Joe Hedley is a condiments guy. A peek into his fridge on any given day would reveal a variety of things he’s trialling for his business, Oomami: jars of homemade preserved lemons, harissa, salsa verde, fermented hot sauce and zhoug.

Given his passion for condiments, it makes sense that Hedley, whose day job is in finance and technology at Merivale, started a side business. The products at the heart of his range are a clear red Italian chilli oil that adds gloss and heat to pasta, and a Japanese chilli oil that has a chunky, textural quality. He sells them at Bondi Markets and online.

“I started around Covid,” he tells Broadsheet. “I was making chilli oils for myself, and people would ask me to make them some. By July last year, I thought, ‘I’m making too much chilli oil just to give it away for free to friends.’”

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Hedley currently has four core products: the two chilli oils; a deeply tasty, anchovy-laced pangrattato; and a turmeric, ginger and apple cider vinegar elixir. They’re all splashed with bright branding by graphic designer Olivia Thomas.

The chilli oil recipes combine classic ingredients with a few tweaks. “The Japanese-inspired chilli oil is a version of rayu [a sesame chilli oil], but I’ve tweaked the recipe to my style,” says Hedley. “It’s not about adding pure heat but adding umami. There’s soy, garlic, eschalots, sesame seeds, gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes). There’s also almonds. I don’t mind seeing a whole or half almond in the oil that didn’t get caught by the blender. If all the ingredients are small, you lose sight of what’s in the oil. I love how beautifully the chunks of ingredients sit on the spoon with each other.”

Production happens between office hours and bed, when Hedley brings his ingredients and collection of enormous pots to a ghost kitchen in Beaconsfield. “The good thing about chilli oil is it’s vegan, so you don’t need to have much refrigerated. I can finish work, put my gear in the car, cook for four or five hours and leave what needs to be infused overnight for the next day.”

Between the Bondi Markets stall and online, Hedley sells about 200 bottles a week, with the Japanese chilli oil making up about half of those sales. Growing demand is enough that Hedley often calls on his mum, Nikki Hedley, to help with production. The two cooking side by side is a familiar set-up.

“I’ve been cooking since I was 10. My mum had a catering business in New Zealand, and I’d also be next to her, cooking. She was big on condiments, too.”

Currently Oomami sells at Bondi Markets, and while he loves the community, Hedley is keen to find other outlets that aren’t so weather-dependent. “I’ve lived in Bondi a lot of my life. Having a stall is something I always wanted to do, but it’s not the end game. I’d love to be in boutique shops, natural wine stores and to sell right across Australia.”

You’ll find Oomami at Bondi Markets on Sundays and online, shipping all over Sydney.

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