As a child I remember always being fascinated watching my mom or family members cooking. I was always in the kitchen looking, tasting, learning.

By the age of twelve I remember when my parents went next door to my aunties home I would run to kitchen and start putting things together and start cooking. I always got in trouble for being in the kitchen but that never stopped me.

I come from a Lebanese dad and Greek mom therefore, I believe my love of spices and cooking is in my DNA. I was also blessed being born and raised in Montreal, Canada a beautiful multicultural country with so many varieties of different cousines. I try to taste as many as I can, to learn about different types of cooking and with only respect I try to make the same thing.

For many many years friends and family have always told me to open my own restaurant, something I refuse to do only because for me cooking is like a therapy and having a restaurant would only make me hate cooking in the end. So, I decided to do the next best thing, spices.

In the beginning when I started I also had some ready made spice blends in the shop and I one day as I was sitting I decided to go and fry some potatoes and thought hmm let’s try some of the potato mix I sell . I first of course read the ingredients in the mix, and to my surprise saw some things I did not agree with. I wondered why would baking soda be in there and when I asked my husband the answer was not accetable by me so I took a big bag and put all the mixes in the bag to threw them in the garbage. I refuse to sell something that I wouldn’t even eat. Then I said never mind I’ll make my own potato mix, so I went to kitchen and started putting spices together , fried my potatoes sprinkled my new potato mix on them and tasted them. I was so pleased of the out come. My potatoes were not only very tasty but healthy as well. That is when I said , I can do this.

So today I have over 70 different spice mixes from different countries and each are all very very tasty and very healthy since I add no preservatives or artificial colors.

I get to do what I love and people get to enjoy cooking at home easy and are even eating healthier. It’s a win win .

Saoumaa Fadia Katerina