Three Days of Olive Harvest, Cooking & Tasting in the Aegean Countryside

3 Days Residential Olive Harvesting, Cooking Class with Olive Oil & Olive Oil Tasting is an immersive countryside experience in the Bodrum region — designed for travelers who want to take part in a real Aegean olive harvest, learn how great olive oil is made, then cook with it, taste it, and truly understand it.

Day One — Arrival & Welcome Dinner
Arrive at our house late in the afternoon for a warm meet-and-greet. Settle into your room and enjoy a welcome dinner overlooking the Aegean Sea — often called the most mythical of all seas.

Day Two — Olive Harvesting, Olive Press Visit & Fresh Olive Oil Tasting
Wake up early and meet at the olive orchards. Place nets under the trees and begin harvesting before breakfast — with the chance to collect 3 packs of olives (40 kg each) while tea and coffee are prepared over a wood fire. A rich Turkish breakfast follows with olives, olive oil, tomatoes, and cheeses. After breakfast, harvesting continues with a friendly competition. In the late afternoon, enjoy snacks by the fire — sometimes high-tea style with cookies and cakes, sometimes wood-fire grilling such as sucuk or chicken wings. Then accompany the olives to the communal press, watch fresh olive oil come out, and sample it with fresh bread and a glass of wine.

Day Three — Olive Oil Cooking Class & Professional Olive Oil Tasting
After a classic Turkish breakfast with fresh eggs, visit a small village vegetable farm to pick seasonal vegetables. Then it's time for the olive-oil cooking class: prepare böreks with herb & cheese filling, böreks with ground beef & potato filling, fresh vegetables cooked in olive oil, and a special olive oil dessert. During the class, sample olive oils from different regions of Turkey and learn how to taste olive oil — including the differences between early vs late harvest and different quality grades. Enjoy the meal you cooked paired with wines of the region.

Farewell
In the late afternoon, we say goodbye — unless you choose to extend your stay and join more cooking classes.