Bougatsa (traditional custard cream pastry) in Heraklion is an experience in its own right; it’s the first-morning habit when you get off the ship, but also the perfect break from work, and a great snack any time of the day. It seems like a tradition that passes from one generation to the next and also from one visitor to the next.

Bougatsa is a major part of Heraklion’s culinary tradition, having arrived from Asia Minor in 1922, when each household carried it along with things that mattered most to them, including favourite flavors and aromas, one of them being bougatsa. It is said that the idea behind it came from Byzantium, and more particularly from Constantinople, which had a long tradition of pan sweets and pies. Bougatsa is one of those pies that continues to this day to be a top culinary product. According to a travelogue by travel writer Evliya Çelebi, between the 16th and 17th centuries, there were two bakeries in Constantinople that made bougatsa, serving it sprinkled with icing sugar. Today, the traditional recipe also includes cinnamon. One distinctive difference from other pies is that its stuffing is almost sealed in the filo. Another difference is that the filo is not spread with flour and a rolling pin, but with oil and soft vegetable butter. In Constantinople, this pie was called ‘pogatsa’ or ‘bogatsa’ by the Greeks and ‘bougkatsa’ by the Turks.

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