Late mother's cookbook inspires spice company

Company co-founders Myles Grennan and Halle Faraj sell their spices at food markets

Finding his late mother's recipe book in the attic inspired a man to start up a new business selling spice blends.

Myles Grennan, from Birmingham, said he felt a strong connection to his roots while looking through the old notes. "It brought [my mother] back to life in a way. Like she was there with me again," he said.

Friend Halle Faraj had memories of using spices with her Saudi Arabian grandmother and the pair teamed up to launch Camelēr Spice Co, which has become popular at food markets.

They are also working with Aston University into the health benefits of spices.

Myles Grennan rediscovered his mother's annotated recipe book after she died

Mr Grennan's mother, Collette, gave up a career as a chef in Ireland to raise her family. She died in 2002.

He found her cookbook during lockdown and said he had assumed it would not be exotic.

"In fact, she had worked at high end country houses and hotels in Ireland and France having created and executed menus with dishes like chicken liver parfait, curry lamb and rice, nettle and parsley pasta, Jersey Bean Soup and Cold lemon souffle," he said.

Ms Faraj has many memories of her grandmother teaching her to blend and grind spices in Saudi Arabia.

While she could neither read nor write, her grandmother had an extraordinary memory for spices, blending by taste and experience.

"She had this incredible ability. She could taste a dish and just know what it needed," Ms Faraj says.

Halle Faraj remembers her grandmother in Saudi Arabia teaching her how to select and grind spices

Mr Grennan left his corporate job before the pandemic and the business partners began to play with old recipes, creating new blends of spices.

With support from Aston University, the pair are now diving deeper into the potential of their blends.