[Shameless Promo] I Have a Side Gig and its name is SuperSalt

Back in the Summer of 2020, the first commercially produced jars of my beloved Side Gig SuperSalt debuted at the grand opening of Whole Foods Manhattan West at Hudson Yards, the first of 100 Whole Foods stores that stocked it along the East Coast. It was the spectacular realization of a passion project that I never expected to take to retail. You see, for more than 20 years, I’ve been perfecting this deeply flavored seasoned salt for family and friends. Now, after several years developing the product with a producer in Italy, the inaugural shipment of my proprietary blend (priced at $15.99 per 7.8 ounce jar) is produced exclusively in Bologna from Italian herbs, garlic and Sicilian sea salt. The generous, wide-mouth jar, adorned in a bold black-and-white label, suggests generous pinches with all five fingers to season everything from eggs to grilled vegetables, fish and meats, soups and salad or popcorn. 

Some backstory: For years I’d been perfecting a homemade seasoning salt for my kitchen and sharing it with close friends and family. It has been incredible to see my humble salt go from my kitchen, to my friend’s kitchens, to their friends’ kitchens—taking on a life of its own. Over time, demand has grown from occasional batches to a full-on side gig. More incredible still, I can now share my Side Gig SuperSalt with everyone. SuperSalt is meant to make anything you’d normally salt taste even better, as well as to save you time because it concentrates all the flavors I love to cook with into one seasoning. My hope is that home cooks find SuperSalt’s deliciousness and versatility as enjoyable as I do.

If the product could speak for itself, it would likely have an Italian accent, and more specifically a Southern Italian dialect, like that of my eight great-grandparents, all of whom emigrated to New York City from towns and villages around Napoli, Salerno and Avellino. Side Gig SuperSalt celebrates my love of Italian cookery and my heritage, especially garlic’s starring role in recipes from Italy’s south. Converting production from my home kitchen without sacrificing the recipe’s unique characteristics was a challenge initially. While several industry insiders advised me to switch to dried garlic and herbs, I kept experimenting and looking for a way to ensure the process that made the original recipe stand out among other seasoned salts.

After more than two years of research, and thanks to my good fortune meeting Cecilia Ercolino, founder of Italian Products & Beyond, she introduced me to Luigi Dattilo of Appennino Food in Bologna—an artisanal Italian foods producer (with amazing truffles!) whose proprietary process of natural steam sterilization preserves the flavor and aromas of heat-sensitive ingredients with no adverse effects.

Now, Side Gig SuperSalt is available in hundreds of stores across the country, but you can order it directly from me (link below!). While there are few guarantees in life, I can assure you that countless fans have told me they are addicted to it. My only caution would be to start off lightly and get familiar with its power. Once you get the knack of how to season with it, however, I hope (ok, guarantee) you’ll be hooked, too.