Chillish® Licensed to Thrill! Article by Rosemary and Pork Belly (rosemaryandporkbelly.co.uk)

It was an absolute pleasure to meet with Rosemary and Pork Belly. Here is their fantastic article!

A sizzling pan and the aroma of fresh veggies, noodles and spices fills the air. Pollyanna Hutchinson is rustling up a quick dish in her West Sussex home to show us her latest development – an extraordinary, subtle-flavoured chilli oil with a multitude of uses.

“I call it my 3-in-1 oil. It works equally well as a dip, an oil to start off the cooking process for a main dish or as a full on cook-in sauce. It’s so versatile. I even stir it into mashed potato – Mmmm, so delicious you can eat it by the spoonful!”

We were offered a jar of Chillish® to try and were initially a bit sceptical. There are simply hundreds of chilli infused oils on the market and, frankly, it’s pretty straightforward to make your own. But Chillish® is definitely different – the packaging is very pretty, the jar a most attractive shape and Pollyanna, who hand labels and finishes every one, gives them little design twists for different seasons – Halloween, Christmas and so on.

But it’s what’s inside the jar that really matters. The good news is Chillish® is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. It’s also free of any added thickeners or preservatives.

“I spent a long time deciding on the right carrier oil. I knew I wanted it to be rapeseed and produced locally here in West Sussex but I tried a lot of different types before finally selecting the best one for both flavour and colour. Then it was a case of trial and error, testing out different types of chilli and getting exactly the right blend of other ingredients like garlic, ginger and shallots.”

And that’s what sets Chillish® apart. Most infused oils are strained and left as just oil. Pollyanna keeps what she calls “the gubbins” in each jar, adding a depth of flavour and a very different texture.

Back at the pan Pollyanna has used the oil from the top of the jar to start off the dish but, having judged Pork Belly’s predilection for more intense flavours, has stirred in some of the gubbins as well.

“I didn’t want to make a chilli oil that was overpowering. Some chillis just give a blast of heat. Others get stronger and stronger as they are stored and I wanted the other flavours to come through.”

It’s that delicate blend that worked for me. We’ve written before of Pork Belly’s love of chilli and how he can take a far more powerful hit than I, but we both agree it shouldn’t be a “blow your socks off” experience. Whilst he’s happy to eat Chillish® by the spoonful and use it as a dip or as an accompaniment to cheese, I prefer to use it more sparingly, to add a bit of oomph to stir fries without the need for a thick and gloopy cook-in sauce. We also tried it on home-made oven baked potato wedges – toss the spuds in a tablespoon of Chillish® before baking – fabulous!

Pollyanna says she hates the thought of people eating bland food. She remembers experiencing chilli oil for the first time as a child in a pizza restaurant and being intrigued. Later she travelled to Hong Kong and saw how chilli dipping oils were an integral part of their cuisine. So it’s no surprise that now, many years later, she’s back where her heart lies – in the kitchen.

She spent more than a year developing the idea – a culmination of her career working in catering, hospitality, PR and media (she was the Canderel Chef) and her business studies.

“Many nights I was up until about 2 am making different combinations and trying them out on family and friends. I wanted to make it in small batches for that home-made taste. Once I’d perfected the recipe and was ready to go into production I couldn’t do it at home any longer as its so labour intensive to produce, but I am very happy that the company I use has kept the full “home-grown” flavour and I’m proud of the result.”

Launched officially at this year’s Chilli Fiesta at West Dean Gardens, Chillish® is now stocked in a number of farm shops and delicatessens in West Sussex, The Spice Shop in Brighton and as far north as Musselburgh in Scotland. You can also buy directly online.

By this time Pollyanna’s quick prawn and noodle dish is ready – piping hot and served straight from pan, to bowl, to mouth. And she’s genuinely pleased at Pork Belly’s reaction.

“I’ve always, always loved food. From a very young age cooking was my hobby and I still love entertaining and dinner parties. All through my life, doing all those different things, I always came back to the kitchen as my kind of therapy, cooking for friends and family.”

Finally it wouldn’t be true to Pork Belly’s tradition if he didn’t at least try to use Chillish® in a cake! I am happy to report that his chilli, chocolate and ginger brownies are gloriously gooey and perfect for Halloween – darkly delicious with a pure heart. It’s vegan too.

Have a read here!

https://rosemaryandporkbelly.co.uk/chillish-licensed-to-thrill/