Seeds & Berries

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Recipe with Seeds & Berries
Muhammara, Red Pepper and Walnut Dip with SumacView recipe

Buy spices: over 350 varieties, all processed by hand

I’m a chef. Two Michelin stars, a Green Star, over 20 years at the stove. At some point I realised: the spices you get in the restaurant trade are often rubbish. Industrial stuff, stored for months, bulked out with things that have no business being in there. So I started milling my own. First for me, then for other chefs, now for you.

Pepper

Pepper is my thing. I’ve probably tried over 40 different varieties before I knew what I wanted. Kampot was always on my pass, it has depth, smells of cedarwood, not just hot. Tellicherry is warm and nutty, perfect for seasoning at the end. And then there are things like long pepper, the Romans knew it, today hardly anyone does. Tastes of cinnamon and cocoa. Try it in a jus sometime.

Chilli

With chilli it’s not about who can take more. It’s about flavour. Piment d’Espelette is mild, works with fish and egg. Chipotle brings smoke without firing up the grill. Habanero is fruity and hot, brilliant with mango. And yes, I’ve got Carolina Reaper too. Over 2 million Scoville. You don’t have to, but you can.

Salt

Salt isn’t just salt. Flor de Sal from Portugal I use for almost everything. Black Lava looks stunning on a steak. Kala Namak smells of egg, sounds odd, but it’s brilliant for vegan dishes.

Paprika

Paprika from the supermarket is usually dead. Mine isn’t. Hungarian paprika for goulash, smoked Spanish for anything with a BBQ feel. Worlds apart.

Cinnamon, Vanilla, Cardamom

Ceylon cinnamon is the real thing, not the cassia stuff sold everywhere. Vanilla from Madagascar smells so intense you’ll never buy it any other way again. Cardamom freshly ground over a dessert, underrated.

Herbs

Dried herbs can be really good if they’ve been freshly dried. My oregano is more intense than most of the fresh stuff from the shop. Marjoram with a sausage, wild garlic in spring, tarragon in the béarnaise.

Rarities

In the rarities you’ll find things I’ve collected over the years. Tasmanian pepper, green Szechuan, grains of paradise. Not for every day, but for when you’re after something special.

All by hand, small batches, no additives. That’s how I do it.

How long do spices keep?

Whole spices easily keep 3 to 4 years if you store them properly. Ground, a year is no problem; after that they fade, but they don’t go off. Watch out with chillies and paprika, those call for a bit more care. But honestly: once you’ve tasted really good spices, they’re gone much faster anyway. When in doubt: trust your instincts, in this case your nose. Smells musty or dusty, bin it. If you get fresh, typical aromas that suit the spice, perfect.

How do I store spices properly?

Three enemies: light, moisture, heat. So not next to the stove, not on the windowsill. Into the kitchen cupboard or a drawer, tightly closed. Done. My jars are mostly covered by the label, deliberately not completely, so you can still see a bit of the product. If you love your spices as much as I do, use a spoon or our shaker top, that way no bacteria get into the jar.

Are there additives or anti-caking agents in the spices?

No. No flavour enhancers, no artificial aromas, no anti-caking agents, no colour. 100% natural. If a blend clumps slightly, that’s not a fault, it shows there’s no chemical rubbish in it. Give it a quick shake, done. If it clumps more, the moisture is coming from the Flor de Sal. That’s real quality, made for the best chefs.

Where do your spices come from?

The raw spices come from the best growing regions in the world, pepper from Malabar, Kampot or Banasura, vanilla from Madagascar, Uganda or French Polynesia, saffron from the La Mancha region in Spain. Everything is blended, milled and filled here in Heiden, by hand. Swiss handwork, not a factory. I, Tobias, do the handwork here in Heiden. I select again, taste everything myself and assess it against retained samples.

Which spice goes with what?

Depends on what you’re cooking. Kampot pepper for dark sauces and meat. Piment d’Espelette for fish and egg dishes. Chipotle for BBQ and burgers. Ceylon cinnamon and cardamom for desserts and baking. Every product page tells you what the spice is good for, plus 3 to 6 different tips and a linked recipe. On every spice jar you’ll also find a QR code that takes you straight to the matching recipe. Or drop by the shop and ask me directly, I’m happy to help. For allergy sufferers too: the ingredient list is always transparent, and I work batch-pure.