Meet the Maker Introducing the founders of Aye Pickled

QUICKFIRE QUIZ

Sweet or savoury? Savoury, 100%. I’d take a cheeseboard over a pudding every time Caf or decaf? Caf. No explanation required. Skinny fries or chunky chips? Salty, delicious skinny fries (with yellow mustard – shocker) Brown sauce or ketchup? Ketchup. Supermarket or farmers’ market? Farmers’ market, especially Portobello market. It’s lesser known but it’s got some fab stalls and it’s a great one to take kids to because it’s in the park produce.

Meet the Maker

Introducing the faces behind our favourite local foods

WHO: Fiona and Stuart Oberheim, founders of Aye Pickled WHAT: We handmake batches of gourmet pickles, live cultured ferments and sauces. We have five core, award-winning products that are sold and stocked across the UK. These are our Bread and Butter Pickles, our Hot Roots, fabulously purple Pickled Slaw, our naturally fermented Kimchi, and our Kimchi Hot Sauce. HOW: We’d just had our second baby, had left our careers, and were at a crossroads. Stu’s a trained chef and a major passion for him is food and health trends. We’d both been huge fans of pickled and fermented foods but we couldn’t find anything on the local market that really satisfied our cravings. So, we started making our own at the kitchen table and sold our first jar of pickles at Christmas in 2017. It’s crazy to think how much we’ve learned and gone through, with the kids, with each other, Brexit, a global pandemic… WHAT NEXT: We’ve just partnered with chef Dean Banks on his Wagyu Burger range and we’re bringing three new products to the retail market soon, including our fermented lime pickle, which we’re really excited about. Behind the scenes we’re moving into larger premises, growing the team and starting to make moves to distribute to the US which will be a huge moment for this wee Scottish brand. CULINARY ICONS: Yotam Ottolenghi, Thomasina Miers and Sabrina Ghayour all make food that I love. And I’m a bit obsessed with food writer / restaurant critic Grace Dent, she’s a superstar. SIGNATURE DISH: Black Bean soup. The key is charring the tomatoes and garlic, then it’s all about the toppings… Cheese, crushed tortilla chips, jalapeños, guacamole, and tons of coriander. It’s the perfect hangover cure. THE WEEKLY SHOP: We mix it up between the supermarket and keeping it local. We live in Portobello and are lucky to have so many great wee shops on the high street. Root Down is a favourite for fruit, veg and amazing bread (made locally by Ruth of Wildside Bread). The Beer Zoo is a proper bottle shop packed with great beers and ciders, and it’s a favourite of Stu’s.