Dragon's Den - 2010 Jan 13 Sister Act - 2009 Dec 21
Sister ActWhat's the secret behind quick and yummy recipes? Local food line Sisters Secret helps you dazzle friends with Fragrant Chili Baked Brie; see the easy breezy recipe and a list of retail locations at www.sisters-secret.com. These fearless sistahs recently braved the fire on CBC's Dragon's Den: watch their episode on January 13 starting from 7:00 p.m. at Section (3)–their sister company, of course. www.sectionthree.com The Holiday Table - 2008 Dec 19Sister’s Secret - I have fallen in love with a new product created by Vancouverite Marsha Simons. Sister’s Secret is the name of this new culinary line and their fragrant chili is a flavor enhancer that they say should be kept in your kitchen next to your salt and pepper. It’s an incredibly easy flavor enhancer to use – “as long as one understands that it improves and lifts the flavors in absolutely everything you eat. From the super simple use as a spicy condiment for pizza – to adding it to butter when you fry an egg - to Fragrant Chili Hollandaise to spark your brunches –just as simple, but effortlessly adds complexity to your dishes. Start with just a little – ¼ teaspoon - and add to taste”. Condiments Around The World - 2008 Oct 16Canada
Sisters Secret Fragrant Chili
Canada’s entry into the condiment sweepstakes satisfies all my cravings - homemade recipe, healthy ingredients, unique taste, and plenty of heat. The real secret here is how brilliantly Fragrant Chili integrates into your cooking, cranking up the umame factor with a base of soy sauce and the texture of crushed cashews. Hip Vancouver restaurants swear by it, melting it over baked brie or spicing up aioli for yam fries. Sisters Secret is currently only available in Western Canada, but history has shown that exceptional condiments get spread around the world, through word (and taste) of mouth. When Robin Esrock is not filming his show Word Travels for OLN, he loses himself in the condiment aisles of local supermarkets. Can You Keep a Secret? - 2008 Sep 01 Can You Keep A Secret? City Style and Living Magazine Fall 2008 www.citystyleandliving.com With family recipes for chili sauce, granola and scones, Marsha Simons began Sisters Secret in 2007.
The self-professed foodie used her experienmce in the food industry and her years running a bed and breakfast as her "built in focus group" to test her recipes. Disappointed by what was available, "I found very quickly that I wasn't able to source products to suit my guests and that
I was proud to serve." Simons spent three years perfecting her recipes and creating Sisters Secret which is now available in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. How do your fragrant chili sauces (aioli, mild and original) differ from other chili sauces on the market?
We enlisted the help of umami. It has this magic savoury flavour. It gives the chili a rich full-bodied and satisfying taste when you eat it or even when you smell it. Hot sauces are typically vinegar based and add more heat than flavour. It started out quite a bit hotter we modified the formulation as we released the product into retail to be more approachable, so more people could try it. There are other oils and hot sauces but they don’t seem to do everything the fragrant chili does. We haven’t found anything else that’s a multi-use product like this. Once you take the lid off you get the idea. I think the only way to understand the product is to taste it.
Sister’s secret has unique packaging. Is the look of your product
important? Presentation is the most important thing overall with any product. I worked in restaurants for a long time and it’s the same thing with a plate of food, it needs to be inviting. The visual needs to make you want to touch it and taste it and experience it. To have a natural feel and elegant look we went with the matte finish. We won a Silver Medal
from the Canadian packaging association for the bags. What recipe suggestions do you have for the fragrant chili? I do things like fragrant chili baked brie. I marinate and grill prawns and salmon. I mix it with butter and use as a dip for seafood or to put over popcorn. What is the philosophy of Sister’s Secret? It has to be linked to how happy food makes me and no matter what’s going on in people’s lives food is a really simple tool to enjoy. My goal with Sister’s Secret is to enhance people’s lifestyle with products that give great results and make people easily able to add something special to their lives everyday.
How did the name Sister’s Secret come about?
