Santorini: Cooking Class with a Chef at the Ftelos Brewery

Santorini’s food culture makes more sense when you handle the ingredients yourself. At Ftelos Brewery, you cook a four-course Cycladic meal with a chef, then sit down to eat it with a local craft beer. I love the menu’s strong sense of place, from Santorini’s cherry tomatoes and capers to the island’s famous split-pea dip.

I also like the choice of cooking spaces: an indoor area looking toward the beer-production unit, or a shaded outdoor patio beneath 150-year-old grapevines. The main catch is that transport and a guided brewery tour are not included, so you’ll need to reach the brewery independently and explore on your own.

• Four dishes with a Santorini focus: Prepare salad, cod croquettes, split-pea dip, and pork fillet with stout.
• Real hands-on cooking: You take part in every stage rather than simply watching a chef work.
• Two possible class settings: Cook indoors beside the production area or outdoors beneath old vines, depending on the weather.
• A meal and beer included: Eat everything you prepare with one Ftelos craft beer, bottled water, and fresh bread.
• Small-group format: The class is limited to 10 people, making it easier to follow instructions and work at the counter.
• A flexible brewery visit: You get free time to look around and buy additional beer, but there is no guided brewery tour.

Cooking Santorini’s Four-Course Menu

The class centers on modern Cycladic and Mediterranean cooking. That matters because this is not a generic Greek cooking lesson with a few olives scattered on top. The dishes are tied to Santorini’s produce and local habits, while the beer gives the menu a modern brewery twist.

You’ll prepare a real Santorini salad with cherry tomatoes, capers, and caper leaves. Santorini’s small tomatoes are one of the island’s best-known ingredients, and the caper leaves add a salty, sharp note that makes this more than an ordinary village salad.

Next come cod croquettes in beer batter. This is where the brewery setting earns its place in the meal. You’re not just eating a fish dish beside a brewery, you’re using the local beer style as part of the cooking theme.

The third course is a Santorini split-pea dip with dry onion. The island’s yellow split peas are a classic pantry ingredient, and this dish gives you a useful idea to take home. It is the sort of recipe that can work as a starter, spread, or light lunch.

The main course is pork fillet with Malt n’ Marvel Stout and a mustard-rosemary sauce. The stout adds a darker, fuller flavor, while mustard and rosemary keep the dish from becoming too heavy. With four separate courses, you get a proper meal rather than a quick demonstration followed by a tasting plate.

A Hands-On Class With Mike or Katerina

You should expect to participate in all stages of the cooking. This is not a watch-from-the-side lesson. You’ll work with the chef, help prepare the dishes, and learn the steps in a small group of no more than 10 people.

Chef Mike has been praised for keeping the class fun and entertaining while guiding the group through a delicious Greek meal. Chef Katerina has also led the experience, with a calm and kind teaching style that helped participants learn about both the recipes and Greek food culture.

The exact chef for your class is not specified in advance, so don’t book solely because you hope for one particular instructor. The useful point is that the teaching is designed to be approachable. Previous class details describe the food history and personal stories as part of the instruction, which adds meaning to the recipes without turning the session into a lecture.

Written recipes are included. That makes the $113 price more useful, since you can recreate at least part of the meal after returning home. You’ll still need to find comparable ingredients if Santorini tomatoes, caper leaves, or the specific stout are unavailable, but the basic cooking methods should travel well.

Choosing Between the Indoor Room and the Vine-Covered Patio

The class location changes with the weather. Indoors, you’ll cook in a special area with a view toward the beer-production unit. This is the practical choice when conditions are too hot, windy, or uncertain, and it keeps the brewery machinery part of the scene.

In good weather, the lesson can move outdoors to a wooden patio shaded by 150-year-old vineyards. The patio sits in a bioclimatic garden, giving the class a more relaxed island setting. The old vines are a particularly nice touch because Santorini’s vineyards are part of the island’s agricultural character, not just decoration for a postcard.

You do not choose the setting yourself. The weather decides. That is worth knowing if the outdoor patio is a major reason you’re booking. The indoor space still offers a view of the production area, so the experience does not lose its brewery connection when the class stays inside.

Bring comfortable clothes, comfortable shoes, a T-shirt, sunglasses, and a hair tie. A hair tie is especially useful during hands-on food preparation. Food and drinks from outside are not allowed, and indoor smoking, alcohol or drugs, littering, tripods, and audio or video recording are prohibited.

Eating the Food You Prepared

Once the cooking is finished, you’ll eat the full meal inside the Ftelos Brewery in an industrial-style room. The change from cooking station to dining space gives the experience a clear second half: first you work, then you sit down and enjoy the result.

The included meal contains all four courses, freshly baked homemade bread, bottled water, and one Ftelos craft beer. That beer is not an optional add-on buried in the fine print. It is part of the meal and fits naturally with the cod batter and stout-based pork sauce.

Extra food and drinks cost more. If you want additional beer or another drink, budget for it separately. You can also buy craft beer to take away after the class, which is convenient if you want a drinkable souvenir rather than another piece of Santorini merchandise.

The meal itself is a strong part of the value. You are paying for instruction, ingredients, a complete lunch or dinner, a beer, recipes, and time in a distinctive venue. At $113 per person, it is not a cheap meal, but it is more than a restaurant reservation. The best value comes if you care about learning the dishes and want a social activity, not simply a polished meal.

Exploring Ftelos Brewery After Cooking

You have free time to explore the brewery on your own. This is a self-guided visit, not a formal brewery tour, so expectations matter. You can look around the state-of-the-art facility and see the beer-production setting, but a staff member will not lead you through a dedicated tour as part of this activity.

