Interview with Tim Odam, Founder of Timmy's Chillies

If you love to cook, you will know that the key to creating the perfect appetiser, entrée, or dessert, is flavour.

Tim Odam's range of award-winning chilli jams and marmalades will not only spice-up your hot-buttered-toast-for-breakfast routine, but the tantalising flavours will bring a mouth-watering kick to any dish.

We had a chat with Tim about the origins of Timmy's Chillies; his innovative recipes, and the fresh local ingredients which make Tim's chilli jams and marmalades so delicious and unique!

Tell us about Timmy's Chillies!

I began trading in January 2013. My award-winning marmalades and jellies are a range of high quality, handmade, low output preserves. Although they are sweet and spreadable, they also work well with savoury foods as a spicy condiment, glaze, or ingredient. Made in Clutton in Somerset using traditional techniques, I use masses of fresh fruit to keep the chilli on the finish of each delicious mouthful.

What inspired you to start making chilli jams and marmalades?

I started from scratch with nothing but home grown chillies and some very good family marmalade recipes. My inspiration came from a love of spicy food which I gained when visiting relatives in California many years ago, and a desire to develop a range of products to fill a niche. There were loads of different vinegar based hot sauces around, many of which used extracts and chemical preservatives rather than fresh ingredients. I wanted to develop a range that would deliver both fresh fruit flavour and fresh chilli heat.

Where do you source your ingredients?

I use local suppliers to source my ingredients, buying UK grown produce when available – from chillies to Cheddar Valley strawberries. All current Timmy’s Chillies products are gluten free and vegan friendly.

How do you come up with your recipes, and does it take you a long time to perfect them?

The recipes and product names are all my own work. Developing the range is immense fun. Because the basic family marmalade recipe is so good, it is reasonably simple to adapt using my spicy additions. Starting out, I had to experiment with varying quantities of fresh ginger, nutmeg and different types and quantities of fresh chillies to find the right balance for each flavour. It didn’t take long to hit on the right combinations. The key is to use an awful lot (50%+) of fresh fruit!

Have you won any awards?

Timmy’s Chillies were runner up in ‘The Seed Fund’ final of 2014. BlimeyLimey© won the silver award in Taste of The West 2015. Lemonchillo© gaining the highly commended award. I have entered 3 more flavours in this years competition and I'm hoping for more good news in May/June 2016.

Is there anything else that you think our readers would love to know?

Having recently read a book about my grandfather, I discovered that my great great uncle, Mr Tawell, was the general manager of Wilkin & Sons, of Tiptree, in Essex. I have a genetic connection to marmalades and jellies!

Here are some of our favourite ideas for you to try, using Tim's chilli jams and marmalades:

-Mix Lemonchillo© with chicken and daikon (an East-Asian radish), and use as a potsticker filling.

-Try a few dollops of Blimeylimey© on a hot dog with fried onions.

-Glaze roast pork with Pinachillero© and top with fresh pineapple rings for the last 30 minutes in the oven.