It Started with a Spark in Aspen

Salt Traders has its roots in the Cooking School of Aspen, founded in 1998 by Rob Seideman and Kelly Hall. Their passion for culinary education led them deep into the world of specialty salts, and they began sourcing and offering an ever-growing variety of sea salts and peppercorns to their students. Before long, that enthusiasm took on a life of its own. Rob and Kelly stepped away from the classroom to focus entirely on Salt Traders, educating chefs and home cooks across the country about the incredible variety and benefits of sea salts from around the world. They were pioneers, central to the movement that brought gourmet sea salt into American home and restaurant kitchens.

A Chef Walks into a Paris Market

Then came Didi Davis. In her own words: "My name is Didi Davis and my fascination with specialty sea salt and pepper began in Paris, where I fell in love. Wandering through a market, I stumbled on a small tin of vanilla salt, crunchy and aromatic. I was overwhelmed with excitement, as this was not something available back home. My background as a chef, cookbook author, and cooking teacher kicked in and sent me into a new creative zone using this amazing flavored salt. Back home, I shared the salt with my students and then, one thing led to another. Soon I was making flavored salt and loving the new journey that little tin of salt had sent me on. Salt led to sugar and soon we were making lots of delicious flavored seasonings and adding unusual sea salt and pepper to our shelves. Our seasonings are made in a small way, by hand, not big-batch production. We like to think of Salt Traders as a place for people to find something fun and different, to spark creativity, and to enhance everyday meals with just a sprinkle."

A Chef's Life Dedicated to Flavor

Didi Davis is no newcomer to the culinary world. Her training began in 1972 under world-renowned chef and food writer Madeleine Kamman, one of the most influential culinary figures of the 20th century. Didi worked and taught alongside Kamman for a decade, managing her restaurant and later building her own distinguished career as a chef, food writer, cookbook author, and cooking teacher. That decades-long foundation in real, thoughtful cooking is the backbone of everything Salt Traders offers.

Building Something Meaningful

After her Paris discovery, Didi founded didi davis food, llc, to bring her proprietary salt blends, sugar blends, and specialty food products to a wider audience. In 2008, she acquired Salt Traders to bring it all together under one roof, expanding her collection and continuing the original founders' mission of connecting people with the finest artisanal salts and seasonings from around the world. Today, Salt Traders is based in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and continues to grow its carefully chosen collection with the same standards it started with: small-batch, handcrafted, genuinely extraordinary.