Started in 1993 at a time when Indian cooking was relatively unknown, Arvinda's Healthy Gourmet Indian Cooking school set out to introduce people to the wonderful world of Indian cuisine and all the glorious spices it had to offer. Although the cooking school's premise was to teach Indian cooking in its most traditional form, many of Arvinda's time-pressed students were looking quick and easy, yet authentic ways to prepare Indian meals. This is when Arvinda Chauhan conceptualized unique spice blends and cooking masalas to meet the demands of her busy customers.

Derived from family recipes, Arvinda initially sold her Curry Masala to her students in small pouches and jars, and soon thereafter Arvinda's unique blends gathered a loyal following. Her daughter and son, Preena and Paresh then in high school knew they wanted to share their family blends knowing they were something special. With school as a priority, at this point sharing Arvinda's spice blends for Preena and Paresh was more a dream than a reality, however the idea simmered on the proverbial backburner.

In 2005, Preena was pursuing her Master in Environmental Studies degree, exploring the relationship between food, the environment and business. Through credits towards her Master's degree, she received a government-sponsored start-up grant to launch Arvinda's. Paresh soon left his Software Development job and aspirations for a career in biotech to start up this venture.

A few months later, Arvinda's attended their first consumer show, the Asian Food Expo in Toronto. With an overwhelming response, Arvinda's unique spice blends caught the attention of a renowned celebrity chef inquiring about foodservice. At this defining moment, Arvinda's realized huge potential to market and educate chefs who were expanding their menus to include Indian flavours. At this instance Preena still a student, realized Arvinda's was no longer a hypothetical Masters project, but was a viable business with a promising future.

Arvinda's is manufactured in a production facility in Oakville, where spices are roasted, ground, blended according to family recipes and packaged for retail and foodservice. Having its own production facility enables Arvinda's to have full control over all aspects of production, delivering made-to-order, custom blends for foodservice clients. Arvinda's trustworthy reputation with chefs and retailers alike was achieved not just by product quality, but also by superior customer service and relationship building.

At present Arvinda's retail line, now consisting of 12 products, is sold at specialty food stores in Toronto/GTA, Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver.

If you are new to Arvinda's we hope you'll give them a try to bring the warm and aromatic Indian flavours to your home!