18/09/2026
I’m Eva Thorne, founder of The Garden of Eva, based in London.
I was born in New York, but I grew up in my mother’s Virginia kitchen. She taught me Southern cooking, and though she isn’t here anymore, every dish I make is how I keep her close. That’s the whole reason The Garden of Eva exists. (She and my grandmother were both named Eva!)
I’ve turned what she taught me into a food business built around the preserving traditions and flavours of the American South. Our Chow Chow has been used by chefs, and our New Orleans Creole-Inspired Tomato Jam won two Great Taste stars this year.
I’d love a place in the because Rachel took something deeply personal and specific and built a brand that travelled without losing what made it hers. That is what I’m trying to do with The Garden of Eva.
I’ve built the business as a solo female founder, driven by family memory, instinct, and a stubborn belief that Britain has barely begun to discover Southern food. I’ve proved that the products can earn recognition and that chefs, retailers and consumers are interested. What I need now is the commercial and brand-building knowledge to take that strong culinary point of view further without flattening what makes it distinctive.
My dream KETTLE®️ Chips flavour is our New Orleans Creole-Inspired Spice Blend (13 herbs and spices): smoky paprika first, followed by garlic, onion, herbs, and black pepper, with cayenne arriving at the end. It has warmth rather than heat for heat’s sake—and enough going on to make you reach back into the bag!
It’s the seasoning behind the delicious hot chicken in this video and at the heart of what I cook at home. I would love to taste what happens when it meets a proper KETTLE®️ crisp.
This one’s for you, Mom! 💕
