The Greek Guys Grill Story
My name is Kostas. Me and my wife Olympia are the initiators and owners of The Greek Guys Grill. I come from a small town in central Greece, Amfissa. Its history begins about 2500 years ago. It is known for its olive grove, as there are about 1,200,000 olive trees in the area and at the same time it is famous for its grilled meats. Grilling is a tradition passed down from father to son. My father was a stock breeder and knew how to distinguish the best cuts of meat. As a small child he introduced me to the art of cooking, teaching me his secrets and establishing the joy for cooking that continues to this day.
I started baking meat at the age of 13-14 when he left me alone to watch his flock in the mountains. I took the marinated meat with me, lit a fire and used a green straight branch as a spit. This type of cooking, ie pieces of meat passed on a spit is known in Greece as “kontosouvli” and its cooking time is about 1 hour.
In 2012, myself and Olympia, who comes from Athens, moved to New Zealand for a new start. One of the things we did not want to forget was the Greek traditional food and the Greek flavors known to us, among which was the kontosouvli. One of the first things I did when we came to Auckland was to ask a blacksmith to make me a charcoal grill, just like the grills that most families in Greece have in their backyard. It was a small manual grill and I had to turn the spits by hand, but it was a start!
We started inviting our friends around for BBQ’s and I would manually work the grill but alas I could not keep up with the demand for more meat. It was time to make a bigger grill! So I took the old gas BBQ from a friend of mine, turned it into a charcoal BBQ and at the same time asked my family to send me two spit motors from Greece so that I wouldn’t have to turn the spits by hand. Using this Grill we organized other gatherings, but in the end it turned out that this charcoal grill was too small to satisfy us all.
Five years ago we took the leap and made a decision to import a professional BBQ from Greece so that there will always be enough meat for everyone!
Combined with my wife’s authentic Greek food, kontosouvli is something you will not find anywhere in Auckland. My wife is a chef at the Greek restaurant El Greco in Campbells Bay which is the only Authentic Greek restaurant in Auckland, owned and operated by our very dear friends Kostas Grigorakis and Sarah Kate Newson. Our Greek and kiwi friends who tried the kontosouvli were thrilled by the taste and encouraged us to make it more widely known.
A very special thank you to Alexios, Sakis and George for their valuable help in making The Greek Guys Grill come to life.
What is kontosouvli?
Kontosouvli is the roasting of pieces of meat grilled on a spit. It is a traditional way of baking that is found mainly in central Greece.
The first reference to this way of preparing and cooking meat is found in Homer’s Iliad, Rhapsody 1, verses 203-217.
«…ὣς φάτο, Πάτροκλος δὲ φίλῳ ἐπεπείθεθ᾽ ἑταίρῳ. Αὐτὰρ ὅ γε κρεῖον μέγα κάββαλεν ἐν πυρὸς αὐγῇ, ἐν δ᾽ ἄρα νῶτον ἔθηκ᾽ ὄϊος καὶ πίονος αἰγός, ἐν δὲ συὸς σιάλοιο ῥάχιν τεθαλυῖαν ἀλοιφῇ. τῷ δ᾽ ἔχεν Αὐτομέδων, τάμνεν δ᾽ ἄρα δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς. Καὶ τὰ μὲν εὖ μίστυλλε καὶ ἀμφ᾽ ὀβελοῖσιν ἔπειρε, πῦρ δὲ Μενοιτιάδης δαῖεν μέγα ἰσόθεος φώς. αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ κατὰ πῦρ ἐκάη καὶ φλὸξ ἐμαράνθη, ἀνθρακιὴν στορέσας ὀβελοὺς ἐφύπερθε τάνυσσε, πάσσε δ᾽ ἁλὸς θείοιο κρατευτάων ἐπαείρας. Αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥ᾽ ὤπτησε καὶ εἰν ἐλεοῖσιν ἔχευε, Πάτροκλος μὲν σῖτον ἑλὼν ἐπένειμε τραπέζῃ καλοῖς ἐν κανέοισιν, ἀτὰρ κρέα νεῖμεν Ἀχιλλεύς…»
Translation
“So he said, and Patroclus obeyed his dear companion. He put down a large meat board next to the glow of the fire, In it he put a leg, of lamb and of a fat goat and a back of a fat pork. Automedon was holding him and the noble Achilles was cutting. And he chopped them well and passed them on the spits, and Menotiadis, a respected man, burned a great fire. After the wood was completely burned and the flame went out, he spread the charcoals and put the skewers on top Placing them on the holders (bases), he sprinkled them with divine salt. After he baked them and spread them on the tables, Patroclus, after taking bread, distributed it to the table, in beautiful cans, and the meats were distributed by Achilles. “
Mainly used lamb, pork or chicken cut into pieces marinated with Greek herbs. It used to be part of a festive table, for example for gatherings and weddings, but now you can find it in many steakhouses and taverns in Greece. It has a wonderful sweet taste due to the charcoal and mainly to the Greek herbs.
What are the types of fuel for cooking meat?
Baking is a process for preparing food, especially meat. But which fuel is more ideal to achieve the best possible result in taste?
- The gas: The gas is an easy-to-use fuel, as it ignites easily, has a constant temperature, leaves no residue and goes out just as easily after the completion of cooking. As a flammable gas, however, it needs attention when used because accidents also occur. By regulating its flow, the meat is easily cooked, but without acquiring the right aromas of the roast, as the gas simply provides the right temperature for cooking.
- Briquettes: It is a recyclable fuel produced from agricultural residues and discarded biomass. It consists of natural materials compressed, without moisture. It is more difficult to light, has a high thermal efficiency and the remaining ash is 5 times less than that of charcoal. It produces uniform heat and is considered the ideal fuel for longer cooking.
- Charcoals: This is a purely natural product. They light up relatively easily and are ready for cooking after about 20 minutes, flavoring the meat with pure wood aromas and giving it a special taste. The duration of their burning depends on the type of wood used. Their disadvantage is that they do not have a long burning time and begin to lose their heat in a short time, so the chef will have to periodically add charcoals to maintain it. Some woods, such as oak, are harder and therefore the charcoal that comes from them lasts longer.
It is up to each chef to decide which of the above fuel he will choose to use, even if the purpose he seeks is to prepare a quick meal or a result with a strong taste and aroma.
Why The Greek Guys Grill choose charcoal?
All these years I have been cooking meat, I always choose to use charcoal. Ever since I came to Auckland I tried different types of charcoal on the market and came up with the best I could find, that of compressed charcoal. It combines the duration of burning with the aroma of wood, achieving a result that satisfies me completely. It is New Zealand made, it is safe, flameless, smokeless, odorless and with no spark.
So, having the knowledge, experience and encouragement, we decided to provide BBQ catering services to be able to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy the unique experience of grilling and the wonderful flavors of the authentic Greek cuisine.