I have three sisters and when they gave people a taste of my product they would say this is my sister’s secret recipe. We have expanded our definition of our secret to be more of a global’s sister’s secret to a good life.
mothers day tea - 2007 May 09May 9th, 2007 mother's day tea Forget the pricey hotel fare and show her how cleverly she raised you.Serve ready-to-bake scones in savory flavors like Gorgonzola Rosemary and the picante Chile Cheddar from local company Sister's Secret... If you didn't inherit her culinary skills, at least you inherited her smarts. For scone retailers, visit www.sisters-secret.com Sisters Secret a.k.a. "Untold Culinary Pleasures" - 2007 Mar 02SISTERS SECRET a.k.a. "UNTOLD CULINARY PLEASURES" Marsha Simons, founder of locally-owned Sisters Secret, combines some of her sisters’ culinary secrets with her own business acumen (developed from running a bed and breakfast), to create a food product label that includes granola, a chili condiment, and our favourite ... a delicious line of scones. In fact, get ready to change any idea you may have about traditional packed scone mixes. In the Sisters recipe you get your pick of four flavour versions: two savoury (Gorgonzola Rosemary and Chili Cheddar) and two sweet (Pecan Caribe and Ginger Cream), all of which come frozen and ready-to-bake in less than 30 minutes. In the Gorgonzola Rosemary, the herb cuts the heaviness of the gorgonzola while imparting its’ own prominent flavor notes. In its savory counter-part, Chili Cheddar, aged cheddar holds its own next to piquant chilies. Pecan Caribe includes rum and toasted coconut. While the Ginger Cream conceals hits of finely chopped sweet crystallized ginger. Experience these scones for yourself, eight to be precise, by picking up a pack at The Gourmet Warehouse (1340 East Hastings Street), Capers stores or Meinhardt's Fine Foods. Approximate cost is $9.95. The granola also sells for $9.95 and we're guessing you will notice that it's chock full of the ‘good stuff’, especially the high dried-fruit-and-nuts to oats ratio. The chili is a combo of garlic, canola oil, peanuts, dried chilies and soy sauce and of course works well with many Asian dishes but give it a try drizzled over popcorn. All products were created without the "help' of artificial additives, sweeteners, colorings, and preservatives. What’s next in store for Sisters Secret?
Simons has finished placing products in BC and Alberta, and she is now preparing to launch Sisters Secret in Whole Foods Pacific Northwest and California. Once the existing products get settled in their retail locations, be prepared to see new additions to the existing line. Our only quibble, the close up photo of someone's less than Hollywood-perfect teeth doesn't really add much to the packaging's appeal. If they are going to go that route, why not give us the whole face?
Submitted by Laura-Lee Walker
CityFood Magazine
Vancouver, BC
Canada
March 2, 2007
The Secret Is Out - 2006 Dec 24What's that wonderful smell emanating from your kitchen? Could you be baking fresh scones for Sunday brunch? And your friends thought your culinary skillsstarted and stopped at burnt toast.There's no need to tell them you didn't personally mix up the batter with SistersSecret ready-to-bake scones ($10/eight). We've been indulging our sweet toothwith their Caribbean-themed Pecan Caribe (filled with pecans and coconut) andserve the Ginger Cream (rich cream and Thai ginger) like a shortcake - toppedwith whipping cream and strawberries.But don't stop at brunch. With all products within the $10 mark, you can takecocktail and dinner parties to the next level too. We tried roast beef and arugulaatop Sisters Secret's Gorgonzola Rosemary scones and immediately said "buhbye"to traditional Yorkshire pudding. But we dare you to try and serve singleportions only of the Chili Cheddar with pulled pork and a splash of their FragrantChili (a spicy condiment we keep stove side) the next time you have friends fordinner.The Sisters have also simplified weekday breakfasts with their GourmetGranola. It's easy to be healthy when something is deliciously chock full of oats,dried fruit and nuts. You'll be energized right through to lunch time.Even if you grew up with brothers, we know this is one set of sisters you'll callyour own. Sugar and spice for both naughty and nice - 2006 Dec 07Spice fans probably own enough bottles of hot sauce to blaze a trail from one end of themselves to the other, but like any addicts, they always crave more. Here’s something cool to add to their larder. Invented by Marsha Simons as part of her new locally made Sisters Secret line, the Fragrant Chili is an all-purpose condiment to drizzle on popcorn or smoosh with brown sugar to top a Brie (baked at 350°F for 10 minutes) or fry eggs in and serve on toast with chili aioli ($8.99 to $9.99 for 250 millilitres, depending where you buy it; Capers, Stong’s, and Urban Fare are a few places). Yeah, I know. I’m drooling too. For yourself for Christmas morning, pick up a pack of Sisters Secret Gourmet Granola: dense with dried cherries, cranberries, and strawberries, and packed with whole pecans, almonds, and cashews, this is the Rolls Royce version ($9 to $11 for 454 grams; sources as above). Goes nicely with leopard-skin Birkenstocks.
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