Cretan
ABOUT US
It all started in 1995, when a fellow doctor asked us to help write a book about Crete and the Cretan diet. We worked together for two years and were rewarded when Dr. Schleicher's book "Der sensationelle Kreta Diet" became a bestseller! As a result, Chef Eckart Witzigmann asked for an introduction to the secrets of Cretan cuisine.For almost two months, Cretan women from Vrouha, Kritsa, Lemnes and other nearby villages spent many hours with us teaching the chef their knowledge of the local cuisine. The book, entitled "Kreta kock Buch" was published eight months later. The result was again as amazing as Dr. Schleicher's book, becoming a bestseller and showing a different aspect of the Cretan diet. Many people started asking how they could get all the pure products described. The next step was to step back and rediscover the original flavors, recipes and traditional products that our families used, to find a way to meet the needs we had created.
Using the knowledge gained and the relationships made, we were able to recreate the traditional Cretan recipes and find both the best products and producers to help us achieve our goal. In addition to our long history of producing high quality extra virgin olive oil, we have begun to form and package a wide range of Cretan products and export as many as possible to reach the wide readership of the best selling books.
In 2014 and after ten years and over 200,000 visitors, we decided it was time to revive our traditional factory that was originally established in 1882.
OUR OLIVE OIL PRESS
Our farmyard is not the only attraction; the best surprise is waiting for you inside! Our old olive press, built in 1882 in the village of Vrouha, has been transported intact to the premises of our farm, together with various objects from that time and the handmade wooden door of our factory, which we have placed on the wall. Everything has been reassembled as it was in its original environment; the threshing floor with its four stones and elaborate rotating mechanism that catches the visitor's eye; the attic with the large hopper that holds five "muzuria" (50 kg) of olives; the old ladder, the yoke to which the donkey that turns the stones is harnessed, and even the oil lamp that used to light the factory (when production had to start before dawn) - it's all there! Right next to it is the 'winch' that turns the 'bozergatis', and with it, the press itself. Under the press is the 'dgisviera' where the 'mantiles' are hung with canvas huts filled with olive pulp. In front of the press is the barrel for the olive oil that flows out. Right in front of the press, hanging on the wall, is the space of "Ladas", the production supervisor, with his small table, dish, drinking glass, lamp and chair - all original items.
fr.cretanoliveoilfarm.com
