The problem with me is that you ask one question and you get a million answers. I can talk for Ireland. Or for Kerry, I’ve heard Kerry people like to talk.”

This is what a conversation with Arun Kapil is like. The likeable man behind Green Saffron Spices is incredibly enthusiastic and it seems that he has hundreds of ideas running through his mind at once. Therefore, it’s not surprising to learn that Arun, who is based in Midleton, Co Cork, has done a mix of things in the past before deciding to move to Ireland.

His first job was in London, working at a restaurant owned by The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood and serving clients such as Michael Jackson.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Anyone who was famous at the time was there,” he says. “For a teenager who had been locked away at a boarding school it was amazing. That’s what I thought London was all about, because that was my introduction.”

He then went on to form a music label at the age of 19, working in the industry until he reached his early 30s.

“I was young and a bit mad,” he says. “After a while I started to realise that there were other things I should concentrate on. At the age of 33 I decided I needed a change.”

That change was fairly drastic. To the surprise of his friends, he decided to plant himself in rural Ireland to take a course in Ballymaloe.

“I shocked myself to be honest. They all thought I wouldn’t stick it out and I’d be back. There’s no way they thought I’d survive as I was a real city boy,” he says. “But I was brought up in Lincolnshire, in a really loving home environment. It’s very similar to east Cork in a lot of ways. When I landed in Ireland I thought: ‘This is rather lovely’. It actually felt like home.”

Arun, who is half Indian, half English, explains that his love of food has been there since a young age.

“My mother is from Yorkshire and my dad is Indian,” he says. “My dad was taught how to cook before he left for England. He was always cooking Indian food at home, while mom taught us how to bake.”

After meeting his wife Olive in Ballycotton, Arun decided to stay put and leave his life in London behind permanently. Then, along with a friend, he started selling spices at farmers’ markets – complete with a pink sarong.

“She was doing jams and chutneys and I was selling spices. We were sugar and spice,” he says. “I met so many people through the farmers’ markets. That’s the brilliance of Ireland, people gave me a chance. People saw me with my pink sarong and playing music and thought: ‘We’ll have a look’.

From day one he has sourced his spices from India.

“Before we started I called my dad and he put me in touch with my cousins in India. I was always determined that our product would be the best. I’ve never let it change from the original ethos.”

When Arun first started to sell his spices at the farmers’ markets he was faced with the task of introducing unfamiliar products to an Irish palate.

“There wasn’t resistance, but there was curiosity,” he says. “People kept asking if the spices were strong, but I had no concept of the word strong when it came to food. To me strength is power, but I soon realised they meant heat. I never think of heat, I think of flavour.

“I’m always fighting against the word ‘curry’, but now I’m relenting a little bit,” he says. “A curry doesn’t exist to me. I always had this debate at the stall, but it took away from what I was selling. A curry to people in Ireland is what you get from the Chinese, this yellow gloopy thing.”

Arun started out by selling sachets of spices, but when he started introducing hot food to the stall he saw the business start to take off.

“That completed the triangle. Once I did that my turnover improved overnight. I doubled my turnover year on year,” he says.

“It wasn’t until the end of 2012 that I actually had a business plan. For four or five years I was just holding on to the coat tails of this company, trying to hold onto it. I’ve never had to call a shop. We now employ 10 people in Ireland.”

Green Saffron’s spice mixes, sauces and chutneys can be found in shops nationwide and Arun has recently launched his own cookbook. There are exciting plans afoot for the company in 2015.

“We’re very fortunate with our funding from Enterprise Ireland and we’re getting ourselves prepared for the global stage,” says Arun.

“We’re finishing a deal to supply in Scandinavia and we’re securing a deal with a French company. I don’t want to miss an opportunity, but I want to make sure that everything is done correctly.”

Arun, who describes himself as a “fusion”, has found the right balance in life.

“It’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever done. I adore it,” he says. “I came with an open heart and an open mind. What I found in Ireland was a great sense of community and that people were willing to listen,” he adds.

“There’s a great deep-rooted food tradition in Ireland. If I can add something new to the mix, surely that’s a positive thing?”

Visit t www.greensaffron.com | Arun’s book, Fresh Spice, is out now