Every summer Diane Kochilas, and her husband, artist Vassilis Stenos, escape to her ancestral village on the island of Ikaria. For several years they ran a restaurant together, but decided last summer to concentrate instead on private dining and cooking and art classes.

They invite people from all over the world to join them for a serene week of cooking, gardening, painting and more. The island, a wing-shaped parcel of land named for the felled Ikarus of Greek mythology, is in the eastern Aegean, between cosmopolitan Mykonos and touristy Samos. However, it is a world apart.


Ikaria is untrammeled and pristine. The village, Christos, where Diane and Vassilis have their school, is on the north side of the island nestled among pine forests overlooking the sea. Life here still moves with the unhurried, timeless rhythms of an agrarian community. It is the perfect place for a truly holistic vacation, to forget about the world and immerse yourself in nature.


The cooking classes take place in a hundred-year-old traditional village home, surrounded by the couple's organic garden, olive and fruit trees, and sprawling, untamed nature. As a result, most of the produce used in each class is organic, and guests are encouraged to help out (optional, of course!) in the extensive vegetable garden.


The cooking school week begins with an introduction to Greek Food and Wine and a Welcome Dinner on Sunday evening. Classes begin on Monday. They are both hands-on and demo and each session is organized around a full meal and menu, with wines and other Greek spirits. Guests dine with Diane and Vassilis in the garden, either at lunch or at dinner, depending on the time of the individual class. The remainder of the day is free to enjoy the pleasures of a remote Greek island vacation.


Diane’s philosophy behind each of the classes is to promote the healthful, flavorful, simple foods of her beloved adopted land. The menus are geared toward home cooks and the ingredients are available in kitchens far away from her Greek-island retreat. Every class is taught in English.



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