Sitia Brings Back the Legendary Kakavia Feast

Sitia harbor in August 2023 was redolent with the aroma of freshly caught seafood and culinary herbs as Chef Dina Nikolaou led a kitchen team in an exercise that found its way into the Guinness World Records. Two thousand servings of Kakavia—a classic Greek fisherman’s soup—were prepared for a hungry audience. The festival did not just feed tourists; it put Sitia on the gastronomes’ culinary map, boosting visitor numbers and local pride in the same proportion. Word got around, and the seaside roads of the city teemed with chatter. The beachfront, a tangle of fishing vessels and promenade under the sun, was the venue for a town-wide feast people still talk about today. The scale of the event provided the town with not just publicity, but a new festival—one governed by the sea breeze, laughter, and the flavors of traditional Kakavia enjoyed by all the participants.

Reasons for Reviving the Kakavia Festival

Sitia’s mayor and the festival organizers agreed to revive the Kakavia Festival in 2025, driven by several key objectives:

• Fostering people-to-people relationships through shared traditions and an open culture,
• Attracting tourists and boosting the local economy by focusing on Cretan cuisine
• Celebrating Sitia fishermen’s and chefs’ tradition and skills
• Continuing a world-record-breaking tradition proudly and ceremonially.

This thoughtful revitalization will turn the Kakavia Festival into a flagship event, one that defines the city’s summer schedule and makes it recognizable in the years to come.

A Summer Highlight at the Sitia Harbor

Come August 17, 2025, Sitia’s port will again be filled with the steam and scent of boiling Kakavia. With Chef Dina Nikolaou at the helm, directing every detail, locals and travelers alike can look forward to a genuine experience that is quintessentially Cretan in hospitality. The celebration, now a cherished tradition, is well-attended as people look forward to rich flavours and good, uncomplicated company. The organizers have proclaimed, “Again, Sitia city will prepare and serve the most plentiful and tastiest Kakavia and become the place where this popular seafood soup reaches new heights.” With more than two thousand portions to be served, the festival converts an otherwise ordinary evening into something extraordinary—a fleeting moment of communal warmth under the open Cretan skies.

For travelers to Crete, this Kakavia feast at Sitia harbor offers much more than a meal. It is an experience in which tradition comes alive, and the city’s essence is served spoonful by spoonful, echoing out over the sunlight on the sea.