Working as freelance travel writers has its ups and downs, as any profession, but the jobs that come along often lead to new experiences and new territory. When the publisher of Sunflower Books asked us if we would like to take on a couple of titles in its new Walk & Eat series, it didn't take long to agree.

As with any series of books, there are strict guide lines to follow. As the publisher explained, these books are lifestyle books intended to enhance a holiday for people who like to get out into the countryside to walk and who also enjoy good food and wine.

Find about ten walks, the publisher instructed, enough to give a variety and selection for those out enjoying a week's holiday, and don't make them too long ... about 8 - 10km (5 -6miles) is enough. Next task is to find a taverna or tavernas either at the start, the end or along the way which serves good food. By good food, I mean good traditional Greek food made preferably from fresh ingredients and even better if the ingredients are locally sourced. Focus too on any food speciality for the island.  This is a fairly tall order since you cannot just drop into a likely looking taverna and instantly expect to meet all the criteria. In the interest of doing a good job, of course, we had to eat at least twice a day in different tavernas and sometimes having to revisit the area for more eating until we felt satisfied with our choice or choices. Oh!  ... and by the way, no declaring your purpose to the taverna owner and no accepting free meals! The instructions continued and became even more demanding. 'I will need photographs to illustrate all aspects' said the publisher, 'so take pictures of the Greek dishes you eat, pictures of the tavernas, occasionally of the chef and find out the recipes of the better dishes, particularly signature dishes and make the recipes yourself.' All in all, a demanding set of guidelines.

 We have worked in Greece many times and have written numerous guide books for various islands, including Sunflower walking guides (Landscapes of Samos and Lesvos). At least we set off with a considerable knowledge and experience of Greek culture and food. There were still new challenges. Photographing the food is something we have not usually had to do and it was a bit unnerving getting the camera out for every dish that was served to us. You could almost read the thoughts of fellow diners. 'Brits like that should stay at home!' or 'Poor people, probably never been abroad before.' Asking for recipes was a whole new fascination. Of course, village Greeks do not have kitchens bristling with gadgets and kitchen scales fall into that category. So getting quantities out of them was a question trying to tie them down to something to which we could relate, usually a cup so everything was volume and nothing weight. Ingredients too posed a problem, especially the herbs and spices for which we did not always know the local name. In any case, the herb may well have been collected from the nearby hillside!

A number of Greek dishes are generally ignored by tourists simply because they are not fully understood. Tavernas that cater more specifically for tourists tend to leave these off the menu because there is no demand. Two examples are shown here. The horta on the right is a plate of cooked wild greens. Related to dandelions but not dandelions, they are often collected from the field in spring while later crops are usually cultivated. It is not unusual to see women out in the fields with a plastic carrier bag and a knife busy collecting edible greens. The other dish, arakas or peas on the left is totally delicious and one our favourites. Both of these are starter dishes. Another way the tourist misses out on good food is by just choosing from the menu. Very often the menu lists dishes available throughout  the year but misses off seasonal dishes. Only by asking 'What have you got?' do you find out the full range on offer. Young, fresh broad beans cooked in their pod is another favourite only available in spring and not usually listed.

Greek cuisine is far more varied and interesting than is reflected in taverna menus. As we came to appreciate it is also very regional. Recipes are handed down through the family and use local ingredients including the herbs and spices available to them. This led to some interesting comparisons between Rhodes and Kefalonia. Rhodes, lying on an old spice route had far more spices available to them. Cumin, we found was one of their regular flavourings used in many dishes. Kefalonians, on the other hand are not great cumin users but everything had parsley in some form which obviously grows well there. Even well known signature dishes, like mousaka, tasted quite different on the two islands

This just left us with the problem of reproducing the dishes in our own kitchen. By using the same spices as on the islands and with a little tweaking of the recipes, we were able to make many of the dishes to our own satisfaction, eventually. It sometimes meant two or three attempts and yet more eating. As they say.... somebody has to do it!

Walk & Eat Rhodes              ISBN 978-1-85691-325-6 Sunflower Books March 2007

Walk & Eat Kefalonia         ISBN 978-1-85691-326-3 Sunflower Books March 2007

Brian & Eileen Anderson           Brian & Eileen would like to thank Ionian Island Holidays for their help with accommodation on Kefalonia and the  Rodian Amathus Beach Hotel on Rhodes

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