Gourmet Spice Co was created by Mark Hughes in May 2011. After more than 20 years in a corporate life, Mark decided to put his passion for food into action.
After many months of work, he made a range of products & took them to a local food festival. To his delight, he sold out of most things & hasn’t looked back since.
In his own words - I think being a foodie is a widely-coined phrase nowadays but can sometimes infer a certain snobbery with food. The truth is though, I think it’s more about having a higher appreciation for flavoursome and sustainable ingredients rather than claiming a particular food or method is superior to another.
I’m fortunate enough to have eaten in places like The Fat Duck & greatly enjoyed it, but then I’ll also greatly enjoy a lunch of sautéed kale on a garlic-rubbed bruschetta drizzled with oil costing a few pence. After all, good food is good food. But why start Gourmet Spice Co? Like many, I was working long hours & pushed for time but still wanted real flavour from food. I had slipped into a rut, eating mostly the same things week after week. I wanted to be able to use a pinch of this, a drizzle of that or a sprinkle of the other for incredible taste with real, pure ingredients. I didn’t want fruit vinegars packed with half a bottle of sugar or blends with fillers & I’m too impatient to follow rigid instructions so ‘curry kits’ are no good either. Then, frustration turned into inspiration!
