A 200 Year Old Great Grandmother’s “Secret Recipe
My business partner Miriam Vigoa and I opened the first coffee house in Winter Haven Fl. in 1994 called Cafe Latte. Our very first customer John Coleman came in every morning and afternoon for his cafe con leche. After a few weeks he started asking Kristi to make him lunch because in his words, “My wife is away all week at school and I don’t know how to feed myself!” Kristi said, “We have a problem, I can’t cook!” So the next day, John pulled a carton of chicken salad out of his pocket and asked Kristi to toast bagels so they could eat lunch together… He said, “Isn’t this fun? Wouldn’t it be great if you made chicken salad bagels and you could sell them to me.”
So I told Miriam, we could serve more customers… without them having to bring chicken salad in their pocket… If we made lunch for everybody… But I can’t cook!
I Can’t Cook But I Can Splash!
Miriam said, “It’s okay you don’t know how to cook. I’ll make my bisabuela’s (great grandmother) seasoned olive oil and if you just splash it on everything, people will think you know how to cook.”
Miriam made it and I Splashed it on everything… And everyone went crazy… one customer said, “That’ll get your taste buds in an uproar!”
We made portobello artichoke veggie pita pizzas, hummus and avocado baguet, Florida sunshine bagel, honey apple chicken salads, grilled chicken- pesto pizza, curry chicken and cranberry wraps… Our menu changed daily… but I never learned how to cook. I simply used Miriam’s “Secret Recipe” for seasoned olive oil and splashed it on everything and that’s how the method Shake, Splash and Eat! was born.
Talked into Bottling the 200 year old “Secret Sauce”
It took our restaurant customers 7 years to talk Miriam into bottling her “Secret Recipe” so they could use it at home. One of our very persistent special customers, Bonnie Gayle, started bringing in empty bottles when it was her birthday and would ask for “Splash”. Over the years her bottles got bigger and bigger.
Miriam said, “So I guess it’s your birthday again and Bonnie Gayle said, “Well if you’d bottle it we’d all buy it but since you won’t you’ll just have to keep giving it away.” That started it all. Miriam began making small bottles by hand at the cafe mixing all the herbs and spices and selling the bottles to our customers. (We still make them by hand.)
Our Canary Island Garlic Herb Olive Oils really took off and so did our restaurant.
Awards and Media Features
We went on to win 13 People’s Choice Awards, we’ve been featured on NPR, Channel 10 News, multiple magazines, newspapers, a raw foods chef’s TV show, and appeared on the Less Stress Life Podcast.
We’ve taught at a Bariatric Hospital in Tampa for patients to get high nutrients with small amounts of food. We taught a series at RV Rallies called Tiny Kitchen Gigantic Flavor. We’ve taught at the Celiac Association of Florida. And were featured in the book Rich Food Poor Food as the healthiest salad dressing. We were invited to appear at the Diabetes Association in Chicago. We were invited as guest chefs to teach healthy recipes at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show at Navy Pier.
We use only the Highest Quality Ingredients
Our Canary Island Garlic Herb Olive Oil is super healthy and made with the highest quality ingredients for every hand blended small batch we make..
- We use only organic and non-irradiated herbs and spices (haven’t been put through radiation).
- The highest quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil 0.3% acidity and 3rd party certified.
- Celtic Sea Salt
We’ve put our heart into every bottle and want you to be around for a long time. So we are watching out for your heart too.
- With only 15 mg of sodium (1%) Canary Island Garlic Herb Olive Oil is so low that if it was 10mg lower it would be classified salt free. And you can always trust there’s No sugar, No carbs.
Still Hand Blended
Our 200 year old secret recipe is still made in the traditional manner great grandmother Rosa began, seasoning every bottle by hand. Each bottle is hand blended with herbs and spices swirled into high quality extra virgin olive oil about every 90 days. We don’t put an expiration date like all the “big box” mega food companies do. We use a technique called the Julian date that is the made on date so every bottle can be looked up to see the exact day we made your favorite flavor of Canary Island Garlic Herb Olive Oil.
Super Infused/Concentrated/Put it on Everything
A little dab’ll do ya! This is the “Secret Sauce” we used at our restaurant helping us Win 13 People’s Choice Awards. We like to think of it as a professional grade seasoning, since it’s packed tight with thick layers of herbs and spices. It can stand alone as a seasoning or can be mixed into your usual recipes to give it those layers of flavor you crave from the restaurants. But you don’t have to sleep by the stove for 24 hours to get that deep flavor!
We want you to have that same success in your home, so we still make it super concentrated for our students and customers so you only need –a little bit– to get a huge amount– of flavor. You use such a small amount… you won’t have any oil left in the pan when you finish cooking.
Try out some easy Recipes from our Restaurant
The Canary Island Garlic Herb Olive Oil, was the foundation of all our recipes at our restaurant for over 20 years. The starting point of all the recipes we’ve ever taught at over 1,000 shows and the “mouthwateringly” delicious flavor of all three of our books.
- Shake Splash & Eat! Shockingly Simple Recipes
- There’s No Food in Your Food… Do you strip paint with it or feed it to your children?
- Curious: Extra Virgin Olive Oil 29 Frequently asked Questions
How our lovely customers use The Splash in special diets
Weight Watchers Leader: Your oils have been a Godsend! My sister and I both have digestive issues, with your oils we haven’t had any problems. And it’s WW friend! (Dottie)
Low Sodium/Quadruple Bypass: I use your oils exclusively. I had a quadruple bypass, I use the Splash on everything, it gives great flavor to all my meals. I’ve lost 60lbs this is all I use! (Chuck & Mary) MO
Carnivore Diet: I’ve been on the carnivore diet and when you eat that much meat you need something to give it healthy flavor. I love the Hot Splash because it goes perfect on any kind of meat. Now I just have to keep my roommate out of it! (Tom) MI
Inflammation & Rheumatoid Arthritis: I’ve suffered with systemic inflammation for years and was diagnosed with rheumatoid Arthritis. I have been looking for healthy ingredients now I found you. Please don’t stop making the Splash. I love your oil. (Joan) IL
Picky Kid Approved: I give it 5 Thumbs Up. I’m a picky kid and I even love it! (Stephanie 6 years old)
Then Came the Flood
In 2014 our restaurant Cafe Latte was destroyed by a flood. So we went from working 5 days a week at the restaurant and doing art festivals on the weekend selling our secret recipe. To loading up our trailer and hitting the road. Our restaurant was in shambles and the insurance company was slower than molasses running uphill in the winter time. So we had no choice but to reinvent ourselves and go full time in selling our Canary Island Garlic Herb Olive Oils.
Over 1 Million Miles and Counting
We’ve done over 1,000 live events, everything from the Fancy Food Show in NYC, San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, Yellow Daisy Festival in Georgia, SOHO health expo, Vintage Market Days (because it’s a 200 year old recipe.) And hundreds of other classes and events.
We’ve driven over 1 Million miles taking our Canary Island Garlic and Herb Olive Oils to our shows to meet our customers. It’s been the adventure of a lifetime.
Thank you for letting me share a little peek behind the scenes of a small business hoping to make a big difference in people’s lives.
Miriam Vigoa & Kristi Linebaugh
