SCENT SOMMELIER by Salud

When you’re cooking in the kitchen or sitting down to an exquisite gourmet meal, do you take time to enjoy the aromas of the dish? If we could not enjoy and experience the scent of food, surely the act of eating would be dull and uneventful.

Salud recently had the opportunity to work with an award-winning and world-renowned chef, to create aromas that can even further enhance the delights of a gourmet meal.  Chef Marc Ehrler is the Executive Chef at Loews Resorts.  Chef Ehrler is a two-time AAA 5 Diamond award-winner and received the Master Chef Award of France in 2002 - he is the master of food arts.  I recently had the great pleasure of meeting with Chef Ehrler at his headquarters kitchen at the Ventana Room in Tucson, Arizona. 

In an effort to create a sensory experience for Loews guests, Chef and I worked together to create two culinary-inspired blends using oils from the Salud fragrance library.  Our  Peppercorn + Jasmine blend celebrates spicy and bold fresh-cracked Malabar Black Peppercorn softened with the aroma of a milky-white night blooming jasmine.  This spicy-floral blend teases and treats the senses with a complex layer of aromatics.

On a sweeter note, our Lavender + Chocolate blend is the perfect aroma side by side with the dessert course.  Herbaceous, soothing lavender paired with our truly realistic chocolate fragrance creates a deliciously calming perfume to end the evening.

It’s finally the weekend and time for me to relax on the patio with a glass of Chardonnay.  Some tasty tapas will definitely be necessary, so I’ll be whipping up one of my favorite new recipes - Chèvre with Pistachios and Honey.  I found this easy hors d’oeuvre in my February issue of Sunset Magazine and it’s a quick recipe that really impresses with its aroma, taste and presentation. 

Simply mix together room temperature chèvre (that’s goat cheese!) with a dash of half-and-half and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top and drizzle with orange blossom honey.  Serve with flatbread - and start your weekend!

This is a dish that will fill your kitchen with a sweet aroma of milk and honey.  Since I am always inspired by everyday essences when I’m creating Salud scents, this dish definitely inspires.  While enjoying my happy hour, I also dab on a combination of Salud’s GOT MILK essence blended with a hint of ORANGE BLOSSOM essential oil.  The result is a truly wearable aroma that’s both sweet and uplifting.  Our Got Milk scent is a delicious mixture of oatmeal, milk and honey essences and when blended with our tangy, floral sweet orange blossom the result is simply bliss.

I’ll be wearing my Got Milk + Orange Blossom blend this evening as I sit under the stars, sip my wine and enjoy my tasty tapas!