In addition to its greek extra-virgin olive oil, Fancy Peasant adds a holiday gift box and Greek mountain oregano blend to its lineup.
A few Fancy Peasant favorite vegetarian signature dishes.
Rooted in the love of sharing her family’s traditional Greek recipes with others, first-generation Greek American Anastasia Ganias-Gellin, alongside her sister, Stephanie Rapsomanikis, set off on a mission to curate their dream Greek ingredients and products starting with olive oil. Here, Fancy Peasant founder and local Southamptonite Ganias-Gellin talks about current favorites, upcoming buzz and what she loves most about the holidays.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START FANCY PEASANT? This journey started like most other life-changing journeys in my life, unexpectedly. Fancy Peasant wasn’t part of the plan—neither was my father dying after a remarkable 15-year battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The loss of my babba took a lot from me, but it also gave me a surprising gift. In grief, I discovered that teaching others how to cook my family’s Greek peasant recipes gave me purpose, pleasure and a path to healing. Our philosophy is inspired by the humble lifestyle of my father’s birthplace, Vavouri, Greece, where the people live quite literally off the land. Their food is their medicine, and this same ethos is ingrained in all of our simple, modern recipes.
Our grove was chosen with the perfect olive tree in mind. The combination of the Ionian Sea breeze along with the unique ecosystem of Lechaina, Greece, means it has been home to the world’s most nutritious and delicious Greek extra-virgin olive oil for over a century. The result is a buttery, smooth and highly aromatic GEVOO that is so multidimensional in flavor you can use it on everything (it also happens to taste so sensational you will want to swallow spoonfuls of it). You can literally use it on every dish—guilt-free.
Anastasia Ganias-Gellin with her husband, Hunter, and two kids.
WHY IS THE HAMPTONS THE PERFECT LOCATION FOR FANCY PEASANT? I birthed Fancy Peasant here! The farms here focus on producing the highest quality, nutritionally dense foods for their customers and families, and so to see our Greek olive oil gracing the shelves at places like Provisions and The Green Thumb is really an honor for me. The Fancy Peasant diet is a cornucopia of seasonal vegetables, wild greens, medicinal herbs and legumes, steeped in our ‘liquid gold’ Greek extra-virgin olive oil, so the fact that we are supported by so many of the local farms on Long Island is pretty special.
WHAT IS A CURRENT ITEM YOU’RE CRAZY ABOUT? Our new 1-liter tin and our subscription model. Our wonderful customers were asking for us to make a mini version of our family size, and so we did, and it is darling. One thing that is really special about our oil is the presentation. We chose packaging that would allow for it to be displayed on your countertop even well after the oil was gone—so whether you’re using our handblown amber glass bottle or our (BPA-free) tins that come in our signature ‘mati’ (eye) print, it stuns in the kitchen.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FANCY PEASANT RECIPE? Our Skinny Spanakopitas. Made with our organic olive oil instead of butter, your yiayia would be mad that ours tastes better and that it’s as nutritious as it gets! It can be found on our website under the Recipe tab.
The Elixir set
WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT FOR THE HOLIDAYS? We are very excited for the launch of our first holiday gift box! This will include our staple organic olive oil as well as a couple of new additions to our family, our olive oil pourer and Greek mountain oregano spice blend.
CAN YOU BUZZ ANY UPCOMING NEWS? We are very excited to be closing out the year with the launch of our Fancy Peasant Greek mountain oregano blend. The recipe is a staple in all Fancy Peasant fare and is meant to be paired with our ‘everything’ oil to create the perfect seasoning for all your vegetables, fish and meats. It is simple, clean and inspired by the traditional dishes and flavors of Greece. And it will be included in our holiday gift box starting this month.
Photography by: From top: Photo by Molly Tavoletti; Photo by Molly Tavoletti; Photo by Russell Starr
