Welshman Justin Jones has brought a taste of home to South Florida: handcrafted Halen Mon salt flakes from the Isle of Anglesey, which juts into the Irish Sea off the northwest coast of Wales.
Jones and his wife, Taima Hervas, met salt makers David and Alison Lea-Wilson at a food show last year and learned their story: About a dozen years ago, Alison boiled a pan of seawater, and was delighted by the resulting salt with its delicate, crunchy flakes and rounded, saline flavor.
Today, Halen Mon salt is made with seawater piped from the Menai Strait, which separates the Isle of Anglesey (“Mon” in the original Welsh) from the mainland. Some are seasoned, and the Lea-Wilsons boast that their celery seed salt was served as a dip for quail eggs at Britain’s royal wedding festivities last April.
Jones and Hervas, who live in Key Biscayne, added Halen Mon to the line of gourmet goods they import through their business Ready4 Best of Britain. The salts are sold at The Golden Hog gourmet market on Key Biscayne and can be ordered online.
Jones, who grew up in the city of Chester on the English-Welsh border, taught clay target shooting and designed shooting schools for resorts around the world before landing in South Florida as executive director of the Miami British American Business Council. Hervas is a documentary film producer of German and Spanish descent.
Their new product is best used as a finishing salt sprinkled over sweet or savory dishes. The amber, oak-smoked salt is good on scrambled eggs, grilled meats and milk chocolate or caramel with vanilla ice cream. Spiced salt is great on popcorn, curries, rice and roasted potatoes. Dust the dark Tahitian vanilla bean salt on salads, scallops, fruit slices and chocolate desserts.
Linda Bladholm is a Miami food writer and personal chef who blogs at FoodIndiaCook.com.






















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