Kumquat salt sprinkled over kokoda. Shiraz salt in a rich tomato
pasta sauce. Chili-lime salt with half-ripe mangoes. Pesto salt with
avocado on toast. Lemongrass salt and cassava chips. A pinch of
turmeric salt in a banana and pawpaw smoothie.
These are just some of the mouthwatering combinations the 16
flavours of artisanal salt produced by a small Fiji company have
inspired in our kitchen.
Fiji Sea Salt is a venture borne out of Covid on the shores of
Viani Bay, Cakaudrove, in Fiji’s north.
Diving instructor and Viani Bay Resort owner Jone Waitaiti said
he was inspired by his time to Germany, and the closure of Fiji’s
borders and the ensuing halt to tourism, in beginning the venture.
His colleague Richard Smith recently visited Suva’s ROC
Market with the Fiji Sea Salt team to showcase the company’s line
to cooks in the capital.
He says at first they collected water from off the bay, cooked
it on metal plates over firewood, and employed other manual
techniques to make the salt.
While the business has now upgraded to a gas burner, an oven,
and cooking pots rather than metal plates, it is still a low-impact
process.
Smith says many of the flavours are inspired by what is growing
around them; for example, turmeric from nearby plantations that
give that flavour its vivid orange colour.
Besides occasionally coming to Suva artisan markets, Fiji Sea
Salt is sold in supermarkets, hotels, boutiques, and online.
“We have a lot of online sales, and we’re exporting all over the
world, to Germany, Canada, Australia and America,” Smith says.
And while Viani Bay Resort and sister business Dive Academy
Fiji are busier than ever, the team is hoping to expand the
salt business, the flavours they offer and further improve the
processing facilities.
“The place we are staying is very remote; there’s no roads here.
This salt-making business has opened up a lot of people’s eyes to
Viani Bay,” Smith adds
