By LeRae Haynes –
Bringing unique, beautiful healthy flavour to the table is at the heart of Two with Nature Foods, a 100 Mile House business owned by Diana Richter and Christiane Nauen. They use their certified organic WildCraft herbs to create a taste experience that brings customers back time after time.
They mix organic WildCraft herbs with pure Himalayan crystal salt, and create unique, flavourful mustards and salts.
They also do catering for a wide range of events, including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, funerals, holiday parties, and office events. “We have WildCraft herb salads and make our own pasta called spaetzli, chicken breast roll with prosciutto, and serve dandelion, sage, or plantain leaves, depending on what’s available,” Nauen explained.
Two with Nature Foods has been in business for three years, and both women have had extensive experience in the field of food production. “Diana was a cheesemaker in Germany, had her own goats, and was involved in the organic food industry,” said Nauen. “My family, starting with my grandfather, was involved in fish. My brother still has a fish business in Germany. I also had a coffee shop in Langley.”
As nature lovers, they both find the Cariboo to be a perfect home. “The people are nice, the area is so beautiful, and there are lots of open spaces and wilderness,” she said. “I love the cleanliness of the air and the land. People here are open to people from other countries, accept them for who they are, and are very friendly.”
The decision to create organic mustards and salt with herbs came about because of what they missed from home.
“We were missing very good mustard and salt,” Nauen said simply. “We are both very spoiled, coming from Germany and having the foods from all of Europe readily available. The spaces between countries are short: we could draw on Italian, French, and English with no problem.
“The fact that most people don’t know is that Canada is the biggest mustard supporter in the world, and yet here we are, restricted to what is commonly available.”
The business got its start when Diana and Christiane went to farmers’ markets with a range of products to see what appealed to people the most. “We took things like jams, jellies, syrups, and sandwich spreads,” she said. “It pretty much came down to the salt and the mustard.
“Mustard is so incredibly healthy; most people don’t know about that, either. It’s a natural antiseptic, fights cancer, and speeds up your metabolism. The same thing with our salts. We enrich them 15 per cent with organic herbs. The salt has more flavour so you use less salt, and it’s easier to make your food taste great.”
She said their goal is to enhance their customers’ experiences. “There is more to mustard than yellow mustard and more to salt than table salt. Just the salt alone is the best salt available, and with the herbs it tastes good on top of that,” she said.
“Mustard is far more than an additive to a hot dog. One of our mustards, called Red Fox, has three different veggies in it and is sweet and tangy—such a great addition to cheese. We know people who eat it by the spoonful.”
She added that healthy food is not bad tasting food. “Food is what make us go through our lives, so we should put the best food in us,” she said.
“We are total healthy food supporters, and want people to taste things they’ve never had before and widen their food horizons. Food is the most important thing in a human’s life and it’s so important to realize that we are what we eat.”
For more information about Two with Nature Foods and WildCraft products, call (778) 765-4972 or visit www.wildcraftbc.ca.
LeRae Haynes is a freelance writer, song writer, community co-ordinator for Success by 6, member of Perfect Match dance band, and instigator of lots of music with kids.
