The Seasonist launched his own range in 2016 after several years spent developing meal kits for risotto, couscous and rice puddings and a variety of seasonings. He selects his ingredients from the best suppliers and with his team blends and packs by hand in his mini factory in the town of Bridport, Dorset. All count the area of West Dorset as home having lived there most or all of their lives. The
Seasonist's love of herbs, spices and seasonings goes back to his childhood. When not helping out with cooking, he was in the garden or the surrounding countryside foraging or learning about herbs. In the kitchen he could choose from a wide range of spices traditionally used in British and also Anglo-Indian cooking reflecting his family's times in India and China. Early on, he developed an interest in drying fruit, seeds and flowers for cooking. Coming back to Dorset after many years away, he rekindled his interest and, buying a dehydrator, began drying fruits and herbs in season. This led him to experiment with using his dried ingredients to create the kind of risotto and couscous 'kits' he'd found in Italy and France and to start his first business, Gustosecco. To impart the most flavour to his 'kits' he researched, tried and tested combinations of herbs and spices; sometimes using traditional mixes, sometimes adding twists and touches of his own. Soon, he was preparing and selling his seasoning blends separately falling in love with his chosen trade ever more deeply as he went along. The Seasonist was lucky to have several years when he could travel widely in his favourite part of the world; the Mediterranean littoral. From Libya to Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Italy, France and round back to Spain, encompassing the whole area, he visited markets, spice sellers and ate street food, cafe and restaurant food and enjoyed local cuisine in people's homes. What impressed him from all these areas was the long culinary heritage that informs the blends of herbs and spices traditional to each cuisine. But more than this, he's always looking out for new ingredients and new flavour combinations to use, convinced that there's nothing he can eat or drink that can't be improved by a blend of seasonings. In 2018, The Seasonist will be launching new, differently-seasoned meal 'kits', more seasoning blends and individual herbs and spices from local growers and gatherers in Sicily and Turkey.
