About Us

My life-long food-romance with mayonnaise started as a child and specifically with a products called Jenny Post Mayonnaise - a brand which sadly has been off the market for decades now. This mayonnaise was amazing and it got me completely hooked! The little orange and red stripe labelled little glass jar full of this precious mayonnaise was my absolute favourite and all other mayonnaise products didn’t get into the same sentence as far as I was concerned. I used to sneak into the kitchen when the adults were not around and secretly ate it neat from the jar. Today, my daughters especially, share my love of good mayonnaise.

 But let me introduce you to my family. They are the reason that the Martinnaise journey started. Today I have the wonderful priviledge of working with my family,  creating and producing these products. We have so much fun doing what we do!

Martinnaise's story really began with the birth of my youngest daughter Crystal. When she was born, my wife became allergic to soya. It was never an issue for her before, and Crystal also had the allergy right from birth. My eldest daughter Abigail became allergic to gluten, soya, many preservatives and refined sugar in her young adult years. This was a very stressful time for the family prior to their diagnosis. They were getting ill regularly and I had no idea why and the doctors had a hard time figuring it out. Once diagnosed, we had to adjust our diet big time!

IF you have ever had a food allergy or have someone in your family with food allergy, you will know how awful it is. Mealtimes suddenly become complicated - especially in the beginning, you are unsure what is safe to eat, you painstakingly read every food label. Our most sobering moments were when we realised that so much of what we used to enjoy had to go. We were astonished at how many products contained all the ingredients we couldn't have. It was this onset of food allergies that made us realise that we had to start making so much of our own food products, because store bought was no longer an option in many instances. 

 Why the mayonnaise first? Well, as I confessed in the first paragraph, I was a mayo junkie! I ate it with everything! So to make my own was my first port of call, I mean, how difficult could it be?? Oh my hat, I soon learned that is was more difficult than I thought. My “I can do anything” ego was humbled at the murmur of disapproval every time I proudly produced those first attempts – and there were many! Most of my initial kitchen bravado found its way into culinary file 13 – I am of course referring to my humble rubbish bin who suffered quietly through my determined attempts. Persistence paid off as my results improved until my kids finally gave me the green light and said “we will eat this Dad”! No more shop mayo! Oh my word, and did they eat it with gusto and delight with absolutely everything!  They would wrestle each other to the ground for the last bit in the bottle until Dad made some more. I kid you not! The first mayonnaise with its herbs, olives and savoury sweet taste led to the conversation my girls had in our family kitchen where it was decided that this is not 'mayonnaise' but it is "Martinnaise" and so my creation was named and has become our family business brand name.

Things started happening when I bravely served it when friends came round to visit. I used it to make potato salad and served it as a dip – depending what the occasion called for. I got the same enthusiastic responses every time.  One thing lead to another and that first mayonnaise got named Martinnaise Original and here we are today. One thing never changed since that first day though, we still make it with the same passion and love and it is still a firm favourite everywhere.

 Our story would not be complete without acknowledging you dear reader. My family and I are so deeply aware of how important each Martinnaise client is. I want to thank you for each and every time that you buy a Martinnaise product and for every time you introduce someone new to Martinnaise by the wonderful things you say. I wish I was able to meet each of you in person and tell you how valuable your continued loyal support is to us and how much it encourages us! Thank you for every encouraging email, Facebook post, Instagram message and phone call that we have received from you. Your kindness is such a blessing to us.

 Please feel welcome to interact with us, share ideas and food stories with us. If there are products you would like to see under our brand, please let us hear from you. 

 With thanks and fondest wishes,

From our family to you and yours!

Martin