"Combining the best of memoir, travel literature, and food writing, Christopher Bakken delves into the most underappreciated cuisine in Europe in this rollicking celebration of the Greek table. He explores the traditions and history behind eight elements of Greek cuisine--olives, bread, fish, cheese, beans, wine, meat, and honey--and journeys through the country searching for the best examples of each. He picks olives on Thasos, bakes bread on Crete, eats Cycladic honey with one of Greece's greatest poets, and learns about the history of pasta on Chios. Working with local cooks and artisans, he offers an intimate look at traditional village life, while honoring the conversations, friendships, and leisurely ceremonies of dining around which Hellenic culture has evolved for the past several thousand years. Honey, Olives, Octopus is a hymn to slow food, to seasonal and sustainable cuisine, and a lyrical celebration of Greece, where such concepts have always been a simple part of living and eating well."--Publisher's description.