forever exploring and full of curiosity for this world, Lean’s greatest love is to discover and document inspiring places and stories. Lean’s approach to photography is driven by natural light, in situ spontaneity, storytelling, sharing and capturing a genuine sense of place.
Lean is currently based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, Canberra Australia.
Tessa Kiros
½ Finnish, ½ Greek Cypriot – born in London and grew up in South Africa – Tessa’s love of travel, different cultures, anthropology, cooking and writing have inspired her work.
Tessa has 11 books published to date, including the award winning ‘Falling Cloudberries’. Her latest book ‘Now & Then’ is a collection of recipes from her travels – a collage of past and present journeys and inspirations. Tessa continues to collect recipes and stories, and lives between Tuscany and Greece with her family.
Stephanie Stamatis
Stephanie Stamatis is an Australian based Art Director exploring the intersection of food and still life photography.
Drawing inspiration from nostalgia, Stephanie lends her signature aesthetic and love of object and food to editorial and commercial clients - unfurling the medium to a reverence of the daily, poetic and surreal.
Cost
$3995 AUD for 5 days and 4 nights, twin share
Single supplement + $200 AUD
Includes all meals, drinks with meals, bus transfers, activities, excursions and accommodation.
Booking terms and conditions apply.
The retreat includes:
Return transfers to and from Ikaria airport
Accommodation
Welcome drinks and meze on arrival
Daily breakfast
Lunches and dinners
Transfers to excursions on the island
Cooking and photography workshops
Presenters available during the entire retreat
Ikarian knowledge about longevity and the blue zones
Additional highlights:
Taking part in the local panayiri (festival) - get ready for some dancing!
Winery tour and tastings
Retreat exclusions:
International flights to and from Ikaria Greece
Travel insurance
“Nestled in amongst the Greek islands near the shores of Turkey sits the rugged Ikaria, a place of legends and enjoys a fascinating history. Arriving there is easy with a short shuttle flight from Athens airport then a transfer to the hotel in Nas enjoying spectacular views along the way. Forget your busy scheduled life once you arrive on the island! People don’t live forever if they are stressed by schedules! Relax and enjoy a full realm of activities that may not follow the itinerary, but it all gets done when the weather or day is right. Don’t worry, there is lots to do such as a fantastic personal winery tour where you can taste fabulous Ikarian wines and maybe buy a bottle or two to take back home, or you may enjoy the bee farm and honey tasting. Ikarian honey is amazingly delicious and healthy. (Make sure you bring an empty suitcase for the kilos of honey you must bring back with you!)
There is a monastery visit, thermal springs, time on the farm picking your own fresh produce to cook later and plenty of free time to enjoy the local Nas beach, or simply read a book with the most stunning views from the Inn.
Learning to cook the Greek way, is fun and easy and the best part is you will get to eat it later. We had the most beautiful food for the entire stay, and the Greek coffee is the best way to start your day.
There are over 100 festivals on the island and you are sure to go to one. The food, atmosphere dancing and especially the music under the stars will hypnotise you into wanting to buy a house and move to Ikaria permanently.
I highly recommend Meni’s Ikarian Foodie Retreat for a taste of everything, particularly some of the most delicious food you will ever eat.”
- Sue Naether, Germany
“It was lovely to attend Meni Valle’s Food & Photography workshop in Ikaria, the most lovely place and an island with most centennials. The atmosphere, the participants as well as Meni Valle, Tessa Kiros and Lean Timms were all contributing to the most memorable and interesting days at Ikaria. Thank you, I’d love to come back.”
- Anette Harbech Olesen, Writer, Denmark
