A LOCAL chef is bringing a taste of the Deep South to Glasgow with his new business venture.
Praline on Me, founded by chef Alexander Gibb, has been popping up at markets across the city with locally made pecan pralines after he was left unable to get the treat in Scotland.
The pecan praline is a traditional confectionery from the southern states in the USA, commonly made with sugar, corn syrup, milk or cream, butter and pecan halves
Alexander first tried them 24 years ago at the age of 12 on a trip to Charleston, South Carolina, where his sister-in-law is from.
The 36-year-old said: "I’ve been over there a few times and the shop, Market Street Sweets, have their door open and they just have this lovely smell of candy wafting down the street and it just draws everybody in.
"Every time we were there, we were buying them by the boxload and it’s something I get nostalgic over from over there, and I couldn’t believe it actually took me this long to make it considering I cook for a living."
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He added: "It’s unlike anything you’ve ever tasted before.
"It’s unique, there’s nothing that tastes like it, I struggle to think of something better that I’ve tried in terms of sweets.
"If you like nuts and you like sugary things, then you can’t go wrong with them.
"The closest thing you could compare them to would be a softer, creamier tablet in the UK.
"Trust me, you just have to try them."
Alexander says he was inspired to finally start making his own pecan pralines due to the price of shipping them from overseas and after being left disappointed when trying something he thought would taste similar on a trip up north.
He said: "I was looking at shipping from America, but it was like £30 for a box of them just for the shipping.
"Then I was up north, and I tasted something I thought would be similar, but it was nowhere near it and I was on the way back down from Inverness and I thought ‘'I’m going to make these'.
"As soon as my mum tried them, she’s been over to Charleston with us a few times, she said 'you need to sell these'."
Alexander, who lives in the Gorbals, started Praline on Me around eight weeks ago after having the idea for years, and since then has been selling his pralines on Etsy and at markets where they’ve sold out.
He said: "It’s been in the back of my mind for years.
"Because you can’t get them over here I was always thinking 'somebody will do it eventually and I’ll kick myself for not doing it' but it really was just that trip up north that gave me the kick in the a*** to make it myself."
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He continued: "It’s surprising how little people know about it.
"One of the biggest challenges I’ve got is telling people what pralines are because I think people just associate it with chocolate over here.
"I’ve even spoken to Americans from northern states that have never heard of them so it’s very localised to southern states, like South Carolina and Louisiana.
"But the feedback has been great, people are absolutely loving it and it seems to be the traditional pecan praline that becomes the favourite, we’ve sold out of them a good few times now at markets."
As well as traditional pecan pralines, Alexander is also creating a range of other sweet treats using some more recognisable products.
He said: "I have loads of different stuff now like vegan pralines, nut-free pralines with pretzels in them, Jammie Dodger blondies, Nutella Bueno brownies, I’ve got an Oreo Caramac rocky road, so there’s a lot going on.
"I’m trying to keep it fresh every week or two with new products to advertise and have stuff people recognise as well, like Jammie Dodgers and Kinder Buenos.
"Folk go mad for that stuff so it’s just about trying to keep it up-to-date and relevant and fresh."
You can find out more about Praline on Me on Instagram HERE and on Etsy HERE.
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