Jacqui Iris was happily developing sauces and cooking food while running her hair salon when the pandemic changed everything.
The Aurora resident had been bringing her creations into her Newmarket business and one day decided to do a taste-test, pitting her sauce against two others that were readily available on grocery store shelves. Time after time, hers came out on top.
“One day a client said to me: ‘You need to bottle this.’ And I thought I heard this before… I thought they were humouring me.
"But when people in Canada said you need to bottle this, I went on a journey.”
The pandemic not only changed how businesses were able to operate, it also changed people’s habits. And with the popularity of Jacqui Iris Sauces increasing, Iris decided it was time to focus all of her attention on her creations.
IrisBackayard now produces and sells gourmet Caribbean sauces, chutneys and dry rubs. In an effort to make them universally accessible, the products are gluten-free and contain no artificial preservatives, additives and colourings.
Iris grew up in England and is of Jamaican heritage and she recalls the scents and tastes of her mother’s cooking in the house.
“My mother was my inspiration in all of this,” she says. “She was just an amazing cook and there was always an extra pot of food in our home because everybody was invited.”
Her mother, a trained seamstress, was also an entrepreneur who became involved in a variety of businesses, always ensuring she was available to help her family and others.
Iris came to Canada in 2004 and soon found herself settling in Aurora where she raised her three children while operating her salon in nearby Newmarket.
“Canada was a huge culture shock,” she recalls. “Aurora was quieter than London, and back then, it wasn’t as diverse. I’m a social butterfly, so it was hard to adjust.”
She had came from the bustling urban hub of London, settling in a much smaller community outside of the big city of Toronto.
Food, she says, helped to bridge that gap.
Making the leap to developing a full-time food business took some work. There were regulations to be complied with in addition to finessing the products and developing the business side.
She found a commercial kitchen in the Greater Toronto Area where she could develop her food according to the regulations. And she connected with area farmers and suppliers to include local products as much as possible.
With the help of both her son and daughter, Iris now sells eight products, as well as two commercial-sized products for the food service industry.
“I just feel so blessed to be part of something, it's like a dream come true,” she says.
Her products are available at a number of area locations, including Nature's Emporium, Vince's Market and Bruno's Fine Foods.
More recently, she used the One Of A Kind Show in Toronto to launch her Caribbean fruitcakes, selling out every day.
Throughout, she stresses the importance of giving back and contributes food to a Hamilton organization that helps feed the needy. She also supports non-profit initiatives both locally and in the Dominican Republic, where she helps fund education projects.
With plans to expand further into southern Ontario and eventually across the province and the country, her dreams are far from over.
“I’d love to continue growing the business and maybe even teach different cooking styles,” she says.
As for the future, she’s gearing up for the Aurora Street Festival in June and looks forward to introducing her many tastes to the community.