Philhellene Provincial Greek Cuisine restaurant owner John Rerakis is (in)famous for his jokes. Nothing escapes his sense of humour on social media.
The constantly rising cost of living that has hit even the price of vegetables did not escape the Cretan’s repertoire.
Neos Kosmos, added one of his photos posted on Facebook where he pretends to steal a lettuce while at Victoria Market, hiding it under his jumper as part of a bigger commentary piece on inflation prices.
Greek media picked up the story, with National TV Broadcaster ERT going as far as to invite Rerakis on the popular weekend TV show ‘Savvatokyriako’.
“Once upon a time in Crete we would watch over cattle so it would not be stolen now we need to watch the… lettuce,” the restauranteur said jokingly, next to a lettuce that he had chained up right next to him.
Touching on the constantly increasing cost of living and especially the food price hikes he shared his worries about the general feeling of stress and despair many families and business owners are facing and said that “unfortunately these issues are not going away with a smile, yet, having a sense of humour helps lighten the mind and offers a new perspective”.
Arguing that lettuce is the new toilet paper and that it will soon be competing with the price of gold, Rerakis stressed that $10 for a small bunch is beyond exorbitant.
Produce prices aside, the Greek Australian restauranteur complained that the hospitality sector is still suffering from lack of staff following two years of pandemic restrictions and lack of visa-holders coming to Australia. At the same time, many residents and citizens are struggling with unemployment.
*For clarity and transparency the photo of Rarakis ‘stealing’ the lettuce from the market stall was staged and the stall owner was in on the joke.
Watch the YouTube video here:
