Press

SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT

Spice is NICE

Ninety percent of the world’s cinnamon comes from Sri Lanka (previously and perhaps even more food evocatively known as Ceylon) Now you can enjoy Ceylon cinnamon and more from Santa Barbara as Dinesh Perera has started his company The Spicy Gourmet. You can order a spice blending collection complete with a proprietary spice grinder and recipe booklet and relish the exotic from fenugreek seed to whole Ceylon mace ground freshly in your own kitchen releasing all those beautiful flavors and aromas right in time for your meal. 

Whats more all the spices are guaranteed USDA certified organic and fair trade, so you can feel good while you eat well. But if you need more help than a host of deliciousness delivered to your door, you can invite Perera himself to lead a cooking class in your home. Starting at $75 a person, invite four to seven friends to your kitchen and choose three delicious South Asian dishes to make and devour, from thakkali isso (shrimp in a coconut-tomato curry) to annasi (curried pineapple with cumin and fenugreek).

Read Full Article

GOURMET RETAILER.COM

Organic Fair Trade, Fairly Gorgeous Spices

The new spice collection from the Santa Barbara-based The Spicy Gourmet is a real stunner. The presentation — a striking black box with celadon green writing — is the perfect way to bring home the enticing aromas and sensual flavors of India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Spicy Gourmet Spice Blending Collection has everything home cooks need to expand their repertoire and easily master classic spice blends and authentic regional dishes in one attractive, all-inclusive package. 

What’s more, all of the spices in the collection are USDA Certified Organic and Fair Trade — sourced from small organic family farms, not plantations. The Spicy Gourmet is a complete package that includes the following: 12 tins and four sachets of organic FairTrade spices; an attractive package that makes a perfect gift and is made from 100-percent recyclable materials; a powerful proprietary electric spice mill for releasing the flavor of whole spices; and a 24-page color booklet featuring easy recipes for authentic spice blends and classic dishes, plus tips for storing, milling, mixing, roasting and cooking with spices.

Read full article

SANTA BARBARA MAGAZINE

SPICE IT UP With Dinesh Perera’s Spicy Gourmet Blending Collection

Individual canisters and sachets of paprika, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, and more; an electric mill; and a book of recipes and tips for storing, milling, and cooking with the organic fair-trade spices sourced from farmers in Sri Lanka and India. “My collection stems from my passion for spices and desire to share how they’re used in Southeast Asia,” says the Sri Lanka-born Perera. “Dry roasting, milling, and blending whole spices opens the door to numerous possibilities of flavor."

EPICURIOUS.COM

The Scents and Flavors of Sri Lanka in One Kit

by Regina Schrambling

A fair amount of stuff lands on my doormat from people who want me to write about it. I can't in good conscience tout something I wouldn't spring for with my own hard-earned pennies. Which is why, I'm sorry to say, I didn't even bother to photograph the gorgeous kit these super-potent spices arrived in recently. Only after I had cynically tossed the packaging and skeptically cooked with them did I understand what a deal $125 can be.

Read Full Article

COOLHUNTING.COM

The Spicy Gourmet - Sprinkle culinary cred with a Sri Lankan chef's enticing spices

by Julie Wolfson

Sri Lanka's rich history as an important port and trading post in the ancient world has contributed to the mouth-watering cuisine—combining traditional ingredients with influences from merchants around the world—that the country is known for today. 

Born in Sri Lanka, self-taught chef Dinesh Perera has vivid memories of growing up on the beautiful island and the scent of his grandmother's cooking. After moving as a child to London, his family's desire to eat food from their homeland inspired his father to learn how to mix spices and cook Sri Lankan food. Perera, now known as The Spicy Gourmet, continues the legacy. He searched the globe for the highest quality fair-trade spices, creating a spice box set with a custom-designed mill, sure to help even the novice home cook master a deliciously complex garam blend.

Read Full Article


Credit Cards Accepted
USDA Organic Trust Small Farms
Close