The Story
It all began when my wife Adriana, my two kids and myself came to the United States transferred by the oil company I worked for in Venezuela. The move initially conceived as a short period evolved as a longer permanence going into its 24th year. The passage of time increased the daily longing for our rambunctious loving family, the food we all cooked and the products we could only get whenever we visited our native Venezuela.
During these years we could kill for our queso blanco (white cheese), a good casabe (casabe bread), the banana leaves to make hallacas (Venezuelan tamale) malta for the kids and of course the corn bread to make arepas that was only found from time to time in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I still remember my wife missing a good aji dulce (sweet chili) to spice up her caraotas (black beans) or even myself complaining when the sancocho (beef and fish soup) came without that irreplaceable taste and aroma. With the pass of time and the globalization of trade all those ingredients gradually became much more available in Houston where we moved to in 2004... everything but the ajà dulce.
My need turned into action and I tried for years to find the sweet chili in local international stores, hispanic markets, internet, all over the place... just to get frustrated as there was no sign of the untraceable ajÃ. Until a friend of us providentially brought home a few seeds which she said were ajà dulce and obviously that was like receiving a shipment of gold and hope. Months after we planted and immediately after our first harvest Adriana was more than eager to prepare a guiso (Venezuelan stew). As soon as we cut them up, the unforgettable aroma indulged our noses. Once the guiso was ready the taste of it rendered us home. Suddenly, an idea struck me as I was enjoying myself: we need to expand this...right here in my backyard, with the purpose of having my own and permanent availability of aji dulce. I was on a mission, anything was possible!
The next thing I knew...the experiment was a success: my tiny farm was bursting with large and aromatic ajÃes. The clayish soil of Texas was helping me to emulate the best sweet chilies in the world which are found in the Island of Margarita, northeast of Venezuela. Adriana and I proudly started to share our new found treasure with many Venezuelan friends. We even gave some of them an ajà dulce plant which quickly became one of the most sought out christmas gifts that our family could ever offer. Not only were the Venezuelan expats pleased but also our American friends. Adriana and I were so delighted when we had them over and they asked what made our food so mouth watering? What was that taste they have only found under our roof? Very quickly our ajà dulce went from being a reminiscent taste for Venezuelans to capture the taste buds of my American friends! But I wasn’t satisfied.
I knew something was missing… it felt like Adriana and I were thinking too small. This culinary breakthrough in the USA shouldn’t only be enjoyed by our circle of friends in Houston. Then I had an epiphany while singing a Venezuelan song whose lyric refers to carrying the aroma of Venezuela in our skins... and it hit me: first, my fellow expatriates in the USA can’t get the aroma of Venezuela. Second, my American friends love the flavor and taste of our sweet chili thus… why not making it available in the American market? From there I started to dream about bringing the flavor of aji dulce to USA tables. Rapidly, this led to the registration of the brand name Ajà Dulce Margarita and the formation of a small business named EarthVen (Tierra Venezolana).
The mission of the company was obviously conceived around the personal satisfaction of making it available to the Venezuelans living in the USA but, as important, introducing the produce to the American people , convince them about its culinary potential and give me the best of two worlds: having Venezuela and the USA together around a gastronomic delight. So far, planting the ajÃes on at large scale has advanced in spite of the expected initial hurdles. Harvesting of colorful ajÃes have started and thus we are ready to announce and introduce Ajà Dulce Margarita… the new kid on the block, bringing the taste and aroma of our beloved Venezuela.
Bon appétit!