Spreading the Love for Condiments

Hey there, I'm Cam, condiment enthusiast. Beside me is Ella, my partner, also a condiment enthusiast. Together, we run Condimental.

I started Condimental in 2018 after 11 years in hospitality, as a way to share delicious condiments with fellow flavournauts through a seasonal subscription box service. We’ve showcased wild hot sauces, outlandish chutneys, fermented dehydrated chilli salts, borlotti bean miso, and everything in between.

Condiments are a surefire way to liven up any dish, but they should be so much more. They should showcase the best of our local, seasonal produce, support farmers, and help us reduce food waste.

Unfortunately, that's not the current reality. Our supermarket shelves are packed with products made with imported ingredients, even those proudly labelled "Australian Made." It's mind-boggling! Imagine a jam company importing berries from Chile while local farmers dump tonnes of perfectly good fruit. It's a broken system that needs fixing.

Condimental is my attempt to do just that—not through greenwashing or virtue signalling, but by ensuring our condiments are made with quality ingredients, attention to detail, and delicious flavours that can convert even the most hardened sceptic. We want to play a positive role in building a food system where local ingredients are celebrated, farmers are supported, and we can all enjoy delicious, seasonal food without harming the planet.

During 2022-2024, we ran our first brick’n’mortar venue Picnic Central, a pop-up cafe at Central Station.

Currently you’ll find us at Carriageworks Farmers Market every Saturday where we make our signature toasties, pickle bowls and shrub sodas. We do events, catering gigs, even host the occasional pickling class and fermenting workshop around our hometown of Sydney. For those further afield, our online shop still offers condiment gift boxes and subscriptions, with an ever-rotating range of exciting new flavours to try.

In the future, my vision is for Condimental to be a collaborative network, a template for more kitchens located in different parts of the country (or, world!), able to work with their own local farmers, chefs and ingredients.