A visit to The Edible Garden Show in 2013 proved so inspirational for Michael Price that he’s ditched the rat race to create an award-winning business producing artisan preserves, sauces and chutneys.

This year, the 38-year-old father-of-one will be back at the UK’s only show dedicated to grow your own selling his own homegrown produce when it returns to Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire alongside Good Life Live from 11-13 March.

“We’re really looking forward to it as The Edible Garden Show is where it all really started,” says Michael who with the support of his wife Heather - a merchandiser for Sainsbury’s - has set up Prices Spices from their home in Leamington Spa.    

“I was already growing chillies in my greenhouse but it wasn’t until I bought some of the Dorset Naga variety from Joy Michaud’s Sea Spring Seeds stand at The Edible Garden Show that things got serious. They were running a growing competition and I won! I had to buy a new freezer as the 50+ kg of chillies from my small greenhouse needed somewhere to go.”

He spent their family holiday in Greece with their now 4-year-old son Zachary coming up with a plan to start producing chutney and selling it at various chilli festivals.

Prices Spices quickly received some great feedback and in just a few short months even the food critics were taking note as August 2014 saw its pineapple and Dorset Naga chilli chutney ‘India Joywala’ secure a Great Taste Gold Award from the Guild of Fine Food.

“Our customers seem to like that everything we produce contains some level of spice from our home grown chillies. For the produce we don’t grow, we use local suppliers and try to source items locally to keep food miles to a minimum,” adds Michael who has since left his role as an IT developer and data analyst at Aston Martin to dedicate more time to the business.

“It’s certainly going in the right direction and is quickly taking over the house! We’re going to have to start looking at getting a unit soon as we start approaching and encouraging more wholesalers nationwide to start stocking our range, which has been extended to also include chilli jam’s and sauces as well as curry pastes, pickles and spice mixes.”

Leaving the rat race and a daily commute to Gaydon has also benefitted the family in other ways. “It has given us more family time as I now have the opportunity to take and pick up my son from school. He also likes getting involved and likes helping plant the seeds and picking the chillies off of the plants, which spurred me to write a 10-page book for his old nursery to teach the rest of the children how to grow chillies.”

Prices Spices can be found at The Edible Garden Show on stand 218 and Sea Spring Seeds will be on stand 600. “It’s a really inspiring show and I’m so glad it is returning to Stoneleigh Park after being in London for the last two years. I’ve set up a business on the back of The Edible Garden Show and love it. You get some great ideas on how to grow things differently. I got some wonderful advice on growing hydroponically using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil, for example.”

The Edible Garden Show Event Director Geraldine Reeve says: “We’re so delighted to be welcoming Michael and Prices Spices to the 2016 show as an exhibitor. We know people walk away feeling inspired but to hear The Edible Garden Show has played a significant part in realising a long-term business dream is amazing! We are looking forward to enthusing many more people this year with our huge crop of exciting exhibitors as well as our fertile mix of interactive advice sessions, hands-on demonstrations and livestock.”

For more information visit: www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk