Possibly the greatest review of a product ever
A few months ago we ran a wee competition to win one of our 1 litre catering jars, in order celebrate Yok Chan's birthday, amongst other things. To enter you just had to answer the question:
'How has Yok Chan's Chilli Oil positively impacted your culinary life?'
The idea was to catalyse a string of reviews and nice comments about the chilli oil, so mum could read them on her birthday. We received some belters, from improving people's cuisines, to love stories, to reacquainting long lost friends.
However the winning review was unlike anything I've ever read. A wonderful heartfelt, articulate and enthusiastic story of a young man's love of chilli, and what YCCO meant to him. So good that we had to share it. Here it is:
'I have a galvanised relationship with chilli.
One time when I was 4, my mum pulled me aside and warned me that dinner might be a little spicy. That night, alongside my 2-year old sister polishing off her own dinner plate, I welcomed chilli into my mouth, and its delightful zings into my heart.
Over the next 30 years, like Dora the Explorer but as a family, we travelled the globe adding chilli sauces and oils to our pantry, always searching for the one that would taste unique, go with everything, and leave nothing on the plate. Tabasco sauce isn't as full bodied, Nandos Vusa isn't as versatile, so for 3 decades, our chilli palate scoured the earth only to be left untantalised.
When I moved to London 7 years ago, I started cooking for myself in earnest. A whole new world of herbs, spices, and oils welcomed me, and perhaps the unworthy taster started turning into a humble cook. That's when it started, the whispers of a chilli oil out there borne from a mother's love, and spread by a son's dedication.
My ears pricked, but I forced my excitement down. After all, I had been promised flames before only to be left bland. Cautiously I found my way to the man's house (who would later become my brother - in no small part thanks to Yok Chan's Chilli Oil), to sample the elixir he had been raving about.
It was euphoric. You see, Yok Chan's Chilli Oil first invites you to dare with its colour, texture, and chilli flakes, all presented in a supple and labelled glass bottle.
You spread it over an egg or avocado first, say aloud how good it is. Then you mix it in rice, scratching the surface of its versatility. Before you know it, steaks and vegetables are being cooked with it, your teriyaki chicken is described as a game-changer by your family, and the crew from social volleyball are asking if they can come over for dinner again "while you make us something with Yok Chan’s, thanks".
3 months ago, I managed to reunite with my family in New Zealand after 6 years. Covid had stolen time from all of us. The light of a question started growing brighter in my mind - what do you give the family that has given you everything? What, indeed. When you try to look out into the abyss of the future, oftentimes your heart will guide you through the alleys of the past.
Wasn't there a poetic symmetry in how mother and son came together 3 decades ago, to be awakened to the delights of chilli together, and another mother and son across time and space creating it and serving it? Wouldn't it fill that one final place in the family pantry and reward the tenacity of a global search?
Yok Chan’s Chilli Oil made its way across the seven seas, invited into the kitchen and hearts of the family who could now rest knowing the quest was done. All that was left was to enjoy the culinary delights forevermore.
The question was how Yok Chan's Chilli Oil positively impacted your culinary life, but to turn a phrase, Yok Chan’s Chilli Oil is life.'
Danny M take a bow 👏🏽
