When it comes to food and travel, Christina Xenos could wax poetic for hours. She knows firsthand that sharing a meal is one of the best ways to experience the nuances of faraway lands. And if you’re lucky enough to be her guest, you’ll witness the meticulous craft of her hospitality. As a Greek-American, she takes the custom of philoxenia (which translates to “love of the stranger”) quite literally. Her hospitality game has put her in the pages of Food & Wine, and in the kitchen with master chef and “First Lady of Greek Cuisine,” Argiro Barbarigou, as part of the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffier International.
Traveling with her is no mere vacation in Greece— it’s one where you visit Crete and Milos, where Christina’s grandmother and grandfather lived before immigrating to the States in the 1900s, and where you experience regional specialities that she’s discovered on her annual pilgrimages around the country she calls her “happy place.” This eight-day discovery of one of the world’s most delicious destinations with Christina takes you deeper into what it means to be Greek as you eat and drink to your heart’s content.
"I’d love to travel way, way back in time, and visit Bronze Age Greece and stroll around a Minoan palace."
"It doesn’t get much easier than cutting up some tomatoes, cucumber, a bell pepper, throwing in some olives and laying a big slab of briny feta on top of it all."
