Honey, Olives, Octopus: Adventures at the Greek Table

Author(s): Christopher Bakken

Location(s): Greece

Genre(s): Food and Drink, Travelogue

Era(s): 2010-2012

Bakken, a poet and university professor of creative writing, leads the reader on a lyrical tour of Greek cuisine – from foraged greens, freshly caught octopus, wild thyme honey, showing us how Greek food is produced, procured, prepared, and eaten – always in congenial company and always generously accompanied with wine. From kitchen to kitchen, and island to island we go in search of bread made with wild yeast, tender grilled octopus, perfect oven roasted chickpeas, stinky goat cheeses, and raki guaranteed to knock your socks off. These excursions are not without risk – he is nearly swept away when a mountain trail washes out in the pouring rain, and almost drowns when a sudden current swirls up while he is diving for grouper. Everywhere he finds food that is fresh, essential, economical and often available in the wild. Much of the memoir is set in the midst of Greece’s debt crisis, and the author reflects on the virtues of peasant food “shaped by scarcity and consequent frugality” – delicious and satisfying, founded on the humble, vegan legumes that have carried the Greek people through the worst periods of political turmoil. Recipes are included which readers can make at home. The author acknowledges in his preface Patience Gray’s food writing classic Honey From a Weed as an inspiration for this book.

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