An voyage of food and self-discovery told in the tradition of Zorba the Greek and A Year in Provence.

Rich, raw cheeses from the milk of the island goats. Organically grown, vine-ripened vegetables nurtured under the Mediterranean sun. Unfiltered, day-old olive oil scented with jasmine. Honey so sweet, one can identify every flower the bee suckled. Greek food fit for the gods—and for the gifted pen and palate of Byron Ayanoglu, seasoned food writer and chef.

A Greek immigrant to Canada when he was a boy, Byron longs to rediscover his roots in a flowery retirement cottage overlooking the aquamarine Mediterranean. The magical island of Crete is his chosen destination, a homeland that his irrepresible friend Theo describes as “the epicentre of the earth… a place that has never subdued…” Until, that is, Byron arrives.

Theo convinces Byron that retirement is for dead people, and that the only purpose of life is to build a restaurant in a tiny seaside resort in southern Crete. Byron plunges in with both feet, refusing to heed his Canadian scepticism. Along the way he encounters a well-tuned Greek chorus of characters in one of the most beautiful islands on earth. Each painstaking step in the construction of the restaurant is fueled by interesting labor practices, natural and man-made disasters and, above all, encounters with glorious Greek cuisine.

A satisfying fusion of island adventure, personal memoir and mouth-watering food writing, Crete on the Half Shell will delight foodies, deck-chair travellers and those who long to revisit their heritage.

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