Zest for Taste is a wonderful shop, I stumbled upon quite by chance, in the lovely cathedral town of Chichester. When I noticed the large amphores full of oils and vinegars through the shop window catching the sunlight, I couldn’t resist a peek inside.
As I walked through the door the most delicious aromas of olive oils and balsamic vinegars engulfed me. I had entered a food fanatic’s Shangri La!
Everywhere I looked there were interesting marinades, oils, vinegars, spices, pastas and fresh olives…
Katharine, the owner of Zest for Taste, was happy to chat and she is obviously passionate about her shop and the products they sell. All their products are carefully selected and contain nothing but the highest quality ingredients.
Katharine elaborated “We have many good suppliers both in the UK and overseas and provenance is very important to me. I like to work with small family businesses who are equally as passionate about food as my customers are. For example, the Galantino family in Italy produce the most wonderful Extra Virgin Olive Oils and customers are able to try these in-store. Similarly, the Mussini family, also in Italy, produce some of the best vintage balsamic vinegars in the world and have been doing so for over 100 years. Supporting smaller businesses benefits us as we then find people come back time and time again for products they aren’t able to purchase from their supermarkets.
I am not into mass-produced products. We want to offer our customers something different and I think the taste says it all, which is why we have many tasters for our customers to try in-store.
I also work with many suppliers both in West Sussex and across the UK, often discovered whilst scouring Food Fairs. I’m fortunate, I get to taste so many great products, and if I find a product I like, I cheekily ask for samples so I can have tasting sessions with my staff. We need to know how our products taste before we stock them and ultimately sell them!”
We got on to the subject of holidays and travelling and Katharine, like me, finds one of her favourite things about going away is the dining experience.
“I have been fortunate enough to holiday in some fantastic places over the years. One balmy evening, just last year in Venice, we happened to meet a restaurateur who gave us his business card and challenged us to find his restaurant the next day that was located somewhere deep in the heart of Venice.
This we duly did and were treated to one of my most memorable meals, at ‘al Mascaron Osteria’ which whilst small, was buzzing with diners. We enjoyed a feast of many delicious dishes including cuttle fish spaghetti, giant prawns wrapped in prosciutto ham, baked mussels topped with breadcrumbs and a drizzle of oil – a true Italian experience.
Another great experience I would recommend to any foodie is the Jemaa el Fina in Marrakech. There are many wonderful delicacies to choose from the dozens of food stalls with their amazing colourful displays. Again it’s the ambience – the almost overwhelming aromas, the bellowing smoke from the BBQ’s, the noise from the street entertainers and the sheer volume of people, whilst maybe not for the faint hearted, I would recommend it to anyone.”
By this time in the conversation I was almost visibly drooling so proceeded to try out some of the oils and vinegars and other delights that were laid out in the shop for customers to taste.
It was all superb but I was particularly taken with the balsamic vinegar – on tasting this I was transported back to Rome where I had first tasted aged balsamic vinegar. It is nothing like any I had bought in an English supermarket being sweeter and, well, simply delicious – perfect for dressing salads (with a little extra virgin olive oil) or even drizzled over ice cream! I bought a large bottle to take home. One great thing about the shop is that you can buy a bottle, fill it up with the oil or vinegar of your choice, and once you’ve used it up, bring it back for a refill. You just pay for the actual oil or vinegar which makes it really quite reasonable.
You’ll find Zest for Taste in East Street, Chichester, West Sussex. Don’t worry if you don’t live near enough to Chichester though to visit the shop in person. At least for those of you living in the UK, you can now buy a selection of products online at ZestForTaste.co.uk
Katharine has kindly donated a fantastic prize for a competition that will run on ‘Travel With Kat’ so do look out for it in a forthcoming post plus I’ll also be sharing a tasty tapas recipe from Katharine – Red Wine Braised Chorizo. Yum!
