Cretan Cuisine Ranks Very High in 2025 Global Rankings

According to today's edition (December 16) of TornosNews, food and gastronomy is increasingly emerging as a determining factor for travelers in choosing a travel destination. In fact, it is considered as the second most important criterion for the modern traveler.

Group Operations Director at Grecotel Hotels & Resorts, Demetrios Kalaitzidakis, verifies that Greek cuisine maintains high positions in international rankings of gastronomy, and states “when it competes with the Italians, the Spanish and the French”, Greek cuisine constitutes a huge success in itself. In recent international rankings Greek and, in particular, Cretan gastronomy ranks very high.

In Taste Atlas' recent global ranking published this year of the top 100 culinary regions, Crete ranked in third place overall internationally, only behind the regions of Campania and Emilia Romagna in Italy, while Sicily and Macedonia complete the top five,.

Currently, six Greek regions are among the Top-20, with the Peloponnese, the North Aegean, Thessaly and the Cyclades recording strong performances. Meanwhile, Crete stands out for its combination of authenticity, quality of raw materials and continuity over time, elements that constitute a clear competitive advantage for Greek tourism.

Of particular importance in the Taste Atlas rankings is the individual distinction of the Cretan dakos, which for another year has emerged in 2025 as the top salad in the world. As Demetrios Kalaitzidakis noted, the fact that a local, completely representative dish of the Cretan diet competes internationally with options such as Caesar’s salad or other iconic salads is a huge achievement for Cretan gastronomy. At the same time, it confirms that the Cretan healthy diet is not just a story, but a global choice.