The Story of Marie's Little Jar

“As I develop food and recipes from time to time I come across special a flavour that goes beyond one dish. Marie’s Little Jar is the result of those special flavours.”

When Carine’s not busy running supper clubs or making food for the Supper app, she can be found in her kitchen, coming up with exciting new products for her line Marie’s Little Jar.

How it all started:

Marie’s Little Jar was born from Carine’s deeply-held belief that everyone should aim to cook more at home. At the same time, she understands that not everyone has the time and resources necessary to make delicious meals from scratch every day of the week. Thus was born Marie’s Little Jar, a range of products designed to bring that little extra oomph to your cooking, for minimal effort.

“Marie” is Carine’s first name, and the “Little Jar” indicates that little kitchen secret, that jar of something special you always have in the cupboard. In other words, Carine is opening her kitchen to you, in order to make your life tastier and simpler.

None of the sauces in the MLJ range conform to one specific cuisine, but Carine is continually influenced by the cooking and ingredients of her home country – Cameroon. Cameroonian food makes creative and unexpected use of spices, a theme which carries through all of Carine’s cooking, including the Marie’s Little Jar range and, to this day, many of the spices she uses come straight and only from Cameroon.

What makes MLJ unique:

• The sauces are raw and use only natural preservatives and no additives
• High in flavour
• Minimal processing
• Focuses on “free from”, suitable for vegans
• Besides the Cameroonian spices, all produce is sourced locally
• Increasingly made from foraged produce
• Encourage sustainability.
• Made locally in Carine’s home kitchen

What’s in the range:

Marie’s Little Jar features a range of kitchen goodies - from flavoured sauces, marinades, and jams, to flavoured salts and other tasteful kitchen combinations.”

The Green Sauce – This basil-based sauce is Carine’s secret weapon, developed to add that extra zing to your homemade dishes. It is both a marinade and a condiment - not quite pesto, not quite hot - the exact spices and herbs in this sauce are a closely-guarded secret, but we can promise you, you will love it. Originally created as a marinade for grilled meat, it is ideal for a BBQ.

The Red Sauce – Sun-dried-tomato-based, this warming Mediterranean-inspired sauce is ideal for pasta and fish dishes. The perfect speedy supper without compromising on taste.

The Hot Chilli Pepper Sauce – CAUTION: this sauce is HOT HOT HOT. Made from a highly-confidential mix of spices and chilli peppers, this fiery concoction is packed full of unexpected flavours. Very spicy and utterly delicious, this is a welcome addition to any dish you want to pack a punch.

What’s coming in 2016:

As well as developing her “free from” collection further, Carine has some exciting new additions to the Marie’s Little Jar roster.

The Foraged Range:

• Wild Garlic Pesto
• Wild Apple & Rosehip Chutney
• Blackberry
• Elderberry-Caper

The Flavoured Salt Range, made with real sea-salt from France:

• Cacao, Rosemary & Vanilla-flavoured Salt - Perfect for slow roast (Lamb)
• Penja Pepper-flavoured Salt - Highly-flavoured white pepper from Cameroon, perfect for grilled meat and fish
• Pork Rub-flavoured Salt -Ideal on Pork
• Red Wine-flavoured Salt - Perfect for stew
• Pink Grapefruit & Thyme-flavoured and Lemon & Lime-flavoured salt -The perfect finish for your salads

It looks like 2016 is going to be a delicious year! If you want to try any of the products mentioned here – head to the Facebook page and keep an eye on her Twitter to find out where she will be selling next!