Who runs SEKO FOOD Falafel?
SEKO is the meeting of minds, hearts and tastebuds between top Turkish chef Senol BEYAZ
Before moving to Australia 17 years ago, Senol worked as a chef for 15 years in a giant 2000 seater restaurant in Bursa, Turkey. When he created a recipe for a snack that was so unique, healthy and delicious, he had to share it with the world! He launched the Falafel range in 2014. In a short amount of time, SEKO has grown to be what it is today – a nationally recognized brand that produces quality, guilt-free snack falafel for people of all ages to enjoy!
SEKO is a family-owned and operated business. As a way of contributing to the community, they give people job opportunities, teaching new skills with the aim of giving their employees a better life in Australia.
SEKO FOOD’s Handmade Turkish-Style Falafel
As Australia’s fascination with authentic ethnic foods continues to grow, SEKO FOOD proudly introduces unique, gluten-free and vegan falafel. Handmade with the highest quality ingredients, our delicious falafel is the perfect healthy option for you to take home and enjoy!
Falafel is a wonderfully versatile food that can be eaten as a snack, on the go, as an appetizer, or as part of a Mediterranean “meze” plate. It is even filling enough to be the highlight of your lunch or dinner. Our falafel is quick and easy to prepare, but we can also cater your parties and gatherings if you prefer!
What’s special about SEKO FOOD falafel? We have invented our own nutritious Turkish-inspired falafel recipe, free of artificial colours, animal products, preservatives, and MSG. Our falafel is handmade with love from high quality, locally sourced ingredients.
Where does falafel come from?
Falafel is one of the world’s oldest recorded street foods – believed to be 1000 years old. Traditionally made from fava beans, its origins have been traced to the Christian Copts of Egypt, a group of people who weren’t allowed to eat meat during certain holidays, especially Lent. Ta’amia – the Egyptian version of falafel – was served as a meat substitute. The dish later spread to other regions of the Middle East, and fava beans were replaced with chickpeas in the Arabic version of the dish. There’s always conflict between cultures over who can claim fame to falafel. Is it Lebanese? Palestinian? Jewish? To confuse the matter, we’ve added our unique Turkish touch to the familiar recipe!
Being Turkish immigrants, we love how the cuisine of our homeland is wholesome, combining flavours of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Turkish cuisine is distinctive for its use of onion, garlic, and parsley, so we use parsley in our falafel recipe instead of coriander – a herb popular in other countries but not in Turkey. The result is a tasty vegetarian blend of chickpeas, onions, vegetables and exotic spices.
Falafel is more than just food to us – the taste and smell evokes memories of our homeland. It is central to our perception of “home” and identity. But we are also inspired by our current home of Australia, and how it has combined different cultures to create a beautiful culture of its own. That’s why we don’t say that our falafel recipe is purely “Turkish”, but rather, a fusion. It’s a nod to our past and present. As Australia continues to fuse different cultures, we’ll continue to fuse different flavours. And in the same way that Australia is inclusive and welcoming, our gluten-free and vegan falafel can be enjoyed by everyone – no matter their age, cultural background, or dietary requirements!
As in Turkish way of saying, “enjoy your food” – “Afiyet olsun”
Vision
Our goal was to create healthy falafel that we not only ate ourselves, but that we were proud to feed our friends and families. We are very proud of our product, and our goal now is to continue to develop new flavours and concepts for the world to enjoy.
Our mission is also to create awareness around healthy eating and to change people’s eating habits for the better. In the same way that people aim for a high IQ (Intelligence Quotient), we want to encourage people to have a higher “NQ” (Nutritional Quotient) – to make healthy eating choices, and to cook healthy, wholesome meals with quality ingredients.
What makes SEKO FOOD Falafel different?
We are committed to using healthy, quality ingredients in our falafel, and we make every falafel by hand, daily. As a big supporter of local produce, we use chickpeas from Toowoomba, freshly ground local vegetables, and Australian garlic. But the best part about our falafel? It’s vegan and gluten free. A good source of protein and fiber, it’s also extremely rich in antioxidants. Our falafel balls are cooked with a special technique, which means they don’t absorb too much oil. This makes them light and moist, with only 72 calories per falafel ball.
SEKO FOOD Falafel balls are crispy and flavorful on the outside, tender on the inside, and loaded with bursts of lemon, garlic and tahini in each bite. They taste amazing alone, but are complemented very well by our dips. We highly recommend serving our falafel with our freshly made dips: hummus, Baba ghanoush, labna, tsatsiki and garlic.
How to eat?
SEKO Falafel balls are already cooked. We sell them to you chilled, so you can either eat them at room temperature, store them in the fridge for 8-10 days, or freeze them (for up to 6 months) to be eaten later.
Falafel is quick and easy to prepare. Heat unfrozen falafel balls in a conventional oven for 5 minutes, or in a microwave for 30 seconds. It’s up to you how crispy you’d like them! Serve with your preference of Turkish bread, tomatoes, salad, and flavorful dips. For something a little different, try heating your falafel in a pan with coconut oil.
With a little imagination, the recipe possibilities are virtually endless!