Update 6th April: Shona (won the lovely food hamper from Zest for Taste) just left this lovely comment on the competition post…
Hi Kathryn
Just a little update, I’ve tried the chorizo out of the hamper and I must say it is lovely! I had some on it’s own and used some on my home-made pizzas. I usually buy shop bought chorizo so I only have that as a comparison but they really are worlds apart! I’ve tried the olive oil drizzled over the pizzas which added a nice flavour too. I’m looking forward to trying out the balsamic vinegar and pasta too, just need to find some recipes to try!
Thanks again,
Shona
I was visiting my daughters who live in Portsmouth.I live in Edinburgh and had visited you shop my last trip.I had cleaned and brought 2 bottles for refill. Sadly our visit that day wasn’t a pleasant one!!! I asked for certain vinegars which weren’t on display but the older lady serving explained they couldn’t display them all so I asked if I could taste them.your staff who said her name was Kimberly (when we were having a very rude conversation with attitude from her.It started when she poured a minute amount of vinegar which I thought was only for me in a container there was only 1 piece of bread in the dish which didn’t look very appetising I put the container down and was told to put it on the label she had put on the display. I made light of this and asked if I could taste the mango vinegar as the sign said you could add to proseco I tried to make light of the situation but she continued to be rude and when because there was no bread I put my finger into the container which had the smallest amount of vinegar in it she proceeded to lecture me I had assumed it was only for me I didn’t taste and told her I put the dish on the side where I thought were “dirty” dishes she then rudely told me they weren’t dirty.I walked away to the counter where my daughter could see I was upset she asked me why while I was asking the other lady who I think was now embarrassed as my daughter asked her why she was so rude!!! She continued to argue with my daughter. If she had been the only staff I would have walked out without buying anything. I left the shop as I felt very upset. I had travelled from Scotland to visit your shop.I may also add I am an infection control nurse and understand the reason why not to use your fingers but I had assumed she had poured a tiny amount of vinegar for myself and my daughter. How many people have touched the bread and “haven’t” washed their hands after leaving the toilet!!!!Vinegar really is less likely to carry infection. I am sorry this is so long but felt if I had spoken to one of my patients as she had to me and my daughter who is also a nurse in the Navy we would have been reprimanded.
I am so sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience in Zest for Taste. I’ve visited a number of times since writing this and have always found the staff (who wouldn’t recognise me as the writer of this article) to be courteous and helpful. I need to return again soon to refill a couple of my bottles and will pay particular attention to the service.
I live in chichester and to be honest they are overpriced, I can understand the quality is really good and you can also find things that you woudn’t normally find in a supermarket, however branded products like Cholula Hot Mexican sause was priced £4.25 when its only £1.24 in tesco. And many of the branded products are overpriced almost more than double. So if you ever want to visit that shop then make sure you only buy their own products.
Hi Vinny, Chichester is such a lovely town. I did my A Levels there (many years ago).
I agree with you that is one heck of a mark up, which is surprising as other products, in particular the oils and vinegars sold in the amphores, are very good value, especially once you have bought the original bottle and just need a refill. I recently bought both the blood orange and the date balsamic vinegars. They are both delicious with a little extra virgin olive oil on salads or drizzled over ice cream. Do try some next time you are passing and let me know what you think!
I lived near Chichester a few years ago and this shop is fantastic! I used to sneak away from my mother and raid the free oil samples…good memories! Thanks Kathryn! 😀
What a great find! It sounds like such an interesting shop…
Can I have 3 bottles of olive virgin oil, 5 bottles of balsamic vinegar….this is my kind of store. Are they moving anytime in New York City??? Please!!
Sorry Marisol, not in the immediate future but who knows! 🙂
Sooo going to have to plan a visit to Chi now! Looking forward to that recipe too 🙂
Indeed you must! 😉 Recipe coming soon!
That red wine braised chorizo sounds like my kind of dish
It’s delicious and really easy… watch this space!
Oh my! This looks like my kind of shop!! Lovely!
If you haven’t already you must come and visit Chichester. This isn’t the only shop that would tempt you I’m sure!