He’s such a seasoned traveller, he once broke a world record for globetrotting.
But when it came to putting down roots, Gevish Kheddo chose York.
Gevish broke the Guinness world record for being the youngest person to visit every country in Europe when he was just 19.
And he has carried on travelling – you can see his vlog of his world adventures on his YouTube channel.
Now he has opened the Snazzy Brew café next to Bootham Bar at 1a High Petergate, in the premises previously occupied by holiday letting agency Stays York.
We spoke to Gevish himself to find out more.
Why York?
Originally I moved to York to be an engineer from Canterbury where I studied. I worked as an engineer for a few months and realised it wasn’t for me. I felt like I had too much energy for a desk job.
When I moved here, I realised York was such a nice place, very welcoming and charming with a nice atmosphere and not as busy as London.
Why did you start the cafe?
A café has more flexibility, and you don’t have to follow set rules with the food, the design, the art – it can be left to the imagination.
Why did you choose to specialise in British food?
I’ve been around the globe and I have found that British food is underrated. A lot of people don’t know much about it.
If you go to another country you don’t really hear people say ‘let’s go to a British restaurant’ but over here you hear all the time ‘let’s go to an Italian restaurant, a Chinese restaurant’.
I feel like the world needs to know more about British cuisine because there is a lot of good British food out there – sausage rolls, beef wellington, Sunday lunches.
What is a key food at Snazzy?
The sausage rolls are going to be a stable food and be constant. It’s a basic but popular British food.
You’ve made an effort to be eco-friendly. Tell us about that
It’s based around being environmentally friendly, recycling a lot and not creating a lot of waste.
We try not to use plastic as much – even the stuff for sugar and the stirrers are made from cardboard boxes.
The counter is made from pallets and the tables are second hand. Some things like the coffee machine had to be new.
With the flooring, I was told I should re-do it – but I like things when they been used as they have more life to them.
How did you achieve a Guinness world record for travelling at 19?
It was a record I achieved a few years ago whilst at university and doing my A levels. Back then I used to travel a lot because I loved it so much but now, I want to be more settled.
When travelling I realised I was always the youngest person there and would normally be around people a lot older than me.
I realised what I was doing wasn’t normal and that’s when I came across the Guinness world record.
What made you decide to travel?
For me, I’ve always been very curious and always liked seeing new things and experiencing new things.
Travelling helps to understand people and easier to relate to other people as he’s experienced their countries.
Snazzy Brew is open seven days a week – Monday to Friday 8am-5pm; Saturday 8am-6pm; Sunday 10am-4pm.