Growing up with a love of spicy food and a passion for home cooking, Natalia Lazic was frustrated that she couldn’t find high-quality chili oil, so, with the help from her mother Anna, Natalia headed into the kitchen with the goal of creating the perfect chili oil that could be used on just about everything.
Inspired by the chili oils found at Chinese restaurants, but only finding oils containing canola oil and cayenne peppers, she transformed the recipe with a base of sunflower oil infused with 7 different spices for a nuttier taste and made to withstand high-temperature cooking. And that’s when Seven Spice Chili Oil was born.
Initially, Natalia and her mother Anna were making small batches of Seven Spice for themselves and a handful of friends and family. Quickly, it got to the point where people were asking for more jars and were sharing the special chili oil with their friends and families. The demand skyrocketed!
After working to commercialize the product, and finding a way to preserve it naturally, Natalia started selling at local farmer’s markets first, and now, Seven Spice chili oil can be found in numerous Calgary Co-op, Safeway, and Sobeys locations along with other local retailers.
Seven Spice belongs on everyone’s shelves and is a product that can be used with virtually every type of food and meal possible. The unique flavor shares the idea of Canadian culture and is inspired from other cultures from around the world.
If you haven’t already guessed, the number 7 inspires the name, as Seven Spice was originally made with 7 ingredients. 7 is also the number of completion.