The French know good food when they see and taste it, so a French food award is high praise indeed. When that award is the SIAL 2006 Grand Prix Coup de Coeur for Trends & Innovations at Paris's bi-annual SIAL trade fair, we're talking serious kudos.
The SIAL food show is the world's premier food show, attracting thousands of trade professionals from around the world.
The recipient of the award is SA food concept company NoMU. The 16-person company based in Cape Town produces a range of tasty products that promise to make ho-hum fare fabulous. According to marketing director Paul Raphaely, the company produces 38 products, including the winners of the SIAL award, NoMU Vanilla Paste and NoMU Vanilla Extract, which are made from Madagascar bourbon vanilla. Other products include Cajun and masala rubs, the African Heat Grinder (a mix of chilli, paprika, black pepper and coriander) and a sugar-free, though "delightfully wicked", hot chocolate.
The company has come a long way since it began, six years ago, in the front room of the Oranjezicht house of company founder and foodie Tracy Foulkes. It began by supplying eight Cape Town delicatessens. NoMU still supplies those delis and introduces new products to them before approaching bigger clients. Along with local chains such as Pick 'n Pay and Spar, NoMU's eye-catching products can be found on the shelves of some of the world's most exclusive shops, including Whole Foods, Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols and Le Grande Epicerie de Paris.
When asked why the judges had chosen NoMU, Raphaely said they had been impressed with the products' "innovative, practical and eye-catching packaging". The air-lock pump on the Vanilla Paste ensures that each squirt dispenses exactly 1 ml to avoid wastage.
And where does the company's inspiration come from? "Tracy," says Raphaely. "NoMU develops and produces the things she wants to use when she cooks."
