Entrepreneur Profile: Lakshmi Sundaram

From spicy “douceur masala” chocolate to Kinabalu-flavoured lamb, the aromatic adventures of “Voilà Masala” are tempting Canadians “to put creativity back into the kitchen.”

Meet Lakshmi Sundaram, creator and owner of Voilà Masala, a company that creates and packages unique spice blends (masala) specially suited for North American taste buds. “People are very interested in spices; they just don’t know what to do with them,” she says, showing off with pride her recently built sparkling kitchen/workshop attached to her home in 68 acres of farmland in northern Aylmer, Québec.

“I want people to regain that creativity in the kitchen that we’ve all lost because of our stressed-out lifestyles,” she says. And Sundaram definitely believes in mixing her home-based business with family pleasure. The company—whose mission is “to transform the act of eating into one of dining”—complements and supports her passions for family, farm, and gourmet food.

Sundaram is a forty-something, fluently bilingual, stay-at-home mother of three teenaged boys. Five years ago, she found her “calling,” to create spice blends with herbs and spices in the unlikely setting of a horse farm, with two Bouviers des Flandres and a few hens.

Her English mother and late East Indian father got her “spice-smitten” through baby foods. Later, she honed her skills in the fine art of spicing in travels abroad and in jobs as a waitress in Indian restaurants in Montreal. “Mixing spices is very meditative; it slows me down,” she says, unwinding memories of launching her business in an interview at her home. She began through social gift giving of her food made with her personal blends of spices. Friends raved about her homemade gifts and that told her that her business plan was a winner.

And so, in 2000, with barely $600 to spare, she harnessed husband, mother, and “les boys” in roasting, grinding, packaging, and transporting her spicy crafts to stores and shows in Quebec and Ontario. She had always lived her philosophy of having her family cook and work together because, “Boys don’t talk very much, but get them involved in making food and they’ll open up,” and that’s how she learns “about ninety percent of what’s going on in their lives,” she says.

Her home-based business specializes in several varieties of spice blends that come in distinctly coloured, user-friendly packaging for cooking gourmet without sweat. Take, for instance, the lime green 28 g packet of “Kinabalu,” inspired by her travels to Malaysia. The spice blend contains six different ingredients, among them Indonesian galangal and lemongrass. On the inside cover there is a recipe for making Kinabalu chicken that combines flavours of India, Indonesia, and Thailand. For the chilli-sensitive cook, there is also a spiciness rating, from mild to hot. The spices are freshly roasted and ground with no preservatives, food colouring, or salt added. The package allows for two meals for four people and may be adapted to other recipes, including macaroni and cheese with a gourmet touch.

Sundaram strives to dispel the fear of the unknown by encouraging her clients to do simple things with her masala—spice up the butter for sandwiches or add it to a dip with yogurt and mayonnaise for an exotic flavour.

Chef Gérard Fischer of Le Tartuffe in Gatineau, Quebec calls Sundaram an “artisan” of spices and uses her spice blends in cooking tandoori lamb and beef. He even marinates salmon in her “chai” tea blend. His customers love it “because it is not too spicy and filled with flavour.” Another long-time client is Nathalie Borne, owner of Miss Chocolat, also in Gatineau. She offered her creation of douceur masala chocolate using Sundaram’s Sri Lankan spice blend called Parera. At a recent gourmet food festival in Hull, it was a hit because “It’s like you eat a piece of Thai,” she says.

Over a hundred stores in Quebec stock Sundaram’s “designer” spices. French Canada has opened up to her niche market products, but despite high-profile appearances in shows such as CTV’s noon-hour cooking and CBC’s Regional Contact, the competition in English Canada is yet to be won. She remains optimistic, however, because, “When I finally hit the English market I won’t have to go through the learning curve.” Her toughest challenge yet was becoming a businesswoman and developing to the point where “I know my worth.”

Lakshmi Sundaram operates Voilà Masala from her home in Aylmer, Quebec. The company’s web site, www.voilamasala.com, offers recipes and information about spices.