Private Tour
Cooking Class in Athens: Learn the Art of Phyllo with Christina
Overview
Available languages
3 hours 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
Learn to make hand-made phyllo pies in a local Athenian home. Christina is passionate about baking traditional phyllo pies using a technique she first learned from her grandmother. After attending culinary school, Christina perfected the phyllo technique by working in a local bakery where she expertly created a wide variety of phyllo pies from scratch. Christina will teach you to make phyllo dough in her kitchen and how to construct a flaky, savory pie. After your pie has baked you will sit at Christina's table and share a meal of her inventive, seasonal Greek dishes.
This experience offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn to cook one of Greece's best known dishes with a local expert. You will get a real glimpse in to modern Greek life and learn about the culinary traditions that have been passed down through generations of home-cooks.
Additional Info
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Vegetarian option is available, please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Christina’s neighborhood is hilly, so comfortable walking shoes are highly recommended if you choose the market tour experience..
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Step into Christina’s welcoming kitchen in Athens and discover the centuries-old tradition of Greek pie-making, recognized by UNESCO as part of the Mediterranean diet. This cooking class specializes in phyllo, the delicate, paper-thin dough at the heart of Greece’s beloved savory pies. Begin with a traditional Greek coffee, then enjoy a hands-on lesson in making spanakopita, a quintessential Greek dish. Christina will guide you through every step, starting from scratch with just flour and water. You’ll use seasonal ingredients like wild spinach, local greens, and Greek cheeses to craft your filling. At Christina’s dining table, you’ll roll your dough into thin sheets, learning how to layer it into a light, flaky crust. You’ll leave with printed recipes to recreate the experience at home. The cooking lasts about two hours, followed by a shared meal featuring the spanakopita you made - alongside seasonal dishes Christina has prepared. Enjoy it with Tsipouro, wine, and a delicious dessert. Optional: Join Christina for a 1-hour walking market tour to visit her favorite cheesemonger, deli, and bakery. Learn about traditional Greek ingredients before heading back to cook together.
Sample Menu
starter
Graviera | Yellow Greek cheese with dried figs
starter
Bouyiourdi | Baked feta with tomato and spicy peppers
starter
Fakosalata | Lentil salad with marinated anchovies, cherry tomatoes, and mint
starter
Dakos | Salad with rusks, tomatoes, olives, and katiki (soft white cheese)
starter
Dolmades | Stuffed vine leaves with rice and herbs
main
Spanakopita | Phyllo pie filled with wild greens and Greek cheese
main
Youvetsi | Orzo with sausage and veggies
dessert
Dessert | Authentic Greek yogurt with homemade bergamot spoon sweet
What‘s Included
Tsipouro (a traditional Greek spirit) and a glass of white or rosé wine
Private cooking lesson with your host Christina
Optional market tour add-on
Options
Cooking Lesson and Lunch
Private cooking lesson and lunch with Christina in Athens.
Market + cooking + lunch
Cooking Lesson and Dinner
Private cooking lesson and dinner with Christina in Athens.
Reviews
24 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
One of the best experiences in Athens!
Odyssey44395394441,Jul 27, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Christina was such an incredible host and teacher. We were welcomed into her wonderful apartment and she took her time to get to know us, and also told us about herself and her neighborhood. We visited several shops, including a vegetable grocer, cheese monger, a bakery, and a winery where we sampled our new favorite wine, retzina! This cooking lesson took place on the birthday of one of our kids, who is very interested in pursuing culinary arts. Christina was so natural, delegating tasks for cutting up vegetables to be used in salads, the spanikopita, and finally, the preparation of the filo dough. This is such a painstaking process, and Christina was the perfect guide, patient with all of us, and so warm. We all ate together, a delicious meal of chicken, cooked perfectly in the oven with eggplant and zucchini, salads, including rusk served with tomatoes and olives, and of course, the spanikopita. We finished it all off with spoon sweet of bergamot. We left as friends, eager to stay connected and to practice Christina's excellent recipes once we return home. We highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting Greece who is eager to have a real, intimate lesson on how to cook some of the best food in the world. Christina, efcharisto poli! Have a wonderful summer!
Spanakopita class with Christina.
Mobile03104788058,Jul 2, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Christina is undoubtedly a very talented chef. One of the best spinach pies I've ever eaten. It was really fun to participate in the preparation.
Excellent Phyllo-xenia (Hospitality)
Excursion62241465757,May 15, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great experience! The hostess was very warm and made us feel welcome, like we were friends cooking together. The lesson was fun and we all participated in every step. I liked how we ensured the perfect crust for the phyllo, by slicing the pie for moisture to escape, but sprinkling the top with water as well. I will try it at home to impress my friends, especially Greeks who I don't think had a perfect spanakopita in a while. The meal Christina prepared was also beautiful. Overall highly recommended.
I know how to make spanakopita now!
EiriniViaro,May 15, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Christina was an amazing host! The lesson had all the steps with every detail on the technique. She was very friendly and answered to all the questions. I actually learned how to make spanakopita and put it to the test with the recipe she gave us. It came out really great! loved the meal, the atmosphere, the jokes, the alcohol, everything! Cheers, Christina!
A truly original experience
S6103TTmarcop,May 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00A truly original experience. Coming from Italy, I value traditional cuisine and a welcoming culture. I couldn’t find a better experience than the one offered by Christina. A great host with deep knowledge of and passion for Greek cuisine, opens her house to share this ever lasting tradition of Greek phyllo with the world. Thank you 🙏
Pita Experience
konstantinas994,May 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00One super valuable experience, cause under Christina's guidance we learnt and participated in opening "fullo" for greek pita, an art that will most probably vanish. Christina took care of us with good music, friends, and traditional treats such as dolmadakia, giouvetsi/spetzofai, an amazing anchovy mint salad, and many more. She also didnt miss to teach us traditions from all over Greece, pita related ofc. Thank you very much for your effort, it really made my day.
What a great experience!
Roving563985,May 27, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great experience. Much better than what I expected. Cristina is a very nice person, very patient, and a great teacher. I can only recommend it! It was really worth it.
Amazing day
thebbet,Jan 19, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Had the most amazing day. Christina the phyllo-dough teacher is professional, witty, smart and kind. Speaks english very well. She knows her history and gave us a tour at the central market in Athens before the cooking class began. Would definitely recommend.
Fun, Interesting & Delicious
Tara K,Jan 15, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Oh my God! This was by far the most fun I have had in Athens. Christina taught my husband and I (and 3 others in our group) how to prepare authentic Greek phyllo dough from scratch in her kitchen. She will teach you to make the ubiquitous flaky Greek dough - starting with flour and water! - and together you will prepare a traditional pie. She will teach you, step by step, how to make the pie filling using seasonal ingredients like wild spinach and other greens and a variety of fresh cheeses (you might mix the filling in the sink since it is her biggest receptacle!). You mix the dough, learn to roll it into paper-thin sheets on her dining table, and layer the pie with the filling. She will show you how to carefully lay the delicate sheets of phyllo in the pan, which results in a light, crispy pie.
Authentic, delicious, and so much fun
pavliktd,Aug 26, 2022
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I want to give this 10/5 stars! Christina took us into her lovely Athens home and treated us like family. By the end we had made the best spanakopita I've had in Greece, shared stories, and had an authentic Athenian experience. Christina is also a tour guide so she will have many recommendations and answers to your questions about the city. I cannot recommend this enough, seriously.
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