Waistlines be damned: Crete is the perfect place to indulge. The island’s Mediterranean diet is known for its health benefits but the farm-fresh produce, aromatic herbs, straight-from-the-ocean seafood, soft, tangy cheese and some of the world’s best virgin olive oil make it legendary. Whether it’s a bowl of snails, fresh artichokes, mussels or figs, the essence of this rustic cuisine is a balance of flavours. It’s hard to beat traditional hand-spun filo, a salad of horta (wild greens) picked from a backyard garden and red mullet just hauled in.