Your epic Greek getaway is about to begin, and all you can think about is the mouthwatering food you'll get to try while you're there.
Luckily, we have the perfect way to make the wait fly by: a curated list of food blogs and vlogs that will have your mouth watering and might even inspire you to try your hand at a recipe or two.
Here are five Greek culinary gurus you should be following right now.
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Diane Kochilas
Chef, author and cooking show host Diane Kochilas hails from Ikaria, the Greek island famous for the longevity of its residents.
She's an ambassador for healthy Greek cuisine and offers countless Greek recipes on her site, ranging from classics like spanakorizo (Greek spinach and rice) and dolmades (vegetarian stuffed grape leaves in a fresh tomato sauce) to more inventive dishes like pumpkin and sweet potato moussaka, mushroom "gyro" in a pita, or hot chocolate spiced with mastic.
Kochilas's current favorite Greek dish is a whole roasted eggplant topped with crumbled feta and crispy sardine bones sprinkled with sea salt, from MeZen, a small meze restaurant in the mainland port of Volos.
"Athens is an amazing city for food lovers, especially if you want to see a modern take on Greek cuisine," she says.
"Thessaloniki is a great food city too. But wherever you travel here, you notice how close Greeks are to the land. That's the real secret to great food: understanding ingredients and seasons, and knowing how to use all those wonderful things that grow in the wild."
Her latest cookbook, "Ikaria: Lessons on Food, Life, and Longevity from the Greek Island Where People Forget to Die," draws on Ikarian wisdom in all things food.
My Little Expat Kitchen
Magdalini Zografou's passion for food and cooking is what drives her blog, My Little Expat Kitchen.
It's packed with a wide variety of recipes, from traditional Greek fare to more international dishes, and her detailed, personal posts pulse with skilled photography that's sure to send you straight to the kitchen.
The Athens-born blogger loves experimenting with new flavors, but for everyday cooking she prefers coming back to traditional dishes.
Briam, a vegetable dish of eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and onions roasted in tomato sauce, is her current favorite recipe.
"Served with freshly baked sourdough bread and feta on the side, it's a truly heavenly dish," says Zografou, who has lived in The Hague, Netherlands, for the past eight years.
Greek barley bread, gemista (baked tomatoes and peppers stuffed with meat in a tomato and olive sauce) and tiropita (Greek cheese pie) are the top three recipes on My Little Expat Kitchen.
Athens is Zografou's top pick for foodies traveling to Greece, since "you can find everything there, from traditional Greek to modern food."
She also recommends mezedopolia, Greek spots that serve only meze (small plates of traditional Greek food), so you can sample all the different dishes.
OliveTomato
Chicago native Elena Paravantes's love of cooking was sparked by her mother, who cooked exclusively Greek food for her family.
Today she's a registered dietitian, nutritionist and writer specializing in the Mediterranean diet, and she has lived in Athens with her family for the past 15 years.
With OliveTomato, she aims to spread the word about the true Mediterranean diet, blending her professional expertise with her own experience. Authentic Mediterranean diet recipes, personal stories, tips on cooking the Greek way, updates on new research and food guides for those visiting Greece are all on the blog's menu.
Green beans (fasolakia ladera) and fried okra (bamies) are her go-to recipes for summertime.
"Eaten at room temperature, ideally the day after cooking, they pair beautifully with feta cheese and are perfect for summer," she says.
Her recipe for tender Greek baked beans in tomato sauce (gigantes plaki) is among the most popular on the blog.
The Peloponnese, which boasts simple Greek cooking and quality products like the world-famous Kalamata olives, is her top food tip for those visiting Greece.
Among the region's culinary highlights are the traditional casseroles of Arcadia, fir tree honey from the village of Vytina, eggplants from Leonidio, traditional cured pork (known as siglino) from Mani, and the wineries of Nemea with the popular Agiorgitiko grape variety for wine lovers.
In Athens, Paravantes's favorites are the hearty pies at the Lycabettus bakery in Kolonaki, Vlassis for traditional, casserole-style Greek dishes, Cafe Avissinia for meze, fun and people-watching, and the restaurants 2Mazi and CTC for creative dishes with a strong Greek influence.
Eat Yourself Greek
Athens-based Evgenia Makrogianneli founded the food blog Eat Yourself Greek to gather her family's Greek recipes and stay connected with friends in the UK, where she worked for a few years.
For her, Greek cuisine is about heritage and memories, as well as delicious, simple, healthy food, like fried sea bass with olive oil and lemon.
"I love lesser-known dishes, like braised artichokes or black-eyed peas with greens. Simple, quick recipes that are very nutritious and need only a few ingredients," she says.
Homemade marinated anchovies, perfectly matched with a glass of chilled ouzo, are Evgenia's current favorite dish.
Makrogianneli's beef youvetsi recipe, a slow-cooked stew with a spiced tomato sauce and orzo pasta, is one of the blog's hits.
"The pasta bakes in the sauce, and then you add a generous helping of cheese to melt on top right before serving. It's wonderful and very easy to make," she says.
Crete is her top gastronomic destination in Greece, as she believes it showcases the best of the Greek diet: plenty of vegetables, a few excellent meat dishes, a huge variety of cheeses, and raki, the island's signature drink.
Beyond the blog, Makrogianneli also runs the supper club "Eat Like a Greek" (together with fellow blogger Artemis Tsipi), designed for travelers who want to enjoy home-cooked Greek meals.
Cooking Economy by FT Bletsas
Eftichis Bletsas (also known as FT) is a foodie, travel lover and music fan who has been hosting cooking and travel TV shows in Greece for more than a decade.
Based in Thessaloniki, FT also has his own YouTube channel, Cooking Economy by FT Bletsas, where he uploads vlogs and recipes along with his adventures around the world.
Gemista (tomatoes and peppers stuffed with rice), imam bayildi (stuffed eggplant), simple fried fish with plenty of fresh vegetables, and a simple salad with top-quality olives, feta cheese and Cretan rusks are among his best dishes.
His most popular videos are his recipes for aloe vera juice and a Greek pie called Kichi (pronounced kee-hee).
"Thessaloniki is one of the best destinations for food lovers in Greece, and maybe in Europe too," he says.
For a quality meal made with the finest Greek products from local producers, FT suggests visiting Zithos Dore, a classic spot popular with locals.
Zagorochoria in the Epirus region, a destination known for its exquisite traditional Greek pies, is another of his favorite gastronomic stops.
