TASTEMAKERS
Spice Up the Season Behind the scenes at Stillwater’s Pinch ‘n Rub Spice & Tea Hub.
NAN CY F I G U ER OA has always enjoyed cooking and baking. Throughout her life, friends would encourage her to become a private chef or open a restaurant. But it was a trip to Washington D.C. that inspired Figueroa to open a spice and tea shop in downtown Stillwater in 2012. “I was invited to parents’ weekend with our host daughter [an international student from Guatemala] who was accepted into the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. While there, I visited the cutest little spice and tea shop and decided Stillwater needed one of these,” says Figueroa. She returned to the Midwest and began doing her due diligence. Nine months later, her “baby” was born, Pinch ‘n Rub Spice and Tea Hub on Main St. As the initial space as being created, Figueroa’s designer, who knew her passion for cooking, suggested they put a little kitchen right inside the shop where Figueroa could test ingredients and create recipes. She laughs about “violating” some of her grandmother’s recipes— Instead of rolling her sugar cookie dough in white sugar, she’d experiment with
BY ANGELA JOHNSON
36 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021
rolling them in habanero sugar, much to the joy of adventurous eaters. Although Figueroa loves to cook and bake, she didn’t consider herself an expert at first. Before opening her shop, she bought lots of books about spices and teas, ordered tons of samples and did a lot of reading and taste testing before creating every individual label in her shop. It’s important to note that not only is Figueroa passionate about food, she is also passionate about nutrition and is very particular about what she puts in her own body. “We try to source products that are organic and fair trade whenever we can,” she says, and every item is gluten free and contains no MSG. She’s met all but one of her suppliers in person and has established good relationships with importers who specialize in spices and teas. “Spices can be a fun way to be creative when cooking,” says Figueroa who points out that Pinch ‘n Rub is divided into sections with spices being first, including things like allspice, Vietnamese cinnamon and wasabi powder. Then there’s a section for blends, sugar blends, salt blends, pepper blends and other seasoning combos.
PHOTOS BY CHRIS EMEOTT
