Chef Helen Athirnari
Private Chef In Heraklion
Get to know me better
I love to cook and I do it with all my love and energy so people gets the best food experience.
I am a traditional Cretan and Mediterranean Cook. I love to cook, so people can taste the Greek and Cretan cuisine with local products and flavors that you can only find only on Crete. I learned to cook through my grandmother and mother. I keep using small "secrets" and personal touches in my recipes and I am always willing to share those with you.

More about me
For me, cooking is...
is the best way to share my love for the Cretan cuisine with the people who love to explore the local gastronomy and traditional flavors of Crete
I learned to cook at...
at home with my nana when I was 11 years old. I was lucky to get all the family recipes from my grandmother and my mother.
A cooking secret...
My secret in the kitchen... Fresh and local products, experience and love for cooking
My menus
Saganaki: fried kefalotiri cheese
Dakos: Cretan barley rusks with freshly grated tomato, mizithra cheese, olive oil and oregano
Tzatziki a traditional dip with yogurt, cucumber, carrot and garlic
Zucchini patties with or without feta cheese
Greek salad with tomato, cucumber, pepper, olives, onion, feta cheese, oregano and olive oil
Giouvetsi: Orzo pasta cooked in a beef or chicken stew served with tradittional cheese
Moussaka: ground beef, potatoes, eggplants and homemade béchamel sauce
Pastichio, layers of ground beef in tomato sauce, ziti pasta and bechamel sauce
Homemade Lemon or Orange pie with vanilla ice cream
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Dakos: Cretan barley rusks with freshly grated tomato, mizithra cheese, olive oil and oregano
Graviera cheese with thyme honey
Kalitsounia: small stuffed Cretan pies with local cheese and mints and others stuffed with spinach and mints
Tzatziki a traditional dip with yogurt, cucumber, carrot and garlic
Zucchini patties with or without feta cheese
Cretan Salad: tomato,cucamber,onion,mitzithra cheese,oregano, coarse sea salt, extra virgin olive oil and Cretan rusks
Beef with mushrooms, peppers, onions cooked in wine and served with baked potatoes
Rooster or chicken stewed in a tomato and wine sauce seved with «skioyfihta» handmade pasta
Kleftiko’’: Grass fed local lamb with potatoes, peppers, onion and feta cheese cooked in parchment paper or clay pots
Cretan tradittional pilaf-rizzoto with Chicken and lamb served with yogurt
Grass fed local lamb, slow baked wrapped in vine leafs served with baby potatoes
Kleftiko’’: Grass fed local lamb with potatoes, peppers, onion and feta cheese cooked in Greek fyllo dought
Homemade Lemon or Orange pie with vanilla ice cream
Sfakian pies with thyme honey
Traditional yogurt served with a selection of fruits, thyme honey and homemade spoon sweets
Loukoumades : Greek fritters with thyme honey, cinnamon, sesame
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Mushrooms trilogies with staka (Cretan fresh butter), garlic sauce and rosemary
Chickpeas with Cretan apaki (meat), tachini, orange flavor, red pepper flakes, fresh onion and garlic
Cretan Graviera cheese saganaki with apricot jam and mint
Quinoa Salad with avocado, fillet orange, walnuts, mint, pomegranate, baby rocket and carob dressing
Pork tenderloin filled with dried tomatoes, graviera cheese accompanied with grilled vegetables and tomato jam
Sea bass cooked in salt crust accompanied with grilled vegetables and lemon dressing
Tagliatelle with fresh salmon, capers, garlic, cream and parsley
Cretan style cheese cake
Chocolate mousse with speculoos biscuit
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Edamame Soybeans Salad
Pickled Ginger
Soy sauce - Wasabi
Sake
Wakame Salad
Sushi Bar: includes : Tuna Roll-Salomon Roll -Vegeterian Roll - Shrimp Roll
Salomon Tartar
Chocolate rolls
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Butter, thyme honey, homemade marmalades, Greek yoghurt
Fresh Bread, white and brown toast
Juice-Milk – Tea- Greek coffee - Filter coffee - Espresso
Plate with cheese and cured meet and tomato jam
Bruschetta’s with olive pasta and tomato –avocado, cream cheese and prosciutto and more…
Fried - scrambled -pose, boiled eggs as well as a selection of (Omelets as with mushrooms, cheese, sausages, local apaki (meat), bacon and vegetables and more…
Pan cakes – Crepes – Waffles – Rizogalo (Greek sweet with rice and milk), croissants, cakes and more…
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Roast red peppers marinated in vinegar and olive oil
Dakos: Cretan barley rusks with freshly grated tomato, mizithra cheese, olive oil and oregano
Smoked eggplant tapenade with honey, balsamic vinegar, herbs and garlic
Tzatziki a traditional dip with yogurt, cucumber, carrot and garlic
Zucchini patties with or without feta cheese
Green Mix Salad with orange fillets, graviera shavings and a dressing of olive oil, carob mollasses and vinegar
Potato Salad with cucumber, dill, spring onions, capers and a vinegrette of mustard dressing
