A Taste For The Mediterranean Comes From Canada
By Willow Fiddler
If you are looking for an alternative to the usual kimbap and donn cassuh, then look no further than Kebab Plus Gwangju!
The food delivery and catering business has customers raving about the falafels, hummus, fast delivery and professional, friendly service. And who can blame them – the Mediterranean-Greek fusion menu is loaded with nine flavors of homemade hummus, tzatziki, and chicken and falafel kebabs served with shawarma, donair or gyro-style using tortilla wraps and pita pockets. “Such a breath of fresh air!” says one of the several 5-star customer ratings on the Kebab Plus Gwangju Facebook page.
Ulysses Lachinette arrived in South Korea with his wife and son in 2007 from Canada. It was not long before he started helping out at a friend’s food truck. Their customers were mainly international teachers looking for something different. At the time, Lachinette says there was zero competition in Gwangju – no one delivering fresh kebabs to customer’s doors and no food trucks catering to the lunch crowd. Eventually, Lachinette took over his friend’s business and started marketing his menu to local Korean residents. Now he is swamped with orders for business functions, school meetings and picnics. “Some days I go to bed dreaming of kebabs because I’ve made so many in a day.”
Lachinette said one of his favorite parts of operating his own business in Gwangju is the number of people he gets to meet. “That and of course people enjoying my food. I just love it when I get great reviews from everyone.”
“I take great pride in preparing and cooking my food,” said Lachinette, adding that he hand picks his ingredients from a local grocer daily – a fundamental learned when he apprenticed under a 5-star Italian chef in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The downside? “Dishes! I loathe dishes. Sometimes it is the long hours. But would I trade this for an office job? No. I love my job and what I do.”
Customers will be happy to know it does not look like Kebab Plus Gwangju is going anywhere anytime soon. Lachinette recently announced on Facebook plans to only relocate Kebab Plus Gwangju downtown.
But, you cannot make it downtown? No problem. Lachinette says he can ship his food anywhere in the country within a day. A full menu and ordering information can be viewed on the Kebab Plus Gwangju Facebook page.