Our Story - SPICE

About Spice and All things nice

Spice and All Things Nice is a Spice company based in trendy Salt River in Cape Town. We manufacture and distribute artisanal curry pastes, powders, flavoured rices, cous cous, quinoas, poppadums, sprinkles, mueslis, smoothies and curry kits. We are also in the throes of developing a meal kit which will have two to three recipe cards in it along with the relevant ingredients.

Only the finest spices/ingredients are used in all of our products. The products are hand made and contain no preservatives, additives or added sugar.

Our product categories include Balti, Indian, Cape Malay, Thai, Moroccan and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Our philosophy is to make cooking healthy, fun and convenient. All of our products have ‘easy to use’ recipes on them.

The range is Vegan and we have a gluten-free offering too! We are Kosher certified.

The Journey

Spice and All things nice was started in 2002 by Gillian Downes. After a brief trip to the UK to study macrobiotics, she became captivated by the spice markets in Oxford. She also fell in love with the Balti houses in and around London. On her return to SA she decided to start experimenting with making her own Balti Curry pastes. She bought a Balti recipe book and the relevant spices and taught herself the ancient ritual of curry paste making. She made the Balti curry for friends and family and let’s just say the rest is history…

It all started off in her mum’s kitchen in Newlands with two staff members. Her parents supported her vision every step of the way even if they had to tolerate the smells of curry aromas in every crevice of the house. With them both being entrepreneurs themselves, this came naturally!

Today the factory is based in Salt River and the Spice team is made up of a wonderful team of ladies (and one gentleman).

Their first clients were Giovanni’s and Sea Point Spar. Today they have listings with Spar, Pick n Pay. Dischem and Wellness Warehouse. They also stock various health stores, independents, the food service sector and UCook. We are also slowly growing our export market.

Handmade with love!

Gillian Downes

Gillian Downes was born and bred in Cape Town. She studied a Bachelor of commerce degree and went on to work in finance and dabbled in product development for a cosmetic company. She is passionate about cooking, nutrition and making a difference! She is a dedicated mum and also loves art, travel and interiors.

Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be ‘master of my own destiny’. Having ones own business is a never ending source of inspiration and a constant learning curve!

You need grit, determination and loads of passion and patience!”

Future Plans

I would love Spice and All things nice to become a household name, grow our online presence and grow the brand internationally, I have also always wanted to launch a recipe / lifestyle book which would encompass my love of all things Spicy but also my passion for health and my belief in maintaining a balance in life.