Before starting Delicious Crete I was an interior designer. When the economic crisis stroke Greece and my profession was seen as a luxury business, I just had to find something else to do. I turned to Crete, this blessed place that has so much to offer, Cretan food being the most important. I started experimenting with new ideas and combinations of the basic ingredients of the Cretan food, and something wonderful begun to shape, something that ultimately became Delicious Crete.

We would like to know more about the ingredients you use in your products. Where do you find them? Which are criteria by which you choose them, and how important are the raw materials for you?

The biggest part of the ingredients we use in our products come from Crete, and less from other parts of Greece, from selected providers. We only search for the best raw material, these are the foundation of our final products. Our moto is that we would never use something that we would not give to our children. This is why our products are of such good quality and taste.

What potential do you think that Cretan products have in the global market?

It is my firm belief that Cretan-Greek products have great potential. The taste, the aromas, the textures are so unique and of great quality. Each Greek product contains a memory from our country, visited by so many every year. When they open a jar or a bottle of ours, they travel again and again to our country. A country that welcomes everyone and lavishly gives away love and hospitality.

What are the most important challenges that a Greek producer has to face today? And also, what do you love the most about your business?

All businessmen face challenges, not only the producers of food. There is a lot of bureaucracy (without reason most of the times), state malfunction when it comes to exporting, huge competition (not always a healthy one) and extreme taxation. Therefore Greek producers are not only far from benefited, but all the above only raise obstacles to our ventures. So, what can we do about it? With persistence, good quality products or services (depending on the field) and a lot of patience and love for what we do, I believe that we can all succeed and manage to take not one, but many steps further. But the biggest challenge for me was venturing in the food industry, which was completely new and unknown to me. But this exactly is what gave me more strength to go ahead. I love every aspect of my business, I love every step of the way into creating unique, imaginative products for the final consumers, with great raw materials, great taste, at a good prices.

What do you think makes your products special? Can you pick out and present us the ones you think are more interesting?

All our products are created with much love and care. But since you ask, I could distinguish the ones I personally use more. Among them is the Smoked Olive Oil, which gives a unique flavor to anything I make, from salads to grilled meat. The Lemon Infused Olive Oil and the Orange Infused Olive Oil which, except in cooking, can also be used in the making of sweets (in cookies for instance), or they are great even with ice cream, believe me, the taste is great! Our infused honeys go great with cheese plateaus, or with a little olive oil on salads, or a teaspoon in hot beverages and of course for glazing, or meat marinating.

Why did you decide to put your products in a MontlyFlavors box? We would like you to send a message to our subscribers, in and outside of Greece.

The MontlyFlavors box is a monthly gift, a destination full of tastes and aromas of the Greek land, from which Delicious Crete could not be missing. My message to the subscribers of MonthlyFlavors is this: Just as it happens with language, cooking also is maintained, transformed, adjusted and enriched through tradition. So, don’t ever stop trying and experiment with new tastes.