MIRELLA WORKS HER MAGIC WITH OILS AND DRESSINGS

Her strong Italian family roots have provided the inspiration for Mirella Graham’s superb range of oils and dressings which are attracting great interest from North East chefs and restaurateurs.

And now the Mason and Graham business which is run from Mirella’s home in Low Fell, Gateshead , has made an arrangement with Oldfield’s Restaurant in Jesmond to use her oils and dressings in a novel way.

Oldfield’s, which is a keen supporter of local produce, will not only be using Mirella’s oils in its dishes, but will make them available as an aperitif at the tables. Customers will also be able to buy the oils.

“I am very excited about the project and think it is an excellent opportunity to promote my product, the restaurant and healthy eating” says Mirella.

She is also launching three new flavours of infused balsamic reductions, which consist of concentrated balsamic vinegar infused with either garlic, chilli or vanilla. They will also be available as a dressing – for example, mixed with extra virgin olive oil, or in a gift set with a separate bottle of complementing oil.

Mirella is businly working on her new products and hopes to have them ready for the Northumberland County Show at Corbridge on Monday, May 30, which she will be attending as a member of Northumbria Larder.

Mirella, who used to work in the beauty business, is the daughter of a Sicillian father and a Naples-born mother, who married an Englishman. As a child growing up in an Italian household she loved to be around the kitchen with her grandmother, who developed her interest and enthusiasm for experimenting with oils and dressings that can transform a meal. Mirella’s reputation is growing and hers is a popular stall at farmers markets and food fairs. But as she has two small children to bring up, she has to balance her business interests with those in her family. “I haven’t got a unit on an estate as yet and I am just about coping working from home, but the demand for my products is growing all the time” she says.