Since it's Global Entrepreneurship Week, I thought I'd explain exactly how the idea for Zest & Zing came about.
I learned to cook some years ago back when I was living in France simply because I was so inspired by the quality of the truly fresh produce available there. When I moved back to London, I used to shop regularly for herbs and spices because I wanted to give my fish, meat, and other dishes some real flavour.
Well, after a while, I ended up with a small cupboard full of different colour curries, masalas, and Mexican chillis. As is the case with so many small kitchen storage spaces, a lot of things just ended up lost in the back. Time flew by and my spices became stale, odourless, and bland.
I would end up in search of fresh flavour and then go out to buy even more fresh spices. This was not a sustainable situation for me. Recipe books nowadays require many different spices and herbs in teaspoon amounts, and I'm one of those people that can never find the half-teaspoon measure because I use it so often!
I was fed up with the large spice jars that you can never finish while they're still fresh and teaspoons that you can’t find when you need them.
That’s when my Eureka moment happened. I thought to myself, "I want people to enjoy the freshness of spices at their peak. I'm going to sell smaller jars of quality spices so that people can enjoy the variety they want in just the right quantities they need. And I'll throw in a cute individual olive wood spoon that fits inside each jar. That way, they'll enjoy the experience of cooking with these spices!"
Smaller jars mean you'll have more space in your cabinet for variety and you'll use your spices at the peak of their flavour to maximise freshness.
When I cook with fresh spices, people can tell before they open my front door because of how aromatic it makes the whole place smell. And when it comes to the taste of the meals I make, it’s like eating strawberries in the summer or grinding coffee and smelling that amazing scent when it brews.
And with high quality, premium spices, you don't need as much anyway. You'll end up using less because the flavours are more potent!
So that’s how Zest & Zing started: A desire for fresher, more vibrant spices in smaller quantities that I could actually use up. I hope you'll learn to notice the difference that smaller quantity, higher quality spices make in your cooking. Take some time to browse my collection of herbs, spices, seasoning blends, and sea salts now!
