Finding the true taste of Mexico - in Wales
Many years ago I had the good fortune to meet an extraordinarily
charismatic, talented chef called Marshall Young.
Before meeting him, he described himself to me on the telephone as
being 'big, black and bald - like Mr. T' (from American TV series
'The A-Team'). Marshall was from Texas, and one of a very large
family. He left school early and started working as a pot washer in
a restaurant. He watched everything the chefs did, and one day when
one of them failed to show up for work, he got the chance to start
cooking, and kept at it. By the time I met Marshall, when he moved
to Wales, he had travelled extensively throughout America, working
in restaurants as he went. His travels took him down to Tijuana,
Mexico, to see his girlfriend's family and it was there that he
learnt to make Enchilada sauce. It is Marshall's recipe that I
bought from him that is used in our Enchilada sauce today.
Our Creole sauce recipe came from him too. In the beginning, I bravely took our newly-bottled Creole sauce to New Orleans to get the opinion of local chefs as to its quality and authenticity. It received a big vote of confidence and we continue to get letters from many customers who kindly write to praise us for it. Many of these people are ex-pat Americans and Mexicans who are delighted to buy authentic products in the supermarkets here.
We believe that you can make authentic dishes wherever you are in the world provided that you have the right ingredients. We have a very busy import department that sources and buys seasonings, chillies and peppers to very precise flavour profiles and technical specifications. We don't compromise or attempt to anglicise flavours, because we love the real thing too much.
When I first took the sauces to the supermarket buyers to see if they would be interested in buying an authentic range of Mexican and American sauces, I was confronted by folded arms and negativity; without large marketing funds there was no opportunity. A well-known Mexican brand had 99% of the market, and while their products were not great, they were good enough. Discouraged, but with the last throw of the dice, I decanted our sauces into little dishes and invited them to try them with tortilla chips. On the taste alone these same buyers agreed to give them a go. Hearing those words of affirmation sent a shiver up my spine. I still get that same shiver when we launch something new and people love it.
![[logo] Fivesite.co.uk](/gfx/logo_fivesite.gif){kind=logo}