Wandering down Capel Street, passers-by are often intrigued by rich smells of cooking - tomatoes bubbling, mustard simmering, chillies sizzling. The door of the "House of Lime and Lemongrass" in Mary's Abbey is ajar and Judy Davis and Richard Baker are inside preparing more of their gourmet sauces and dressings. If you follow your nose you're in for a treat; on a side street that's usually chock-a-block with market vans, a small shopfront opens onto the perfect foodie's larder.
Wooden dressers are clustered with chunky glass bottles wrapped like parcels with natural raffia and finished off with colourful labels. Honey and Mustard Dressing is side-by-side with Sweet Chilli Sauce, and Tomato and Roast Aubergine Pasta Sauce jostles with squat pots of Black Olive Paste. Most of their range of 60 products are on display, including some that are unique to the shop such as the bulging bags of herbs, spices and funky pasta shapes that hang from three giant chillies on the wall.
The shop bell brings either Richard or Judy out from the big airy kitchens and packing areas, ready to dispense advice, introduce customers to their range and, more often than not, accept compliments. The pair grew up together, and have been at various times friends, partners, engaged and are now married. Both were involved in the advertising industry before setting off for a year's travel around Australia and the Far East four years ago.
They arrived back with the germ of a business plan and several tastes and flavours from abroad; Hot Chilli Oil was one of their first products, conceived without market research but with a lot of advice from family and friends. The pair decided to take a stall at Mother Redcap's Market and that's when the business really began to take off. They did everything themselves; cooking, bottling, labelling, packing, and of course, selling.
Richard and Judy put a lot of their present success down to what they learnt at the market: always listen to your customer and hear what they want but can't find. Many of their original recipes evolved in this way and it is still a vital part in the creation of the finished product. Having moved on to selling through delicatessens, some supermarkets, and Avoca Handweavers in Kilmacanogue, many of the orders come in the form of "Can you do us something with olives, tomatoes and herbs?"
This is the part that Richard and Judy like best; they describe themselves as "certainly not chefs, and not even cooks - more creative cooks". Neither has any real culinary training. "Except for our Jewish background," jokes Judy. "If you stood around the kitchen at Richard's house for too long, you were likely to get pickled. We still regularly dispatch requests for advice off to Richard's mother in Israel and my mother here. "We're also both die-hard foodies and most of our recipes evolve out of what we want to eat ourselves."
What they did not want to eat were additives or preservatives; none of the Lime and Lemongrass foods has a hint of anything unnatural, and all their materials are fresh from local suppliers or the Smithfield markets down the road. "It's something we feel really strongly about," says Richard, "There's really no need for additives - a lot of the time, they're only added by big factories to speed things up."
Judy butts in enthusiastically, "Most of our products have a shelf life of a year without preservatives, and the food does taste so much better. The biggest compliment is when people come to us and say they're completely addicted to our additive-free sauces - if there's no addictive ingredients that means they're addicted purely to the taste."
When they were first starting out they were each involved at every stage of the process, often staying up late at night sticking labels on bottles and waiting for chutneys to cool. Now, Richard is in charge of the cooking and manufacturing end while Judy takes care of the administration and clients; it is obviously a partnership that works well.
"We're a real team," Judy points out. "We really don't know how a sole trader does it; it can be really tough but Richard and I are always there for each other. If he's down about something, I'm usually up, and vice versa."
Does it ever get claustrophobic?
"Well, we always talk about things - we've never really had a screaming match," muses Richard.
"Yes we have," Judy interrupts. "Before we even started going out together - it was outside the Screen cinema, and you made me walk home on my own."
Laughter rather than a row breaks out.
The market for well-made, natural gourmet foods has expanded dramatically since they first started the business in 1995 and is still increasing rapidly. Ultimately they hope to export - but not until the home market is exhausted, which they feel is still a long way off.
Their two luxuries, if you could call them that, are the three people they now employ and their brand new premises which functions both as a manufacturing base and a cosy retail outlet and showcase.
"Getting new staff has been brilliant, although Richard and I are still involved in everything to a ridiculous degree. Of course, one day I want to graduate to what my friend calls MBWA status - management by walking around - but for the moment we're happy as we are," says Judy. As I leave the House of Lime and Lemongrass, with Judy plying me with pasta and sauces ("Ooh, this one is delicious, you must try this"), I get the impression that neither she nor Richard will ever graduate to MBWA status. Sure, their business will expand and their coterie of loyal fans will grow, but Judy and Richard will always be there tasting the sauces, discussing herbs and spices, and talking ninety to the minute about a business that they love.