Stuffed summer vegetables: tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, peppers with rice and herbs
Greek style fresh green beans with herbs in a rich tomato sauce
Stuffed eggplants with a thick onion, tomato sauce herbs with or without baked feta cheese
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
Semolina pudding with cinnamon, currants and nuts
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Dakos: Cretan barley rusks with freshly grated tomato, mizithra cheese, olive oil and oregano
Kalitsounia: small stuffed Cretan pies with local cheese and mints and others stuffed with spinach and mints
Tzatziki a traditional dip with yogurt, cucumber, carrot and garlic
Zucchini patties with or without feta cheese
Cretan Salad: tomato,cucamber,onion,mitzithra cheese,oregano, coarse sea salt, extra virgin olive oil and Cretan rusks
A selection of grilled meats (local sausages, pork souvlaki, pancetta, chicken chops and chicken souvlaki, beef burger, lamb chops) with Jacket potaotes
Loucoumades : Greek fritters with thyme honey, cinnamon, sesame and ice cream vanilla
Moisaiko – a much loved chocolate dessert with biscuits and wiped cream
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Roast vegetables, zucchini, eggplants, mushrooms and balsamic sauce
Fava: yellow split-peas with sundried tomato, caramelized onions, capers and grilled octopus
Saganaki: with fresh shrimps, feta cheese, tomato and parsley
Steamed mussels with wine, fennel, onion, peppers and dill
Beetroot salad - with cheese muse, walnuts, yoghurt, garlic, thyme and balsamic dressing
Green salad with cherry tomatoes, herbs, red peppers and graviera cheese shavings
Greek salad with tomato, cucumber, pepper, olives, onion, feta cheese, oregano and olive oil
Fish "catch of day" fried in olive oil with lemon dressing (small size fish) and fried potatoes
Sea bass or Sea bass grilled in paper with lemons, parsley with Greek lemon dressing
Seafood pasta: with mussels, shrimps, squid, colored peppers, onions, ouzo and fresh tomato sauce
Sea bass or Sea bass BBQ
Cretan style cheese cake
Galaktobureko – custard wrapped in phyllo pastry
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Saganaki: fried kefalotiri cheese
Dakos: Cretan barley rusks with freshly grated tomato, mizithra cheese, olive oil and oregano
Tzatziki a traditional dip with yogurt, cucumber, carrot and garlic
Zucchini patties with or without feta cheese
Greek salad with tomato, cucumber, pepper, olives, onion, feta cheese, oregano and olive oil
Giouvetsi: Orzo pasta cooked in a beef or chicken stew served with tradittional cheese
Moussaka: ground beef, potatoes, eggplants and homemade béchamel sauce
Pastichio, layers of ground beef in tomato sauce, ziti pasta and bechamel sauce
Homemade Lemon or Orange pie with vanilla ice cream
View full menu
Dakos: Cretan barley rusks with freshly grated tomato, mizithra cheese, olive oil and oregano
Graviera cheese with thyme honey
Kalitsounia: small stuffed Cretan pies with local cheese and mints and others stuffed with spinach and mints
Tzatziki a traditional dip with yogurt, cucumber, carrot and garlic
Zucchini patties with or without feta cheese
Cretan Salad: tomato,cucamber,onion,mitzithra cheese,oregano, coarse sea salt, extra virgin olive oil and Cretan rusks
Beef with mushrooms, peppers, onions cooked in wine and served with baked potatoes
Rooster or chicken stewed in a tomato and wine sauce seved with «skioyfihta» handmade pasta
Kleftiko’’: Grass fed local lamb with potatoes, peppers, onion and feta cheese cooked in parchment paper or clay pots
Cretan tradittional pilaf-rizzoto with Chicken and lamb served with yogurt
Grass fed local lamb, slow baked wrapped in vine leafs served with baby potatoes
Kleftiko’’: Grass fed local lamb with potatoes, peppers, onion and feta cheese cooked in Greek fyllo dought
Homemade Lemon or Orange pie with vanilla ice cream
Sfakian pies with thyme honey
Traditional yogurt served with a selection of fruits, thyme honey and homemade spoon sweets
Loukoumades : Greek fritters with thyme honey, cinnamon, sesame
View full menu
Mushrooms trilogies with staka (Cretan fresh butter), garlic sauce and rosemary
Chickpeas with Cretan apaki (meat), tachini, orange flavor, red pepper flakes, fresh onion and garlic
Cretan Graviera cheese saganaki with apricot jam and mint
Quinoa Salad with avocado, fillet orange, walnuts, mint, pomegranate, baby rocket and carob dressing
Pork tenderloin filled with dried tomatoes, graviera cheese accompanied with grilled vegetables and tomato jam
Sea bass cooked in salt crust accompanied with grilled vegetables and lemon dressing
Tagliatelle with fresh salmon, capers, garlic, cream and parsley
Cretan style cheese cake
Chocolate mousse with speculoos biscuit
View full menu
Edamame Soybeans Salad
Pickled Ginger
Soy sauce - Wasabi
Sake
Wakame Salad
Sushi Bar: includes : Tuna Roll-Salomon Roll -Vegeterian Roll - Shrimp Roll
Salomon Tartar
Chocolate rolls
View full menu
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