Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS OCTOBER 2014 www.gourmetnews.com SEASONING & SPICES 1 8 in-store customers over the cooking ex- perience. "Our stores are about interaction," said Mike Johnston, co-founder of Den- ver-based Savory Spice Shop. The staff at his stores focus on sampling and engag- ing with customers about cooking and goals in the kitchen. A perfect example is the company's popular Mexican Mole blend. After a number of regular cus- tomers asked Johnston to come up with such a blend as a convenient alternative to the one to two-day intensive from- scratch process of creating authentic mole, he created a delicious chocolate- chili blend that turns two days of work into 45 minutes for savory ready-to-eat beef, chicken, pork or vegetable dishes. Another blend that has been getting fantastic results for Savory Spice Shop is the company's signature Baker's Brew Coffee Spice. By combining a dark roast coffee with sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, all- spice and cardamon among other ingre- dients, Johnston has hit on a blend that delights in both savory and baking uses. Based in Palm Harbor, Florida, The Spice & Tea Exchange has 37 stores spread throughout the country, five of which are company-owned, including lo- cations at Walt Disney World and Tampa, Florida's Busch Gardens. When a walk-in customer at one of The Spice & Tea Exchange's nationwide locations has questions about the inclusion of black tea in a peppercorn salmon rub, interac- tion is the keyword there, as well. "Our experience is all about smell, taste and getting to know what works for you and what you prefer," said Libby Breivogel, Corporate Marketing Coordinator for The Spice & Tea Exchange. "Since nearly all of our blends are hand-mixed right in- store, we encourage customers to ask questions, and our stores host a lot of educational sessions and cooking classes." One of the com- pany's top sellers is its all-purpose Signa- ture Spice Blend, cre- ated by founder and Managing Partner Clay Freeman. This blend includes the fruity yet hot datil pepper native to the St. Augustine area where the company's warehouse is located. Whether authentic traditional or new and unique, there is always room on the retail shelf for a quality gourmet seasoning BY DAVE BERNARD Whether it's a coffee-inspired seasoning blend that highlights the meat and poul- try dishes of a popular Denver spice shop's customers, a delicious all-purpose blend from St. Augustine, Florida featur- ing the sweet and fruity yet sharp bite of native datil pepper or the endless custom seasoning possibilities of Midwest spice stalwart Wixon, home chefs and the re- tailers that serve them have more delec- table choices in seasoning blends than their pantry or store shelves can hold. When it comes to unique flavor combi- nations, Coal Gulch Trading Company packs quite a punch for its small size. The three-employee Madrid, New Mexico com- pany, which partners with a co-packer and is in its fourth year of opera- tion, boasts a Scovie Award for its Ancho Herb Seasoning, a salt-free Italian blend that works with lasagna and spaghetti as well as a dry rub for meat and fish. The company also has a Great American Barbecue People's Choice award for its Chipotle Seasoning blend. Coal Gulch looks to infuse a dash of originality into its seasoning blends, as with its new Cayenne Seasoning that sur- prises with brown sugar. "We try to start with a traditional base," said owner Michael Scott Reilly. "That's a typical cayenne base, and then I try to twist it to my own taste and create something unique that sets it apart from everybody else. That and the fact that we're salt-free and gluten-free as well – we're getting a nice response to it." In addition to its cayenne, ancho herb and chipotle blends, Coal Gulch offers a habanero blend, as well as two glazes and a habanero mustard. Its products are sold in markets and gift shops in New Mexico and Arizona as well as in Ohio's Jungle Jim's International Markets. St. Francis, Wisconsin-based spice company Wixon focuses on custom sea- soning blends for private-label retail and foodservice clients. When Moe's South- west Grill needed a hot seasoning blend for its spicy guacamole, the 500+-loca- tion casual restaurant chain turned to Wixon. While Moe's requested a very spe- cific flavor profile with particular finish- ing notes, Wixon Corporate Chef Steve Padley and his team negotiated the com- plex arena of hot seasoning combinations to create a habanero-based blend for the chain's now highly successful guacamole. Whether solving seasoning challenges for a large casual dining chain, private- label client or startup gourmet food man- ufacturer, Padley finds this an exciting time for seasoning creators given the surging and varied demands of con- sumers looking for adventurous new tastes as well as authentic ethnic flavors. "American consumers are fascinated by what's not here," Padley said. "When they see the Travel Channel going to all of these exotic locales, and then they get on the Internet and do a little more ex- ploration, they start to wonder what these flavors are like. And now with the millenni- als coming through and the genera- tion behind them, I think they're a little more adventurous in their eat- ing." While the opportunity to create unique seasoning blends is "the greatest thing in the world," according to Padley, he also emphasized the care that goes into creating the authentic ethnic flavors that consumers crave. "People are look- ing for flavors that are more real now, more authentic," he said. "So it's about getting the right type of chilies, the right type of herbs for this traditional fare. And having been in the business for as long as I have, I can take all the past learnings and really explore the world and do this sourcing." Other companies have found success with a business model that includes manufacturing as well as online and brick-and-mortar store sales. As these spice houses create new and unique blends as well as spot-on authentic com- binations, they focus on bonding with Producers Deliver Extra Spice to Retailer Sales with Unique Seasoning Blends Continued on PAGE 22

• Cover