GEORGIA – From chemical engineer to master of Greek flavors in the kitchen, Chef Stav speaks with The National Herald about how he created a product that brings the vibrant flavors of Greece into modern kitchens globally.
Meet Stavros Tsaklas, the chef and founder of Stav’s Souvlaki. From as young as three, he’s been known to love the kitchen, especially when it came to helping out his mother and grandmother. Today, he runs his own business in Savannah, GA, Stav’s Souvlaki, catering towards all your seasoning needs.
The first-generation Greek-American established his business on June 15 earlier this year, and ever since, it has gained quite a following online. It sells three key products, including two homemade souvlaki seasonings and one lemon herb seasoning.
In an interview with The National Herald, he revealed how his journey as a new business owner came about.
“I used to work as a chemical engineer, and that’s why I came down to Savannah…and I left my job about a year ago, because I had plans to start some sort of business,” Tsaklas told TNH.
“Originally, I was thinking of making Stav’s Souvlaki a food truck, but after thinking about it more, when I was doing my logistics and planning, I saw an opening to do it as a spice instead, and so I figured, why not.”
With passions for cooking and playing with Greek flavors ever since he was a child, Tsaklas expressed that food had always been a big part of his life, despite what he studied in university.
“When I tell people that now I’m doing food manufacturing, they say ‘why would you get a chemical engineering degree and just not use your degree?’, but that’s the thing, I’m always using my degree, as cooking is chemistry, and when you’ve got a product and you want to sell it, and sell a lot of it, it all goes into that background, and that’s kind of how I started it,” he said.
“I just thought of it from an analytical standpoint, of how I can make a spice that really captures that authentic flavor [of Greece] and replicate it over and over again.”
Even though the Stav’s Souvlaki chef has got a booming business now, he added how this was his second attempt at creating a brand for himself, after starting his own industrial hemp business five years ago.
“I had a permit to grow industrial hemp in Pennsylvania, and I had designed some products, and the company didn’t work – it failed. One of the main things I learned from that experience was that it doesn’t matter how good your product is all the time, you’ve really got to know how to market it or ensure that there is a market for it, before you actually take your product and try selling it,” Tsaklas said.
“While I was working in Savannah for these chemical companies, I started making cooking videos for fun. And I would make a lot of souvlakis, and then I started this video series where I would say like, ‘day one of making souvlaki…’ I started with one ounce, and I worked my way up.”
The idea of creating his own seasoning then sprung up after he decided it would be easiest to keep all the souvlaki spices in one bottle, rather than adding them all onto his meat one by one for seasoning. He then created a little bottle on his shelf, sealed with duct tape, and labelled ‘souvlaki mix’ with a marker.
“Then one day, I said to myself, you know what, I don’t really see a lot of this out there right now, and if I have this bottle premixed and I’m using it, I don’t see why someone else wouldn’t,” Tsaklas said.
Discussing how he would describe his seasoning blends, which consist of Souvlaki Seasoning, Spicy Souvlaki Seasoning, and Lemon and Herb Seasoning, Tsaklas said three words – ‘bold’, ‘smokey’ and ‘vibrant’.
He said they initially gained popularity when he introduced them to local farmers markets a few months ago.
“When people come to the farmers markets, and they try a sample, there is pretty much a 75% chance that they will buy it. People would just take one bite of the souvlaki seasoning I would prepare, and their eyes widen, like ‘oh my god, wow, I’ve never tried that before,’” Tsaklas said.
He added that each seasoning is handcrafted using authentic ingredients.
“The original blend contains sea salt, smoked Spanish paprika, black pepper, garlic, thyme and Greek oregano,” he added.
“After the original, I ended up making a spicy blend too…which has the same sort of profile as the original blend, but with a little bit of a kick. And then the lemon herb one was the third product I created, and that has the Greek oregano as well. I designed it to be used for potatoes, fish, and seafood, and it’s got real lemon peel, rosemary, salt, black pepper, onion, basil, and thyme in it too.”
With hopes to launch his products into Greek supermarkets, as well as see them used in restaurants, Tsaklas revealed how he felt to have created a product that so many people love and adore throughout just experimenting with flavors.
“I mean, it’s awesome. You know, I love food, and one of my favorite things about food isn’t just eating it myself, but getting to share it with someone else,” he said.
“It makes me happy because when I was a little kid… I would always be cooking, and when I ate something that I liked, I would always ask you, ‘hey, you got to try this, you want to buy this – try a bite of this. And if it’s not something that I am cooking, I like seeing people eat good food and smiling.”
Overall, the Stav’s Souvlaki founder said he was always proud of his product.
“I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly, but I knew it’d be something, something people would love, for sure,” Tsaklas said.
As well as creating seasoning blends for savory dishes, the founder of Stav’s Souvlaki said he is also working on a dessert topper which can be expected as soon as later this year, or very early next.
“It’s something you could sprinkle on ice cream, put it on top of any desserts, and its Greek inspired – I don’t want to say any more than that right now, though as it’s still in its early stages,” he said.
With about 100 orders a week, Stav’s Souvlaki seasoning is available online and at the Farmer’s Market in Savanah, Georgia.
To find out more about Tsaklas’ business, visit https://stavssouvlaki.com/.
