Ian Hemphill at The Spice Trader in Toronto

spice-herb-bible-coverIan Hemphill and his wife, Liz, run Herbie’s, one of the world’s most renown spice and herb distributors, located in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. He is also the author of the IACP award winning The Spice & Herb Bible. Arguably the most authoritative work on the subject, ‘The Bible’ is now in its third edition. Hemphill was in Toronto recently as part of a cross-Canada tour to promote the book. I met with him at The Spice Trader on Queen West, where we shot the video interview below before one of his book signings. In it, Hephill discusses growing up on a herb farm, his lifelong career in spices, which took him to the East Indies, and his current relationships with spice growers around the world. We also discsuss the new recipes in the third edition, developed by his daughter, London-based chef Kate Hemphill.

Malcolm Jolley is a founding editor of Good Food Revolution and Executive Director of Good Food Media, the company that publishes it. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.