Tio Ernesto’s began while Walt was a student at the University of Miami. He loved bold, savory food, but like most grad students, he couldn’t afford to eat that way every day. So he started blending his own seasoning — first for chicken, then pork, then seafood, then whatever else was on the stove.

For years, the only people who knew about it were the ones lucky enough to get a bottle as a Christmas gift. Every year, the requests came back: can I get more? Eventually, the answer was simple — start sharing it properly.

That’s Tio Ernesto’s. A seasoning built in a home kitchen, made for people who want their everyday cooking to taste like it took more effort than it did.