Interview with Tim Odam, Founder of Timmy's Chillies
If you love to cook, you will know that the key to creating the perfect appetiser, entrée, or dessert, is flavour. Tim Odam's range of award-winning chilli jams and marmalades will not only spice-up your hot-buttered-toast-for-breakfast routine, but the tantalising flavours will bring a mouth-watering kick to any dish. We had a chat with Tim about the origins of Timmy's Chillies; his innovative recipes, and the fresh local ingredients which make Tim's chilli jams and marmalades so delicious and unique! Tell us about Timmy's Chillies! I began trading in January 2013. My award-winning marmalades and jellies are a range of high quality, handmade, low output preserves. Although they are sweet and spreadable, they also work well with savoury foods as a spicy condiment, glaze, or ingredient. Made in Clutton in Somerset using traditional techniques, I use masses of fresh fruit to keep the chilli on the finish of each delicious mouthful. What inspired you to start making chilli jams and marmalades? I started from scratch with nothing but home grown chillies and some very good family marmalade recipes. My inspiration came from a love of spicy food which I gained when visiting relatives in California many years ago, and a desire to develop a range of products to fill a niche. There were loads of different vinegar based hot sauces around, many of which used extracts and chemical preservatives rather than fresh ingredients. I wanted to develop a range that would deliver both fresh fruit flavour and fresh chilli heat. Where do you source your ingredients? I use local suppliers to source my ingredients, buying UK grown produce when available – from chillies to Cheddar Valley strawberries. All current Timmy’s Chillies products are gluten free and vegan friendly. How do you come up with your recipes, and does it take you a long time to perfect them? The recipes and product names are all my own work. Developing the range is immense fun. Because the basic family marmalade recipe is so good, it is reasonably simple to adapt using my spicy additions. Starting out, I had to experiment with varying quantities of fresh ginger, nutmeg and different types and quantities of fresh chillies to find the right balance for each flavour. It didn’t take long to hit on the right combinations. The key is to use an awful lot (50%+) of fresh fruit! Have you won any awards? Timmy’s Chillies were runner up in ‘The Seed Fund’ final of 2014. BlimeyLimey© won the silver award in Taste of The West 2015. Lemonchillo© gaining the highly commended award. I have entered 3 more flavours in this years competition and I'm hoping for more good news in May/June 2016. Is there anything else that you think our readers would love to know? Having recently read a book about my grandfather, I discovered that my great great uncle, Mr Tawell, was the general manager of Wilkin & Sons, of Tiptree, in Essex. I have a genetic connection to marmalades and jellies! Here are some of our favourite ideas for you to try, using Tim's chilli jams and marmalades: -Mix Lemonchillo© with chicken and daikon (an East-Asian radish), and use as a potsticker filling. -Try a few dollops of Blimeylimey© on a hot dog with fried onions. -Glaze roast pork with Pinachillero© and top with fresh pineapple rings for the last 30 minutes in the oven.
Inyoursoup's Press Release!
The Inyoursoup team are very pleased to announce that Inyoursoup has been featured in several publications since the press release was sent out recently. As the number of Souper Stores on the platform approaches twenty, and the total number of innovations approaches one hundred, the IYS team feel like now is a great time to show the media what Inyoursoup is all about! The Lancashire Telegraph featured Inyoursoup prominently in their business section, and other media outlets which have picked up on the story include: Bloomberg Business, Prolific North, Insider Media, the North and Western Chamber of Commerce, and the Burnley Express. Fingers crossed, more publications will pick up on the platform in the coming weeks! We would like to sincerely thank Jon Taylor and Gabrielle Conneely, at Media Agency Group in Manchester, for their continued PR support over the last few months, and for working hard to gain as much coverage as possible for the Inyoursoup platform and its innovators.
Inyoursoup goes live!
In every town and city in the world, passionate people are building a livelihood from their talents: a recently graduated silversmith is working on her first jewellery collection; two life-long friends are expanding their line of luxury home furnishings; and a family are planning a trip to the Middle East to research flavour profiles for their latest range of artisan chocolate. Inyoursoup is a place where you can discover creative people like this from all over the world, and purchase their quality, unique innovations directly from them. Whether you are looking for the perfect gift for your friend who is notoriously difficult to buy for, or you fancy reinvigorating your living room with a splash of contemporary lighting, you can shop on Inyoursoup day or night; at home, or on the go. Create an account today to start slurping, sharing, and supporting small businesses! Oh, and don't forget that standard domestic delivery is free, if the Innovator is based in the same country as you. If you are an independent artist, designer, or artisan food producer, and are interested in opening a Souper Store on Inyoursoup, we would love to see what you are creating! Click "Apply for a Souper Store" in your navigation bar, once you have created an account, and submit the short application form. Find out about the latest Innovators to join IYS, and other exciting developments on: Twitter - www.twitter.com/in_your_soup Facebook - www.facebook.com/Inyoursoup Instagram - www.instagram.com/Inyoursoup and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/inyoursoup Happy slurping! S&S :)
