Minoan Lines Introduces New Cretan Food Menu on ‘Festos’ and ‘Knossos’ Ferries

Minoan Lines CEO Loukas Sigalas with Greek chef Nektaria Kokkinaki.

Passengers of Greek ferry company Minoan Lines will now have the opportunity to enjoy new gastronomy experiences during their trips thanks to a new menu curated by Greek chef Nektaria Kokkinaki.

Minoan Lines on Monday announced that is was enriching the dining experience of its passengers with the new à la carte Cretan menu that will be available in the restaurants of its “Festos Palace” and “Knossos Palace” cruise ferries, on the route Piraeus–Heraklion–Piraeus.

Speaking to guests during a lunch event onboard the Knossos Palace to present the new menu, Minoan Lines CEO Loukas Sigalas said since the company’s launch, 52 years ago, the promotion of Crete, birthplace and homeland of Minoan Lines, has been one of the main pillars of its operation.

“Our collaboration with Crete’s beloved chef, Nektaria Kokkinaki, is part of this philosophy and makes us very proud,” he said.

Minoan Lines’ new menu consists of 12 dishes and includes Cretan ospriada (mixed lagumes soup), goat with lemon and stamnagathi (local spiny chicory), rooster with skioufichta (traditional cretan pasta), caprica (pork with skin) roasted in coarse salt and handmade pie from Sfakia.

“Since food is memories, what we want to create with Minoan Lines is a menu that will create beautiful memories for our travelers,” said chef Nektaria Kokkinaki.

The dishes on the new menu are made with authentic local fresh ingredients, dedicated to the Cretan tradition. Aiming to offer a full taste experience, Minoan Lines has included Cretan wine labels on the menu to accompany all dishes.

“We have curated this twelve-dish menu with lots of love and passion,” Kokkinaki said, adding that the menu will change seasonally so that the dishes will include “the best that nature and the Cretan land has to offer”.

During the event, the new Cretan menu was honored with the quality “Cretan Cuisine” certification label.

Launched by the Region of Crete, the “Cretan Cuisine” label is awarded to restaurants that offer quality Cretan cuisine and exclusively use virgin Cretan olive oil and local products.

The “Cretan Cuisine” label recognizes the quality of Crete’s food services and is awarded by the certification body, “Cretan Quality Agreement”.

Minoan Lines was founded in 1972 and since 2008 is a member of the Italian Grimaldi Group, one of the largest carriers of roll-on/roll-off, container and passenger in the world. The Grimaldi Group is headquartered in Naples, Italy, with branches in more than 25 countries, 17,000 employees and over 130 ships approaching more than 140 ports worldwide.