Kokova Magazine

Sweet Mandarin, makers of gluten- and nut-free sauces have secured a national listing with Waitrose and Holland & Barrett.

Twin chefs and restaurateurs, Lisa and Helen Tse from Sweet Mandarin - who won Gordon Ramsay's Best Local Chinese Restaurant on the F Word and appeared on BBC Two's Dragons' Den have said their supermarket deal is a "dream come true" as their nine gluten free sauces hit the shelves just in time for barbecue the barbecue season.

From the 10th August you can choose from either Hoisin, Sweet Chilli, Nut-free Satay, Barbecue, Wasabi, Sriracha Hot Sauce, Cantonese Ok, Blackbean and Sweet & Sour. Their restaurant quality sauces will be on sale in approximately 250 Waitrose stores in the Free-From aisle and online at Holland & Barrett.

The initial range of Sweet Mandarin Sauces are also suitable for vegans, vegetarians and have no gluten, no nuts, no mono-sodium glutamate and no artificial colouring. They are also perfect for people on the Paleo diet.

The Sweet Mandarin Sauces were produced as a direct response from customers' demand for their restaurant's authentic taste of a true Pan-Asian food experience.

Each sauce is hand mixed by Chef Lisa in the Sweet Mandarin kitchen and tells part of the tale of the Tse family history. Using secret recipes passed down through generations, Lisa adds a modern take on the authentic flavours and aromas found in China's street markets - and used by her mother, grandmother and great grandmother - in every bottle.

"We are delighted to be launching our gluten free Chinese dipping sauces through Waitrose and Ocado, giving us national distribution with a partner who like us, believes food should be at the highest quality. We can't wait to work with Waitrose. It is a dream come true for a British manufacturer like us. We are delighted to be supporting Coeliac UK - one in a 100 people suffer from this disease and generally this means they cannot enjoy Chinese cuisine because of the gluten used in the cooking sauces.

By offering a range of gluten free sauces, we are able to help dispel the ignorance and misunderstanding surrounding coeliac disease and show how easy it is to provide gluten-free options. In addition we are particularly excited about the nut-free satay which is a response to many people who have a nut allergy. Our factory only makes these sauces so there is no risk of any cross-contamination whatsoever."

Lisa Tse, Managing Director of Sweet Mandarin Sauces

A Waitrose senior buyer said the supermarket chain had been hugely impressed with the products. In fact, it has taken only weeks from liaising with the buyer to getting the Sweet Mandarin sauces on the shelves. The future is sweet for Sweet Mandarin Sauces.

"The sauces are excellent and are something our customers will want and enjoy. The Sweet Mandarin brand fits perfectly with our ethos to encourage customers to try something new. Working with Helen and Lisa is fun and they have the passion and drive to succeed. We want to help nurture smaller, niche British manufacturers like them and add to the quality offering we have in store. We have worked extremely hard and pulled out all the stops to make their sauces available in stores as quickly as possible,"

For more information visit www.sweetmandarin.com