Thalia Andre-Noel is on a state mission. The spice maker who concocts all-natural blends for her New Castle County company, Mistress of Spice, is trying to come up with a signature spice that represents Delaware.
“I’m playing with different ideas,” says the entrepreneur, who started her business in 2007. For years, Andre-Noel made her own additive-free spices at home because of an allergy to monosodium glutamate. One holiday, she gave the spices as gifts to family and friends, who encouraged her to sell them commercially. Soon after, Mistress of Spice, named after a 2005 movie about the magical powers of spices, was born. The blends are available online and at stores such as Fusions Taster’s Choice in Talleyville. Popular spices include Everyday Passion, an all-purpose blend, and Sweet Lemon Zest for seafood, poultry and pasta. The jars are $8 for two ounces and $12 for four ounces.
“I’m a one-woman operation,” says Andre-Noel with a laugh, though her 16-year-old daughter, Jolie Noel, a culinary arts student at William Penn High School, helps out when she can. “It is my dream child,” she says about her business. “There are so many directions to take it in.”
