GOURMAND INGREDIENTS IS THE COMMUNITY’S SPICE OF LIFE

MARYLINE GREEN

With the explosion of interest in home cooking and alternative cuisine, the demand for more exotic and unusual ingredients has blossomed as budding home chefs look to elevate and expand their cooking experience.

Port Macquarie-based Gourmand Ingredients has been in a position to help for over a decade now, ensuring that home cooking can be anything but boring with an array of exotic ingredients and goods from all over the world.

Situated in shops 3 and 4 at 39 Short St, the business was established in 2010 by husband and wife John and Maryline Green. Whether people are looking to cook South East Asian, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, African, European or any other exotic cuisine, the shop almost certainly has the right ingredients to stock up on.

However, earlier this year the business was placed under serious jeopardy.

‘WAR ZONE’

The devastating floods that were experienced in northern New South Wales and south east Queensland in March this year wreaked havoc, leaving families, communities and businesses in complete disarray. Gourmand Ingredients was just one of many local businesses hit hard.

We had flood waters about 48cm deep,” said Maryline. “It wiped out a lot of stock and caused a lot of damage to the shop. The whole place looked like a war zone.

Thankfully help was at hand in the form of volunteers from the community.

“We had about 15 to 18 people show up offering to help with the clean-up effort,” a grateful Maryline explained.

“People were working 6-8 hour shifts, with squeegees and buckets, on their knees scrubbing the mud and cleaning, removing the damaged goods from the bottom shelves and discarding them into the bins.

“It was very humbling that people offered to do that of their own accord,” Maryline added.

‘GOOD SAMARITANS’

With such invaluable help, Gourmand Ingredients were able to reopen within a week, which was quite remarkable given the extent of the damage they and others in the area had experienced.

“It would have been more likely four weeks of closure had it not been for the wonderful help and support from our good samaritans in the community,” Maryline commented proudly.

“People in the local community understand and appreciate what we bring to them,” she added. “They appreciate there is more to retail grocery than just the Coles and Woolworths of this world. We provide more than just goods; we provide a service. We offer help and advice to people who are often trying new things for the first time. We can give personal recommendations and tips to help them.”

Many small owned family run businesses may have been tempted to shut up shop once and for all after the devastation the floods brought. But not Gourmand Ingredients.

“Small business is the life blood of towns up and down the country,” Maryline says, acknowledging how community and small business are so intrinsically intertwined.

“It’s the people. It’s all about people,” Maryline says in conclusion.

SHOP AT GOURMAND INGREDIENTS

giportmac@hotmail.com

www.facebook.com/gourmandingredients/

+61265846268

Shops 3 & 4, 39 Short St, Port Macquarie NSW 2444, Australia