It’s been busy times for Evans, who since the show, has become mum to three-month-old Harlow, and always dreamed of re-creating the dishes created by her great-grandmother for others to enjoy.
Now, after months in the fields on the outskirts of Bangkok finding the best growers, and ensuring she accurately replicated the dishes she remembers as a child, she has launched a line of Thai pastes, so intense, they are unlike anything on the market.
The new range dubbed ‘Jennifer’s Kitchen’ features five varieties including Real Panang Curry Paste, Real Mussaman Curry Paste, Real Red Curry Paste and Real Green Curry Paste – all carefully created using hand-grown, natural ingredients.
“I wanted to ensure I used growers that I personally knew,” says Evans, who as a child spend hours digging up flowers and herbs in the very region she has sourced ingredients for her new venture.
“The quality of the ingredients is what allows our pastes to have such an intensity to them, so it’s vital to know where they’re coming from, and it’s of course really important to me to pay homage to my family.
It hasn’t been an easy road for this passionate foodie, whose family struggled to make ends meet and her mother worked tirelessly to ensure a good education for Evans, who moved to Australia when she was 17.
“My mum was the hardest critic. As a young teenager, she did most of the cooking so her mother could work to provide the basics for the family, so she only went to school in the morning and spent all afternoon going to the market and then making curry paste from scratch.
“Getting her seal of approval has been very rewarding.”
The future is now looking bright for this entrepreneurial home cook, who wants to expand her range to include a Sriracha chili sauce.
Her philosophy is simple – source natural hand-grown ingredients from growers she knows by name, and create quality products which other keen foodies can then turn into their own winning dishes.
For more information: www.jenniferskitchen.com.au
Jennifer believes in giving back to the community where she sources her ingredients and has set up ‘Give Us a Future’ – a charity for underprivileged children. Ten per cent of all profits will go to helping children with food, shelter and ensuring they get an education.