That informal format suits people who prefer to set their own pace. You can spend a little time looking around, finish your meal, and browse the available craft beer without being tied to a second scheduled program. If brewery mechanics are your main interest, you may find the lack of a guided explanation limiting.

The industrial-style dining room and visible production area give the experience a contemporary side. Santorini is often sold through white buildings, sunsets, and cliff views. Ftelos offers a different angle: local food, modern brewing, and a working venue where you can see how the setting shapes the meal.

Reaching the Brewery From Fira

You must make your own way to Ftelos Brewery. The brewery can be reached by taxi, car, or on foot from Fira Town, and free parking is available if you are driving. The activity begins and ends at the brewery, with no hotel transfer.

That makes the class easier for people already staying near Fira or renting a car. If you are staying elsewhere on Santorini, allow extra time for the journey and arrange your return before the class begins. The activity lasts three hours, but that does not include your transport time.

Starting times vary, so check availability before planning the rest of your day. A cooking class is a poor fit between two tightly timed sightseeing stops. Give yourself enough breathing room to arrive, cook, eat, and look around without watching the clock.

The activity is wheelchair accessible. Still, if you have specific mobility needs, it is sensible to confirm the current arrangement of the cooking and dining areas before booking, since the class may take place indoors or outdoors.

What the Three Hours Feel Like

The class has a natural rhythm. You arrive at the brewery, meet the English-speaking chef and the other members of your small group, and get ready to cook. Comfortable shoes and clothing will help because you participate throughout rather than sitting through a demonstration.

The first part is preparation and instruction. You’ll work through the four dishes, learning how the ingredients fit into Cycladic cooking and how beer can be used in both batter and sauce. The menu is varied enough to keep the session interesting: fresh salad, fried cod, a spreadable starter, and a meat main course.

The second part is the meal. You sit together in the brewery dining room and eat what you made. This shared meal is one of the experience’s strongest social features. It gives the cooking a clear purpose, and you can compare the finished dishes with the other people in the group.

The final portion includes free time to explore the brewery and possibly buy beer. The whole activity lasts three hours, which is enough time for a full cooking session and meal without taking up an entire day of your Santorini visit.

Who Will Get the Most From This Experience

I’d recommend this class to anyone who wants a food activity with genuine participation. It suits couples, friends, and solo visitors who enjoy meeting people around a shared table. The limited group size helps keep the cooking manageable and gives you a better chance to follow the chef’s instructions.

It is also a good pick for cooks at different skill levels. Beginners can learn a set of practical Greek recipes, while more experienced home cooks may enjoy the use of caper leaves, Santorini split peas, and stout in familiar Mediterranean forms.

Families should consider the hands-on format and the restrictions before booking. Children are not specifically discussed in the available information, so you should confirm age suitability directly if that matters to your plans. The class includes alcohol in the meal, and outside food and drinks are not permitted.

This is less suitable if you want a formal brewery tour, a quick tasting, or a passive food demonstration. It is also not the right choice for anyone who needs hotel pickup included. The experience asks you to cook, eat, and spend time at the brewery, so its value depends on enjoying the full three-hour commitment.

Is the $113 Price Fair?

At $113, the price sits in the premium activity range. You are not just paying for four recipes. The fee covers a small-group workshop, a professional chef, ingredients, written recipes, the complete four-course meal, homemade bread, bottled water, one craft beer, and free time in the brewery.

I see the price as fair if you would otherwise pay for both a quality meal and a cooking class. It becomes less compelling if you are mainly looking for dinner, since extra drinks and transport are not included. The class also has a social value that a regular restaurant meal cannot provide, but that matters only if you want to work for your food a little.

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the activity and the option to reserve now and pay later make it easier to fit into a changeable Santorini schedule. Check the exact starting time before committing, especially if you are coordinating ferries, sunset plans, or another island excursion.

Should You Book the Ftelos Brewery Cooking Class?

Book it if you want to learn four recognizable Santorini dishes, eat a full meal you helped prepare, and spend time in a modern brewery rather than only looking at the island’s famous views. The standout features are the focused Cycladic menu, the friendly English-language instruction from chefs such as Mike and Katerina, and the small group of up to 10 people.

Skip it if you want a guided brewery tour, hotel transportation, or a short tasting with no kitchen work. For everyone else, this is a useful and flavorful three-hour break from sightseeing, with recipes you can carry home and a clear connection between Santorini’s ingredients and its growing craft-beer scene.

FAQ

How long does the Ftelos Brewery cooking class last?

The activity lasts three hours. Check availability for the starting times offered on your chosen date.

What dishes will I cook?

You will prepare a Santorini salad with cherry tomatoes, capers, and caper leaves; cod croquettes in beer batter; Santorini split-pea dip with dry onion; and pork fillet with Malt n’ Marvel Stout and mustard-rosemary sauce.

Is the meal included?

Yes. You eat the full four-course meal you prepare. Freshly baked homemade bread, bottled water, and one Ftelos craft beer are also included.

Is a brewery tour included?

No. You receive free time to explore the brewery independently, but a guided brewery tour is not included.

How many people are in the cooking group?

The workshop is limited to 10 participants.

How do I reach Ftelos Brewery?

You can reach the brewery by taxi, car, or on foot from Fira Town. Free parking is available. Hotel transfers are not included.

Is the class taught in English?

Yes. The instructor language is English.

What should I bring?

Bring comfortable shoes, comfortable clothes, a T-shirt, sunglasses, a hair tie, and a passport or ID card. A copy of your passport or ID card is accepted.