Mom, daughter duo sells unique chutney flavours

YOU have heard of mango and tamarind chutney, but have you heard of pumpkin or passion fruit chutney?

At Sabrina Exotic Chutneys & Gourmet Delights Sauces, Sabrina Nicholls and her daughter, Naomi Barnes, specialise in adding a local twist to chutney sauce, anchar and kimchi.

Nicholls, who started her career in culinary arts as a line cook at the Crews Inn Restaurant, Chaguaramas, honed her expertise for over 20 years working in fine dining restaurants and has also represented Trinidad and Tobago in culinary competitions internationally.

When she moved from Crews Inn to Battimamzelle Restaurant, she was mentored by chef Khalid Mohammed. Under his guidance, she was accepted as a member of the 1997 TT Culinary Team which competed in A Taste of the Caribbean Culinary competition. That year, she placed third in the National Chef of the Year culinary competition.

She worked with the TT culinary team for seven years where she won gold awards and held the positions of team leader, advisor and judge of those who wanted to join the team.

She has worked alongside local and international chefs including Debra Saldenah-Metivier, Joe Brown and Darrel Thomas. She also competed in the US, Europe and regionally at the annual Caribbean and Hotel and Tourism Association's (CHTA) A Taste of the Caribbean culinary competition, the region’s only inter-island cooking contest for seven years.

While working the culinary team, Nicholls had to create unique meals that represented TT’s culture and indigenous foods. It was there she found the inspiration to launch her business.

“I liked the idea of taking locally-grown fruits and vegetables and creating unique flavours that are indigenous to the country,” she said in an interview with Newsday. She said she wanted to show customers how diverse TT’s local produce is.

Nicholls and her daughter have been in business for over six years and have created a variety of exotic sauces from local produce.

Of all their chutney sauces, the pineapple and passion fruit are the most popular.

“It has the perfect balance between sweet, tangy and a little spicy,” said Barnes, who is responsible for administrative duties in the business.

She says customers mostly eat the pineapple and passion fruit chutney with different kinds of meat, but especially with seafood. When it comes to meat pairings, the sorrel and pawpaw chutney are a close second. They also sell coconut and tamarind chutney. As a marketing tool, the business offers a dasheen bush pholourie that customers can pair with their favourite chutney sauce.

For those who prefer a savoury taste, Nicholls offers anchar flavours such as eggplant, dasheen bush and tomato. She also makes a seasonal apple anchar.

The duo caters to customers’ taste buds and health as there is also a probiotic line for customers who are health conscious. In that line, there's a Caribbean-style kimchi –a Korean meal that’s adapted with varieties of regional produce like christophene, bok choi or patchoi, and green cabbage. It is still prepared using napa cabbage and the original methods of creating the dish. Nutritionists say kimchi prevents stomach cancer and lowers cholesterol levels.

Nicholls started the probiotic line because some of her customers had health issues and wanted a natural and nutritious taste.

“I had so many great tasting options but nothing that contributed to health,” she said. She did research on the health benefits of probiotics and launched the line in 2020.

Another cabbage meal which Sabrina’s Exotic Sauces produces is a spicy garlic and turmeric sauerkraut. Sauerkraut is fermented, finely-chopped cabbage that has health benefits such as a strengthened immune system and inflammation reduction in the body.

In the probiotic line Nicholls also sells sorrel vinaigrette, which can be used as a salad dressing and on glazed meat, and probiotic pickled beets. Food from the probiotic line can be found at Starlite Pharmacy.

One business practice that Nicholls and Barnes try to maintain is their support for local farmers. Almost all of the ingredients are purchased in the Port of Spain and Macoya markets.

“As agri-processors, we use a variety of our local produce to make a second product and most of what we need is already right here,” said Barnes. She said they developed close relationships with farmers and vendors in both markets over the years. However, in the future, Nicholls wants to grow some of their core produce.

Running a business comes with its fair share of challenges and Nicholls and Barnes are not unfamiliar with them. As micro-entrepreneurs, their products might be more expensive than foreign competitors' because the overall operating cost is higher for small businesses.

Nicholls said there is a lot of red tape when it comes to packaging and getting products on the market. Renting commercial space is also a challenge because of the cost.

Since starting her business, she said she developed time-management skills and also how to delegate and cope with failure.

“It’s part of the learning process. When trying new things, there’s a possibility you can fail.”

She also said she had to trust members of her team because she was not good at everything and could not manage everything alone.

“You need to separate home time from work time and I needed to learn that.”

Nicholls is optimistic about the growth of her business and sees future as being very bright. She says her products are beneficial for health and taste good and she wants to become a household name.

They operate the business from home but she also wants to get a bigger physical space so there will be no limit as to how much products can be manufactured. A long-term goal is also to export the sauces internationally.

Nicholls and Barnes sell their chutney sauces at the Namdevco Farmers Market, Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain, every Saturday morning from 7-10 am.

Orders can also be placed online through their social media pages at chefsabrina.sec_ (Instagram) and Sabrina’s Exotic Chutney and Gourmet Creations- Facebook. Deliveries are usually made on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.