Founded in 1993, Dodie Miller started Cool Chile Co with a simple idea: to import a wide variety of the best dried chillies direct from Mexico, and to provide the UK with a whole new range of flavours for real Mexican cooking.

There are certain warm, earthy flavours and smells that instantly transport you to Mexico. Whether it's salsas and sauces made with toasted dried chillies, tortillas fresh from the comal, Mexican chocolate whipped into a hot frothy drink, Mexican oregano rubbed over pozole, or black beans bubbling in a pot with epazote, these are the tastes and spiced sensations we want to bring into your home.

We began small, importing a handful of chilli varieties and selling them from our market stall, first in Portobello Market and then in Borough. While travelling in Mexico, we researched (ate), tested (ate), tasted (ate) and when we got home, we began to produce our own salsas, sauces and pastes, faithfully made using traditional Mexican recipes and our delicious imported chillies.

In 2005, fresh corn tortillas were hard to come by so we imported a shiny new tortilla machine, which we named Lupita, and began making our own corn tortillas. After three years' faithful service, Lupita couldn't keep up with the increasing demand and was replaced by El Monstruro, which produces our fresh blue and white corn tortillas daily, seven days a week and with our leftovers, we make Totopos & Tostaditas.

Our range of chillies come in three different forms: whole, diced or powdered. Our corn tortillas are freshly made to order and are preservative and gluten free. Our sauces, from achiote to mole, are all made without preservatives, and from Mexican ingredients wherever possible.

Cool Chile Co still produces 30 years later. We still import dried chillies, herbs and masa Harina directly from Mexico. Dodie's son Jackson who has been along the journey since he was 3 years old worked in Accounts after he finished university until the pandemic hit, he made the decision to leave his role and come back to the Cool Chile Co to support his mum and the team - the food industry was still thriving during lockdown with home cooking, ordering and restaurant deliveries still operating, oh and banana cake - during this period Jackson took the lead, fell in love with it all over again and naturally fell back into it like it was a Saturday in the 90's on the Portobello market stall. 

We are a proud family run business with an amazing team who work with us.