Spices! Imagine a world without them and what a
dull place it would be. They enhance food, taking
it from the ordinary to the magical; imparting
endless flavours whether used singularly or in a
myriad of combinations. And they have beneficial
properties: ginger is said to improve the circulation,
turmeric has antiseptic properties, cumin is used as
remedy for indigestion and the King of Spices, black
pepper, is said to be mildly aphrodisiac!

For thousands of years spices have been used
throughout Asia, the Mediterranean countries and Arabia.
Wars have been fought over them, lands won and lost and
they have undoubtedly influenced the course of history.
Pepper was once traded ounce for ounce for gold and for
centuries was negotiable currency in the East and the
West. In 1498 the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gamma
was searching for pepper when he discovered the sea
route to the East and brought home a fabulous cargo of
spices and jewels from what is now the state of Kerala in
south western India.

Spices still play important roles in the economies of many
countries today, especially on the Indian sub - continent.
They are traded on the futures market and in Spice
Exchanges, where dealers trade the latest crops of
cardamom, pepper, ginger and other aromatic
commodities.
Here at The Spice Exchange, we recognise the
tremendous importance of careful, proper spicing in our
food. All of our spices are top quality and freshly ground.
Sometimes a dish will have just one or two key spices,
sometimes as many as ten. We are happy to adjust our
spices according to your tastes, for instance you may
prefer more chilli in a dish, or none at all.
Our menu aims to please all tastes but our chef is more
than happy to create dishes for you that may not appear
on the following pages, simply tell us what you like and
we ll do our very best to reproduce it.