John Gregory-Smith is enthusiastic, bouncy and passionate about travel and food. “Food brings people together. It is a complete pleasure whether it’s a snack or a long meal,” he says.
He entered the food scene in 2006 after launching The Mighty Spice fran- chise of fresh spice pastes into top-end stores Fortnum & Mason and Harvey Nichols, as well as Sainsbury’s.
His two books, The Mighty Spice Cookbook and The Mighty Spice Express, were both inspired by myriad travels. Bringing exotic tastes back home hasn’t been an issue as Gregory-Smith says the British consumer is happy to experiment. “The UK is amazing, peoplehere are obsessed with eating and they’re not afraid to eat new things.”
But despite the advantage of an open-minded population when it comes to food, Gregory-Smith soon points to one of the principal issues for the UK food industry. “Unfortunately we’re a very supermarket-driven society. How many times have you bought two-for-one when you didn’t need it? We’re all a bit guilty of doing that.
“Schemes like FareShare are a really good place to start. They pick waste food up from small and large retailers just as it reaches its sell-by date, and then redistribute it to people in need.”
Gregory-Smith is not your typical chef – he graduated with a degree inclassical studies from Manchester University and went into a sales job in the City. In his own words, he hated it so much that in 2009 he left and took up his true passion: food and cookery.
But his background in the capital’s finance district wasn’t all negative. “My City training was very strict. We had to be in at 8.15 in the morning, no personal calls – it was quite militant. But it did teach me to not be scared to talk to people and just pick up the phone.”
And of course, no one comes out of the City without a pretty good insight into business. “My advice to others wanting to start up a food business is do your homework. Get your margins absolutely perfect before you start. The food industry is particularly difficult as price is always a massive focus.”
Gregory-Smith makes sure all ingredients and spices from his cookbooks are either available in supermarkets or easily sourced. He says that this is to encourage people to cook from scratch, but is also keen to highlight the role of a mainstream retailer.
“If we’re being realistic then ultimately everyone shops at supermarkets. They’ve got the power to do some really amazing things; they have huge pulling power. At the moment there is a real lack of flavour in supermarket products as we’re so obsessed with price, and this is something that needs to change.”
Gregory-Smith is a dynamic young chef with a vision for the future. His online consumer magazine Eat Travel Live continues to expand and in 2014 he hopes to add a YouTube channel with full video content for all his recipes, and featuring a host of celebrity chef friends.
Bursting with ideas, enthusiasm, and of course spice, he is definitely one to watch for the future.
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