Curry and Spice Co TM, Indian curry sauces, spice rubs, Indian marinades, curry recipes. Tastes and Traditions of India - Authentic, ready to use curry sauces, rubs, and marinades ready to cook or eat out of the jar. Online ordering and wholesale orders. Spice up your dinner!

• Press Release: Curry Sauce wins award- July 2005

• The Hook: Spicy competition: Bottled curry aims to win - July 7, 2005

• Real Estate Weekly: Sip, Taste, Sip - June, 2005

Specialty Food Magazine features NASFT Fancy Food Competition:
• Specialty Food features NASFT Fancy Food Competition - July, 2005 - cover
• NASFT Product Awards: Finalists Announcement - article

• CAS FOODS photo gallery - Photos from recent events and more

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOOD- THE DISH

Spicy competition: Bottled curry aims to win

Published July 7, 2005 in issue 0427 of the Hook
BY CHRISTINA BALL DISH@READTHEHOOK.COM


	Irene Castelino and daughter Ashley. Photo by Christine Ball.

You might not have heard of Irene and Ron Castelino and their small, locally owned Curry and Spice Co., but leaders in the specialty food industry certainly have.

Just one year-old, this enterprise specializing in fully prepared and bottled Indian curries happens to be a finalist in the prestigious National Association for the Specialty Food Trade's Fancy Food Show in New York City. Their Goa Coconut Curry, a rich, creamy curry from the coastal region of western India, is competing against six other innovative edibles for the Association's "Outstanding New Product" award to be announced on July 10.

But considering that specialty food retailers and grocers look to the entire list of Fancy Food finalists to discover emerging trends that will shape the industry-- Curry and Spice is already a winner.

Though the spices and well-preserved family recipes are all 100 percent Indian (Irene was born and raised in Bombay), the concept for curries in a jar actually came from Italy.

"I basically took the idea of ready-made pasta sauces and applied it to curry, which normally takes hours-- even days-- to prepare," Irene says. Necessity definitely helped invention along. As a busy UVA nurse and mother, she didn't always have the luxury of leisurely cooking time. Ironically, her time-saving concept is keeping her busier than ever these days.

In development for over a decade, Curry and Spice Co. launched its first two curry sauces-- Mogul Masala, a Persian-influenced curry from north India, and Garam Masala, a "hot" blend containing over 25 different spices-- in 2004. Four others followed-- Gosht Masala (traditionally served with lamb on special occasions), Portuguese-inspired Vindaloo (vin=wine), Madras Masala, and the Fancy finalist Goa Coconut.

Best-described as "simmer sauces," these curries can be used in a variety of ways (marinades, rubs, in dips) with meat, seafood or vegetables. Jar-to-table meals take 10-30 minutes.