Yaw Asare’s business, Sharay’s Ghana Style Brittle, was born of a simple wish: a desire to re-create a beloved childhood snack. Longing for the brittle of his youth, he reached out to his mother for her recipe. She provided Asare with a family recipe book, and from there he headed to the kitchen and began to tinker, handing out the treats he made to family, friends and co-workers.
“Pretty much everyone was going crazy for it,” he says.
Asare joined forces with his friend, Orson Fournillier, and began to build the business. The two went on to appear on “Project Pitch It,” a Milwaukee-based “Shark Tank”-style TV show. Today people can find Sharay’s Ghana Style Brittle online; at the Appleton, Oshkosh and Green Bay farmers markets; and at several retailers throughout Northeast Wisconsin.
The product lineup includes peanut, pistachio and cashew brittle. Sharay’s brittle differs from the American variety, which typically uses whole peanuts, corn syrup and baking soda. Ghana-style brittle features chopped nuts, which helps extract the flavors and oils, and is held together by caramelized cane sugar. The result is a rich, vegan, gluten-free creation that doesn’t stick to your teeth.
The two call themselves the Brittle Daddies and revel in bantering and playing off one another at farmers markets, all while exposing people to a new variety of food. “It’s our way of having fun while doing something that’s worthwhile that will benefit the community,” Fournillier says.
Asare says it’s also about something bigger: breaking down stereotypes about Africa and exposing people to the delights of West African food. Brittle is just the beginning, Fournillier says, and the duo plans to create additional Africa-inspired offerings that could include other confections as well as jams, coffees and wines.
“The whole idea is to put a portfolio of good foods out to the public and have it associated with our brittles,” Fournillier says.
