Panny Skrivanos, an accomplished businessman from Chinnor, is the driving force behind Mezemas, a business that brings authentic Greek cuisine to Oxfordshire residents. With a unique blend of Greek heritage from his father’s side and roots in Oxfordshire from his mother’s, Panny’s culinary journey is deeply personal and inspired by a rich family tradition. Growing up around Greek-speaking relatives who ran cafes and tavernas, Panny developed a profound love for Greek food and a desire to share its authentic flavours with a broader audience.
Panny’s entrepreneurial path began with The Souvlaki Brothers in 2015, initially focusing on festival and event catering. In 2018, he expanded the business with a street-food takeaway in Oxford’s Covered Market. Despite facing challenges due to reduced footfall post-2020, Panny’s passion for Greek cuisine led to the innovative concept of Mezemas, delivering Greek feast boxes that bring the taverna experience to customers’ homes. You can read our review on Mezemas for how amazing that is.
We managed to catch up to ask him about his journey, exploring his background, the inspiration behind Mezemas, and his commitment to maintaining traditional Greek recipes while innovating to meet local tastes.
Discover how Panny balances running a successful business with engaging the community and hear about his exciting plans for the future.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and what inspired you to bring Greek food to Oxfordshire?
My father’s side of the family is Greek and my mother’s side is from Oxfordshire. I was lucky enough to grow up around my Greek-speaking relatives, and grandparents who ran cafes and tavernas. I just remember always having a love for Greek food, and a frustration at never being able to find the real thing in the UK. I can’t say I particularly had a dream to be an entrepreneur nor did I really know what it took to run a small business, but I recognised there was something missing in the Greek food offering in the UK and knew I wanted to share the food that inspired me.
Tell us about your new venture with Mezemas?
MEZEMAS is an authentic Greek taverna dining experience that you can enjoy in your own home! Although we originally set up several years ago as a street-food business, I always wanted to broaden the offering and my early vision was to have a Greek taverna at some point. Really it was lockdown and the subsequent shift in consumer habits which allowed us to develop the concept for the new venture. Also, by that point we had quickly learnt that running and staffing in bricks and mortar retail locations is costly, and that by building our own production kitchen and selling online, we could adjust our profit margins and allow more budget for the best ingredients and great value for money at the same time.
What aspects of Greek culture and cuisine are you most passionate about sharing with your customers?
Eating is a social activity in Greece. In most tavernas and restaurants you will see families eating together, sharing food and conversation. My son is 7 years old now, and mealtimes are so important for connection and sharing experiences and fun together – I really hope that our Feast Boxes will contribute to that in people’s homes, whether with family or friends.
Our name derives from the word ‘Meze’ which in Greece refers to a meal made of many different smaller plates, or selection of different dishes and tastes. We have a set menu, the aim of which is to give people a real idea of how Greeks eat, and the chance to discover some new favourites. Think of it as a Greek tasting menu!
What are some of your signature dishes, and what makes them special?
We offer a real range of dishes from pastitsio (a sort of Greek lasagne!) to Greek cheeseballs, braised okra to Prawn Saganaki (kings prawns in a tomato and feta sauce). My family come from an island called Chios in the North Aegean, and way before that lived in a city called Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey) and some of our dishes are particular to that region, such as Soutzoukakia Smyrnaki, and often contain subtle spicing and flavours which you might not find elsewhere in Greek cooking.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a restaurant owner, and how did you overcome them?
Lockdown was tough on hospitality across the board and I think the effects are still being felt, not least so in the form of financial challenges, particularly for small businesses repaying loans taken out to survive that period. It has really hampered growth for what was historically a really successful sector for the economy, and I still think we’re going to see more casualties amongst SMEs from the long term effects.
On top of that, costs of most ingredients have almost doubled compared to 2020 – olive oil is one of the worst culprits for example! If food businesses simply passed that on to consumers then the prices would be astronomical, so most small independents I know are still trying to absorb that loss in order to try and maintain an acceptable price for their food. I’ve noticed that a lot of the larger restaurant chains have reduced portion sizes a fair bit to try and compensate.
My current challenge is spreading the word about our wonderful food, as we don’t have a physical location anymore. The world of digital marketing is one we are now embracing and we’ve had to put a lot of effort into creating images and content that really conjures up how delicious the food is!
How do you balance maintaining traditional Greek recipes with innovating your menu to cater to local tastes?
We don’t! We have always been passionate about truly authentic Greek food and we don’t compromise on that. Our mission is to introduce people to these wonderful classic Greek dishes, which have stood the test of time, and we see no reason to mess around with them! Our menu contains a real variety of food, including some great vegetarian and vegan-friendly food for example, but our reasons for including these is that they are delicious and authentic and sit well within the context of the whole feast.
How do you handle customer feedback, both positive and negative?
We’ve been delighted that, since our launch in April, we’ve only received positive feedback! I think it’s vital as a business owner to listen to your customers, and ask the question (even though it can nerve-wracking!). We follow up every single order to ask for feedback, on both the ordering and delivery process, as well as the food itself. Our customers have been so supportive in providing this for us. One suggestion that has come up a lot is for a fully vegetarian box, so we are looking to launch that later this year.
What do you love about living in Oxfordshire?
We’re lucky to live in such a green county! Not only do we have access to city amenities in Oxford but we have wonderful countryside on our doorstep and of course the Thames winding its way through. Cooking in a kitchen all day makes it hard to get some Vitamin D, so I do enjoy time outdoors with the family as often as I can.
How important is community involvement and support for your restaurant, and how do you engage with the local community?
It’s vital. We’re a local business and community word-of-mouth is by far the most important marketing we get. From customers telling friends, to leaving recommendations on local social media forums, these are hugely important for us and are really helping us get off the ground. Our son is at a primary school in Chinnor and it’s been lovely to see the orders coming in from fellow parents – we have a really supportive community in the village. As we grow, I’m looking forward to giving back more through sponsorship or charitable work.
What are your future plans? Are there any new projects or expansions in the works? Will we ever see you owning a Greek Taverna in Oxfordshire?
We are very keen to run some pop-up Greek taverna nights, and are speaking to several venues about ways to make that happen. We self-catered our own wedding as a Greek taverna night and we know how much fun they can be! We’d be delighted to speak to anyone who has a venue where they think it might work… Next year, there are plans to have our catering trailer back on the road, allowing us to set up at weddings and events as a mobile taverna too!
