Giron creates a palette
of flavors for the palate
Trust Tricia Cox Giron
’91 of Darien, Ill., to mix up the perfect job for herself.
The former chemistry major
combined her skills as a food scientist and her love of creating
great-tasting food to form her new company, The Culinary Palette Ltd.
Through it, she shares her exclusive seasonings through in-home
demonstration parties, community lectures and a website, www.theculinarypalette.com.
"Our motto is ‘bringing
a palette of flavors to your palate,’ to help anyone create gourmet
meals quickly and at a reasonable price," Giron says. "Our
original products have been specially developed so that anyone can be a
culinary artist in the kitchen. My goal is to produce products that taste
fantastic and are exclusive."
Giron, a Decatur native,
originally majored in pre-veterinary medicine but switched to chemistry
seeking more variety in career choices. "Science is everywhere and in
everything, not just in molecules and solvents," she
says.
During a chemistry
internship at A.E. Staley Manufacturing Co, she worked with food
scientists to develop new applications for sugar and starch products and
found the combination of science and creativity intriguing. After
graduation, she completed a master’s degree in food science from North
Carolina State University while working for Webb Technical Group as a
method development chemist.
"My experiences in Millikin’s chemistry program — independent
research, internships and one-on-one assistance — put me leaps ahead of
other graduate students coming from similar programs," she says.
Giron’s first job after
graduate school was as a chemist at Kellogg Co. in Battle Creek, Mich.,
but her next job, at Watson Foods in West Haven, Conn., was more related
to the product development role she sought. "It combined science,
nutrition and creativity in making a functional and good-tasting
fortification product," Giron says. Most recently, she was a food
technologist for Heller Seasonings & Ingredients Inc. in Chicago,
developing snack seasonings, meat marinades, instant gravies, sauces and
bakery mixes.
In February 2002, she left her job. "I spent four days soul-searching
for the ideal job and decided that what I love most to do is culinary
arts, working with diverse ingredients to create a simplified version of a
chef’s creation," Giron says. By
fall 2002, nine products were developed, 12,000 items were inventoried and
The Culinary Palette chalked up its first sale. "We’ve conducted
more than 25 home shows since mid-November and one of our clients is a
commercial snack food vendor that purchases blended spices in bulk,"
Giron says.
Giron says launching her
business has been a family affair. Her father designed the company’s
exclusive spice racks, and her husband, Luis Robert Giron, created and
hosts the company’s website where potential customers may purchase
products online, gather recipe ideas and find information on spices.
