At their London deli, The Good Life Eatery, Yasmine Larizadeh and Shirin Kouros dish up healthy but hearty food inspired by their Iranian heritage
So what is the ethos of The Good Life Eatery?
Yasmine: ‘Delicious, healthy food made from scratch. We’re not about dieting - nor do we want to dictate exactly what you should eat. Everything on our menu is as fresh as it can be.’
How did you two meet?
Shirin: ‘Our dads are friends and actually put us in touch via email back in 2013 and we ended up meeting a few days later. That’s where it all began!’ What’s the secret to working together so well?
Yasmine: ‘We’re Yin and Yang – it’s all about balance. I’m a Libra so I think my ultimate goal in life is to create balance. Working together brings equilibrium to our business. Shirin is an Aquarius, and apparently these two star signs together create some of the very best matches, so perhaps that's why we work so well together! Where did you look for inspiration for the menu at The Good Life Eatery?
Yasmine: ‘A mixture of the States and our Iranian heritage. We spent a month travelling in the USA before we decided to work together, hitting up California and New York and eating at pretty much any deli ranging from American greasy spoons to the rawest, weirdest food concepts we could get our hands on!'
Shirin: ‘I try to go back to LA once a year for inspiration, but I also end up finding ideas everywhere, whether it’s the plating of a dish or the ingredients used!’
What are your personal favourites from the menu?
Shirin: ‘Everything! Though I created the menus so I’m biased. If I had to pick a few stars I’d say our chestnut and almond waffles or the chicken meatballs, which are pretty spectacular. I eat the Sunset chopped salad with Dijon vinaigrette at least three times a week!’
Yasmine: ‘I love the NoHo Special, which is baked quinoa and cauliflower cakes. I always have it with a side of chipotle mayo for a bit of spice.’
Where do you go out to eat?
Yasmine: ‘An Italian seafood restaurant called Assunta Madre just off Oxford Street in London. They serve this paper-thin langoustine carpaccio that is to die for.’
Shirin: ‘I love Sushi Yasuda in New York. It’s a small traditional Japanese restaurant where you can just have the Omakase Menu which is picked by the chef.’
Where do you go to eat if you're having an indulgent day?
Shirin: ‘I love a good fully loaded cheeseburger at my new favourite BRGR.CO. The sweet potato fries are really tasty!’
Your food is so instagrammable – how did that help the business?
Yasmine: ‘I LOVE Instagram! I am a social media baby at heart. It helps in so many ways…I think engaging with your audience on a very personal level is the most important thing. That way you can receive feedback, be it positive or negative.'
You’ve got some celebrity fans – can you give us the low down on what they order?
Shirin: ‘I know Millie Mackintosh loves the chicken meatballs and our Ninja Turtle superfood smoothie. Lily Allen is also a big juice fan!’
The Good Life Eatery’s third site will be opening on the 1st of March, you can find it at 20 Motcomb Street, Belgravia, London, SW1X 8LB