Welcome to Chileli, a small family-run business dedicated to authentic flavors, hot peppers, and a love for cooking.
My name is Stavros Azar. I’m originally from Cyprus, but since 2008, I’ve been living permanently in Mytilene with my wife and our daughter. Although I work in the field of education as a programmer, cooking has long been my personal passion — a creative space for expression, experimentation, and pure enjoyment.
My involvement with hot peppers began in 2017, when I planted my first Jalapeño plant. That was all it took for this fascinating world to win me over completely. Before long, I was experimenting with new recipes and created my first sweet chili sauce.
In 2019, I decided to expand the cultivation on our family’s estate, growing 180 plants from 10 different varieties of hot peppers, such as Habanero, Scotch Bonnet, and others. From this came my own version of Harissa, and I also perfected the sweet chili sauce, aiming for the ultimate balance between heat and flavor.
With the encouragement and love of those around me, I made the decision to start my own small-scale business — and thus, Chileli was born.
The name "Chileli" combines "chili," the soul of our recipes, with a characteristic suffix from the Lesvos dialect (-eli), as a tribute to the place that gives them life and nourishment — Lesvos.
Our peppers are cultivated with care and passion on the island, with respect for the land and the seasons. Our sauces are handmade in small batches, without artificial additives — only pure ingredients and lots of love.
I invite you to discover Chileli: a flavorful experience that brings together tradition and innovation, fire and balance, and the local with the global.
