What's the story behind the delicious Eat Me Chutneys
Eat Me Chutneys is a mother (Jaya The Amazing Chutney Queen) and son (Ankit The Annoying French Trained Chef) team.
Jaya: enjoying meals with family and friends, sitting around the table, discussing food and exchanging recipes has been followed through generations in our family - jazzing up the meal with chutneys and pickles just made the whole environment is so exciting - the sounds of Ooh, Ahh, Yumm! just used to fill the air.
Ankit: so one night we suggested that Mum should share her phenomenal recipes with the Sydney community and start at a farmers market and I could throw my French training to it. And so the socially good jars were born embodied by the thought of doing well for the community, supporting local farmers and of course sharing some lip smacking chutneys and pickles along the way.
Ankit: so one night we suggested that Mum should share her phenomenal recipes with the Sydney community and start at a farmers market and I could throw my French training to it. And so the socially good jars were born embodied by the thought of doing well for the community, supporting local farmers and of course sharing some lip smacking chutneys and pickles along the way.
Jaya: preservation has been the essence of lour life - grandmothers used to plan, all the kids helped in cleaning and preparing vegetables, mums and aunties helping in sterilising and the cooking process. Grandmas keeping a close eye - no one was allowed to touch their hair or face or scratch their noses. It was a very clean process.
These were the pleasures of living in an extended family: we ate together, played together, cleaned together, preserved together and laughed together. Preservation is the key to bringing families and communities together. It brings out the sharing, caring and social abilities in people. This is what I saw growing up in my extended family.
Ankit: ah the name....well whenever I open the fridge and see a jar of tamarind chutney, the jar literally stares back at me and yells out "don't just stare at me...Eat Me".
Your range is incredibly with literally one to suit every taste (and even the non-chutney'ers now being converts!) with the most amazing achievement being the first Certified Fair Trade Chutneys to be had in Australia & New Zealand. Having this mantle must not only be incredibly satisfying but the ultimate positive reinforcement that you have a good product! How did this come about
Jaya: the story continues....we were born out of the that we want to be socially good jars first and business second. As children living in an extended family we saw our parents and grandparents supporting our less fortunate relatives and paying fees for children in our neighbourhood. We grew up with very strong morals, empathy and giving and helping others was instilled in us right from a very young age and so couldn't view the world any differently.
Ankit: using Fair Trade ingredients just seemed right as we support and communicate directly with the farmers/cooperatives. Our chutneys are the first and only Fair Trade certified chutneys across Australia and New Zealand.
Jaya: understanding the ethos and workings of Fair Trade, understanding the Fair Trade supply chain, the right suppliers, ensuring a proper audit mechanism is in place, made the process challenging but the Fair Trade team were ever so helpful. However, knowing our decision would eventually help a farmer across the world made it all the more rewarding. Sure, the costs go up, but the joy of supporting someone out there, who really deserves it, is extremely satisfying.
The Fair Trade logo will shine on our jars very soon!
Your start at Frenchs Forest Market was spectacular and seems to be going from strength to strength. What is is about market life that keeps it tangible for you
Jaya: preservation and living in tribes evokes deep rooted, almost primeval feelings of self-sufficiency and survival, of gatherer and hunter, of community and societal bond, for this is how our ancestors stayed alive.
I've only ever taught primary school children all my life. The thought of running a business was daunting enough but being in the public eye was just a crazy thought at first. But right from our very first market, the amazing feeling of family has made us feel so welcome.
We've made great friends with our customers and other stallies with whom we barter our jars for food. The great feedback from people at Frenchs Forest has given us such an incentive that now our profile includes a range of unique pickles and chutneys.
And we will soon be introducing two Christmas chutneys!!! YAY!!!
Do you have a personal favourite amongst your chutneys and why
Jaya: oh gosh...where do I start! My personal favourite is the tamarind and fig as it brings back the happy old memories of fun times, eating together as a big family. Move aside honey soy chicken wings and welcome tamarind chicken wings - perfect for a quick BBQ meal to feed 3 boys in the family.
And to look at (of course it tastes amazing too..especially with a bowl of vanilla ice cream) is rhubarb and ginger.
Its amazing rich colour just brightens my day and is a mighty fine and funky addition to toasted granola, yoghurt and fresh fruit. But my new favourite could just become the Christmas chutney....it's coming sooon!
Ankit: my absolute personal favourite is eggplant pickle - works a treat on anything. No lunch in the fridge? No worries! I just boil some rice and mix in the eggplant pickle. Done! Bread, ham slices, eggplant pickle and happy me!
As a stallie, what is it about markets like Frenchs Forest, that form an important part of the local foodie community
Jaya: the farmers market is just a fantastic concept. It's like running a big social enterprise where everyone involved is benefiting from it. The farmers are able to get the right price for their hard work and the consumers are happy to get organic and other fresh produce. There is a lot of honest and good sharing of information by the stallies on how they source their ingredients, where their farms are, their secret recipes, but above all a lot of appreciation and respect for what each one is doing.
