For over 50 years The Spice Emporium has been supplying the finest spices and herbs to the restaurants and food connoisseurs of Sydney, Australia. But now we've gone online anyone across Australia or around the world can take advantage of our quality products at fantastic prices.
However, The Spice Emporium is more than just an online catalogue. At the site you can also find extensive information about the spices we sell, as well as recipes from around the world that put those flavours to work. You can even buy a recipe book, thanks to our partnership with Amazon.com. But first, here's a little bit about us.
In 1945 a young man named Hercules K McTavish returned from the war filled with a determination to revolutionise the tables of the country he'd fought to save. You see Hercules had been one of the Rats of Tobruk, and while the war itself had been a bitter and cruel experience, the food he'd eaten in the middle east had opened his eyes to a world of possibility. If only he could make these flavours available to Australians, they'd see the error of their ways and reject the blandness of another round of bangers and mash for a bowl of cous cous and vegetable tagine.
Well, as you can imagine, Herc had a bit of a long row to hoe with this project. He met with resistance at the highest level: when he sent a collection of his recipes and a sample spice kit to Canberra in an attempt to convert The Lodge, Prime Minister Menzies replied "you've got to be joking"
. But he persisted, always keeping the words of his great mentor in his mind.
"Shoddy ingredients always make uneatable food. The best- not always the most costly- ingredients are cheapest in the end, for they are the most satisfactory. And after all, why insult your stomach? It's a vital possession."
Harvey Day, The Complete Book of Curries
Herc knew that this logic would prevail eventually.
Over time, thanks to immigration and a general opening up to ideas from other cultures, being the first spice emporium, and for a long time the only one, began to pay off.
Now, Herc's grandson, Walter, oversees retail outlets in Sydney (3), Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. As well, The Spice Emporium has a wholesale distribution network delivering spices and herbs to major retailers David Jones, Coles-Myer and Woolworths. So you could say they've pretty well tied up the Australian spice market.
The Spice Emporium is committed to bringing only the finest quality authentic spices to your table. To ensure this we only buy directly from the producers themselves. Throughout the year our team of buyers travels the globe, from the Bering Straits to the Canary Islands, from Senegal to Suriname, seeking out the finest of the crop.
Organic foods will one day become the standard, and The Spice Emporium is not just following this trend by supplying organic produce where possible. We also have an initiative in which we are prepared to help suppliers who wish to make a pledge to move in that direction.
As well as buying online, if you're in town you might like to pop in to one of our retail outlets. Here's where you'll find your local Spice Emporium.