Chickpea shop date: Introducing Exeter’s renowned Los Hummus Hermanos

Reports of two university students cooking up something highly addictive in their kitchen and selling it to their friends may ring alarm bells. But fear not, the only thing Asher and Lucas, the duo behind Los Hummus Hermanos, are concocting, is best accompanied by a toasted pitta. As the duo both live and work together, they designate hummus making to the weekend in order to maintain a healthy, brotherly bond. But don’t be fooled, we use the term brotherly here in business, rather than biological terms. We know. We’re shocked too. As the old saying goes, blood is thick but hummus is thicker. So, whilst we spend our Saturdays oscillating between home and Penny road Co-op, Asher and Lucas are chopping and blending more than a stressed Master Chef contestant (with the added obstacles of a hangover and a too small blender).

The venture began with Lucas: “Last year I was eating lots of hummus and thought I could probably make this, so I made it, and [Asher] was like ‘that’s pretty cool,’ so he got involved and then we started selling it to our housemates and then to our mates and then everyone else got involved.”

The rest, as they say, is history. Since then, Los Hummus Hermanos have scooped up business across Exeter from Gravitate run club, to “Funk n Dunk” nights at Sunset Cafe, complete with hummus halloumi wrap sales in the Forum. Apparently, top condiment consumption comes from the Rugby League team. Their logo will even appear on EURL shorts for the next five years, ensuring their Exeter legacy will continue after graduation, post-hummously.

The roles are as follows: ‘‘[Asher] always does the lemons and I [Lucas] do the garlic, chuck the chickpeas in – oops, I’m giving too much away.” With that, the barriers came up and details became hazy for fear of revealing their secret ingredient – something they are determined to keep a lid on. But, if you listen out this weekend for the sound of Jungle or Michael Kiwanuka, their go-to hummus making grooves, it means the blender is out, and something is afoot for Los Hummus Hermanos.

Mixing reverbs and herbs, the duo take time out of their studies to take on something much more academically vigorous: Coming up with new hummus flavours. They have sold garlic “Garlicky Licky”, olive, pesto, guacamole and jalapeño dips in the past with plans to expand to katsu and maybe even a contentious chocolate “Coco-Loco”. They tell us that this final suggestion is getting mixed reviews but with a Wonka-filled hole in the market, who’s to say their kitchen can’t be transformed into a world of pure imagination? Well, maybe their landlord.

We partook in a collective gasp of shock as they recounted “basil-gate”. Asher tells us how: “One time [they] were putting in a little bit of basil and the lid came off and the whole thing went in and made it amazing!”. For most, this disaster would be enough to denounce the sacred craft of hummus making, but like Alexander Fleming and the discovery of penicillin, Los Hummus Hermanos turned over a new leaf and accident led to “amazing”, completely reinventing their pesto dip recipe.

Unfortunately, the colder weather has forced the duo into hummus hibernation until the warmer months when a garden party is planned. However, for those seeking a chickpea fix, a sale in the Forum is on the cards which will also entail the unveiling of Los Hummus Hermanos t-shirts, expected to be a big hit on Valentine’s Day. Whilst a pitted green oval may not immediately scream romance, how else are you meant to say “olive you”  on the special day?

After curtailing many hair-brained marketing schemes from us both, including protein hummus pouches for running, we raised the one question that, as third years, we’ve spent the Christmas holidays dodging: “What’s next?”. Will the hummus be left behind as a mere university experimentation, alongside bad mullets and DJ careers? But, no. Asher and Lucas hope to take Los Hummus Hermanos GLOBAL. By trading Sidmouth for Sydney and combining tahini with bikinis, they hope to sell hummus from a food truck whilst travelling Australia. Apparently, there isn’t room for two average university journalists to join.

We asked them to describe their hummus in three words; Asher came up with two: “Niche and delicious”, which is perhaps a nod to how it is truly indescribable. A more articulate option came from Lucas: “Really bloody tasty,” to which we vehemently agree, as does everyone we’ve spread it with. So, dip right in – we encourage you to keep your eyes and your carrots peeled for Los Hummus Hermanos.

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