Ankit: and Mum has made very good friends with Peter & Stephanie, a lovely couple who live down the road from the markets. They enjoy pickling too and are always giving us samples of their experiments, advising us on different flavour combinations and sharing their recipes.
Jaya: there is so much to learn at these markets, especially different ranges of foods which may not be generally available outside (a market environment). You can hear a lot of talk about healthy eating, cooking ideas, recycling, food wastage - so much to learn.
It's very encouraging to see more and more people becoming part of the foodie community at the markets.
Go Team Markets!
These were the pleasures of living in an extended family: we ate together, played together, cleaned together, preserved together and laughed together. Preservation is the key to bringing families and communities together. It brings out the sharing, caring and social abilities in people. This is what I saw growing up in my extended family.
Ankit: ah the name....well whenever I open the fridge and see a jar of tamarind chutney, the jar literally stares back at me and yells out "don't just stare at me...Eat Me".
Your range is incredibly with literally one to suit every taste (and even the non-chutney'ers now being converts!) with the most amazing achievement being the first Certified Fair Trade Chutneys to be had in Australia & New Zealand. Having this mantle must not only be incredibly satisfying but the ultimate positive reinforcement that you have a good product! How did this come about
Jaya: the story continues....we were born out of the that we want to be socially good jars first and business second. As children living in an extended family we saw our parents and grandparents supporting our less fortunate relatives and paying fees for children in our neighbourhood. We grew up with very strong morals, empathy and giving and helping others was instilled in us right from a very young age and so couldn't view the world any differently.
Ankit: using Fair Trade ingredients just seemed right as we support and communicate directly with the farmers/cooperatives. Our chutneys are the first and only Fair Trade certified chutneys across Australia and New Zealand.
Jaya: understanding the ethos and workings of Fair Trade, understanding the Fair Trade supply chain, the right suppliers, ensuring a proper audit mechanism is in place, made the process challenging but the Fair Trade team were ever so helpful. However, knowing our decision would eventually help a farmer across the world made it all the more rewarding. Sure, the costs go up, but the joy of supporting someone out there, who really deserves it, is extremely satisfying.
The Fair Trade logo will shine on our jars very soon!
Your start at Frenchs Forest Market was spectacular and seems to be going from strength to strength. What is is about market life that keeps it tangible for you
Jaya: preservation and living in tribes evokes deep rooted, almost primeval feelings of self-sufficiency and survival, of gatherer and hunter, of community and societal bond, for this is how our ancestors stayed alive.
I've only ever taught primary school children all my life. The thought of running a business was daunting enough but being in the public eye was just a crazy thought at first. But right from our very first market, the amazing feeling of family has made us feel so welcome.
We've made great friends with our customers and other stallies with whom we barter our jars for food. The great feedback from people at Frenchs Forest has given us such an incentive that now our profile includes a range of unique pickles and chutneys.
And we will soon be introducing two Christmas chutneys!!! YAY!!!
Do you have a personal favourite amongst your chutneys and why
Jaya: oh gosh...where do I start! My personal favourite is the tamarind and fig as it brings back the happy old memories of fun times, eating together as a big family. Move aside honey soy chicken wings and welcome tamarind chicken wings - perfect for a quick BBQ meal to feed 3 boys in the family.
And to look at (of course it tastes amazing too..especially with a bowl of vanilla ice cream) is rhubarb and ginger.
Its amazing rich colour just brightens my day and is a mighty fine and funky addition to toasted granola, yoghurt and fresh fruit. But my new favourite could just become the Christmas chutney....it's coming sooon!
Ankit: my absolute personal favourite is eggplant pickle - works a treat on anything. No lunch in the fridge? No worries! I just boil some rice and mix in the eggplant pickle. Done! Bread, ham slices, eggplant pickle and happy me!
As a stallie, what is it about markets like Frenchs Forest, that form an important part of the local foodie community
Jaya: the farmers market is just a fantastic concept. It's like running a big social enterprise where everyone involved is benefiting from it. The farmers are able to get the right price for their hard work and the consumers are happy to get organic and other fresh produce. There is a lot of honest and good sharing of information by the stallies on how they source their ingredients, where their farms are, their secret recipes, but above all a lot of appreciation and respect for what each one is doing.
Ankit: and Mum has made very good friends with Peter & Stephanie, a lovely couple who live down the road from the markets. They enjoy pickling too and are always giving us samples of their experiments, advising us on different flavour combinations and sharing their recipes.
Jaya: there is so much to learn at these markets, especially different ranges of foods which may not be generally available outside (a market environment). You can hear a lot of talk about healthy eating, cooking ideas, recycling, food wastage - so much to learn.
It's very encouraging to see more and more people becoming part of the foodie community at the markets.
Go Team Markets!
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Insightful and enlightening and with interviews like this, we love learning just that little bit more about our stallies.
Massive thank you to Jaya & Ankit for letting us share just a little bit of their chutney world and if you're a fan as we are, we are SO looking forward to seeing these mysterious Christmas chutneys!
CONGRATULATION !!!!! JAYA MAMI & ANKIT. Would Love to Taste your yummy yummy " CHUTNEYS"....
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