A Brief History of Tektonic Palates, LLC Autumn of 1962 found me out of my native country, Ethiopia, and in the United States. Although the length of my stay was uncertain, I did not think my exile from Ethiopia was to be permanent. I was able, after some time, to make peace with the government of the late Emperor Haile Selassie, and joined the staff of the Ethiopian Embassy, in Washington, D.C. Tekle A. Tomlinson President, Tektonic Palates, LLC But this arrangement did not last: in the summer of 1965, the then Ambassador of Ethiopia and I left the Embassy for good, fleeing the city. In the mid-sixties, although there were many Ethiopia scholars studying and working in the colleges and universities of the United States and Canada, there was little to sustain the traditional and cultural needs of Ethiopians abroad. And so it was with food! For myself, it seemed impossible to adjust to life in the United States without the familiar aromas, flavors, and textures of the traditional Ethiopian cuisine. Compounding my difficulties were two important factors: Ethiopian men have traditionally been strictly excluded from the preparation of meals, and the kitchen was not even a part of the main house. I resolved to devote my meager earnings as searcher at the New York Public Library to experimenting with cayenne pepper and other locally available seasonings, to recapture the flavors I was accustomed to, and recreate the Ethiopian dishes I was yearning for. Time passed, circumstances evolved. By 1966 the seasoned paste my future wife and I continued to work on, along with steps to replicate some of my favorite dishes, were in demand from a growing circle of friends and new relatives. As we continued to refine these recipes, eventually making contact with other Ethiopian families, the quality of the paste improved. With improvement came increased demand, until by 1995 it was no longer financially feasible to continue giving our "Hot Paste" away. Moreover, derivative products that we had begun to develop were winning enthusiastic approval from the friends who had become, in effect, a "committee" of tasters. So, thirty-some years of trial and development culminated, in 1999, in the formation of Tektonic Palates, LLC.

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