Try a taste of Chef’s secret sauce. You’ll be so glad you did

One of the side effects (sic) of Covid has been many restaurant suppliers having to sell products directly to consumers, restaurants for now no longer being their main customers.

For example Frankonia Bread House, whose breads and pastries were once exclusively for hotel and restaurants only, now do home deliveries. Check out our review here.

Eaten Alive usually only sell their special pastes to the trade, but changing circumstances mean we can now buy their fermented ingredients, pickles and seasoning pastes online.

We tried their Fermented Jerk Paste. The fermentation process changes the traditional jerk paste flavour for the better and the vegetables in this are first smoked to add extra flavour depth.

If that sounds a bit cheffy, that’s because two former Michelin starred chefs are behind the brand.They bonded over a love of all things fermented and started supplying the restaurant trade with their Classic Spicy Kimchi in 2016 including Tonkotsu, Soho House and Chick n’ Sours.

Super fresh, their pastes have a short shelf life compared to the industrial pastes and need to be kept cold.We slapped the Fermented Jerk Paste all over some chicken thighs and legs ( bone in and skin) on, and left them in the fridge for eight hours, before BBQing over charcoal off the direct heat and with the lid of Weber on to trap the smoke and heat.

This is the best way to get properly cooked, but still moist, chicken. And always use a Thermapen, the BBQers best friend.

Phew what a scorcher. The Scotch Bonnets certainly had some fire, but wasn’t all heat. The paste had plenty of other flavours too.

Another paste is Preserved Lemon. I love preserved lemon but rarely get around to making any.

These sliced fermented whole lemons can be used for all kinds of things to lift flavours, but we did the classic thing of stirring some into a tagine with lamb.It really does make the difference, adding its complex, salty, citrusy kick to refreshing effect.

Variations on the preserved lemon theme include Preserved Lemon with Yuzu, Preserved Lemon with Fresh Turmeric, Ginger and Garlic  and if you’re not into lemon there are Bread and Butter Pickles and Brined Purple Carrots too.

We’ll be trying those too when the jerk paste and preserved lemon are gone – which will be very soon at this rate.

Eaten Alive have also launched some new hot sauces –  ‘Extra Spicy Scotch Bonnet Sauce’ made with fermented peppers, live cider vinegar and raw sugar – all’alive’ not cooked or pasteurised; Lime and Jalapeno Sauce, perfect for chicken and fish, or dressings, guacamole or salsa.Finally, the ‘Kimchi Hot Sauce‘ made using the Eaten Alive’Classic Kimchi’ and kimchi brined chillies, peppers and traditional gochutgaru (dried Korean chilli) all fermented and blended.

We tried these and the Lime and Jalapeno went great in a Bloody Mary, while the Scotch Bonnet sauce reduced our resident’it’s never too hot for me’ heat fan to humble tears. Then he had some more.

The Kimchi one was the overall winner; all that heat but bags of flavour too.

If you’re looking for the goodness of fermented products, plus a powerful flavour kick, you can order all these via the Eaten Alive website

Fermented Jerk Paste 375g jar – £5.99

Bread and Butter Pickles 375g jar – £4.99

Brined Purple Carrots   375g jar – £6.99

Preserved Lemon 200g jar £2.99

Preserved Lemon with Yuzu 200g jar – £2.99

Preserved Lemon with Fresh Turmeric, Ginger and Garlic. 200g jar – £2.99Extra Spicy Scotch Bonnet Sauce (150ml, £4.99).

Lime and Jalapeno Sauce’ – (150ml £3.99)

Kimchi Hot Sauce’ (150ml, £4.99)