Chef Sameh Wadi, owner of Minneapolis’ white-tablecloth Middleastern restaurant, Saffron, says the basis for all good Middleastern cooking is the spice blends. “I’m pretty sure I have the biggest spice collection of any restaurant in the cities, and I’d be lost without them.” When guests approach him about how their home cooking can taste similar to the things they order at his restaurant, Wadi tells them it’s all about the spices. And now, he’s going to make it easy on those guests by offering spice blends for sale in the restaurant, and hopefully in stores sometime soon.

Ras al Hanout is a blend that is at the basis of many Middleastern dishes, a custom blend that is always different depending on the chef. Wadi’s version contains over 20 different kinds of spices, including the highest quality Iranian saffron that he has imported directly to him. He’ll also offer Garam Masala, a chicken spice, and a tagine blend. All will be freshly hand ground on a weekly basis.
   
“When you buy spices and spice blends off the shelf, they could have been sitting there for over a year. They have anti-caking agents and anti-coagulating agents, and it just doesn’t compare to the real thing,” he explains.

The blends will fall in the under ten-dollar range for a couple of ounces, and will be available around the end of the month.