EVA AND MARIA of GERWÜRZHAUS

“Gewürz  in German means spice, so Gewürzhaus just means spice house,” explains Eva Konecsny. 

Together with her sister Maria Konecsny, the duo operate 13 self-serve spice stores. Gewürzhaus mills over 100 exclusive small-batch blends of spices from an expansive range of more than 250 single-origin spices, herbs, salts, peppers, teas and sugars from around the world.

On a warm afternoon, Eva and Maria speak to Lost Magazine on a Zoom call reflecting on the genesis of their bustling business. 

Eva says, “Both Maria and I were born in Germany and we really wanted to connect to our German heritage and roots so we’re paying tribute to that.” 

They would travel to Germany every Christmas for a holiday where they spent time with their grandmother and great-aunts. Maria recalls, “Their whole world was centred around food and cooking, so we were immersed in that world from a young age. We were surrounded by noodles hanging over sheets on sofas and cookies on top of cupboards and there was just literally food everywhere. So that really shaped I guess the rest of our lives.”

On one of these holidays, a relative took them to a spice store in Munich. 

Eva began thinking about spices in a new way, “Traditionally, we'd always thought of them more to cook curries, or Indian, Moroccan cuisine. They’d use spices in things we were already cooking, like spaghetti bolognese, and it was to enhance everyday cooking rather than change it. We just loved the extra flavour and felt so inspired, we thought spices really do have a place in European and everyday cooking to enhance the flavours rather than just adding heat or something exotic.”

Maria adds, “We wanted to create a retail experience and a product that really made people feel like they were in, you know, their mother's kitchen or their grandmother's kitchen”

In 2010 they opened their first store on Lygon Street, the heart of European culture in Melbourne. Eva reflects, “When we opened I remember one of our very first editorials was by The Age Good Food Guide. And they described it as ‘the lolly shop of your childhood dreams replaced with spices.” 

In November, Gewürzhaus launched in Daylesford marking the opening of their 13th store. So we asked them for recommendations of their current favourites, Eva is quick to respond, “We developed a crunchy chilli oil mix as the spice mix and then you heat oil up and just pour it over the top…it becomes like this beautiful crunchy condiment that you can put on pretty much everything from eggs, to pasta or dumplings. Not too much heat but heaps of flavour.
I’ve been binging on that.”

Maria takes a moment to think, “I love the Apple Cake Spice. There are some quite unusual ingredients in there. Things like chamomile and rosehip, that just make it a very unique and delicious blend. The other one I really love is the Melbourne Coffee Meat Rub, we repurpose beans from Melbourne roasters that can’t be used and we mix them with smoked paprika, chipotle, cocoa, activated charcoal and oregano. It’s amazing on red meat.”

Alongside their spicey offerings, Gewürzhaus sells Christmas ornaments, teas and gifts.

STORY BY MAHMOOD FAZAL PHOTOS BY CHRIS TURNER

Gewürzhaus Daylesford
OPEN 7 DAYS 10AM - 5PM
47 Vincent Street. Daylesford,
gewurzhaus.com.au