At a time when small businesses are shutting their doors, one locally grown business in South Australia is thriving, making everyone find a new appreciation for one of Greece’s most popular delicacies but with a twist; Plant based yiros.
Although for many of us it is hard to not associate a yiros with some greasy yet delicious meat, for the team at Staazi & Co, they have seen it as a challenge to deliver the same experience but as a vegan alternative.
It all started back in 2017 when vegan influencer Anastasia Lavrentiadis brought her Greek background and love of vegan activism together to conjure up her own version of a meatless plant-based gyros.
Anastasia grew up in a traditional Greek family and was brought up eating mostly traditional Greek food.
“I actually enjoyed nothing more than a juicy lamb yiros, but my whole attitude shifted as I started looking into the slaughtering industry and realised the cruelty that takes place against the animals. From that point onward, I decided to combine my love for Greek food with my love for animals and tried to come up with scrumptious plant-based recipes so that I could still feed people without harming the animals,” said Ms Lavrentiadis who since launching her venture, has seen her start-up mobile food truck business be included amongst the best vegan businesses worldwide.
The all-vegan Staazi menu currently revolves around a plant-based lamb gyros, loaded fries, hot chips and baklava.
“Our food is super delicious and that comes down to using fresh ingredients. Our customers are open minded and people who have to follow dietary requirements. But at the core of everything we do is animal rights and to not cause harm,” said Ms Lavrentiadis who together with husband Roger, spent over a year refining the recipe of her (not-) lamb gyros, which uses traditional Greek flavours and a TVP – or textured vegetable protein – in place of meat prior to launching her business Staazi & Co at a Vegan Festival in Adelaide.
“Our commitment is to care for the welfare of all animals and the environment. All our meals are made without the use of any animal products, inclusive of meat, milk, cheese, butter, cream and eggs. Our ingredients are 100 per cent plant based,” says Anastasia who within months of launching her business, found a starkly underserved local audience looking for plant-based food options in the Adelaide food truck scene.
“It has certainly been really tough through COVID-19, but we have managed to get through the pandemic focusing on consistency and flavour. We are blessed to have loyal customers that keep coming back.”
The young activist says her customer base has grown with people asking her to expand her menu.
“Not everyone wants to eat the plant-based meats, for whatever reason so we also do more traditional Greek dishes – not just street food, but also wholefoods, beans and potatoes and chickpeas.
“I’m not here to offend people –I just want to plant seeds and open doors for people to start doing their own exploration. I am here to show people that you can still have a greasy gyros, if you’re hanging out for one,'” says the Greek businesswoman whose family originates from Kozani and the Peloponnese.
“I’m at the seed-planting stage but my goal is to contribute to the conversation around food consumption. And let’s face it, it’s the Greek in me. I feel like I need to feed these people.
“They’re hungry and they want what I’m providing,’ and for me that’s a real honour,” she concluded.
