In France, they say ooh la la, but locally, it's "Gar-La-La." The catchy phrase is the product name for a line of dips and spreads based on traditional Greek recipes, designed to give people a healthy option in modern times of fast food abundance.

Colleen and Foti Zorbas of Clifton Park are partners in the grassroots but forward-thinking company Zorbas Natural Food. The couple lives with their three young children in a spacious, tastefully decorated home nestled on a forested lot in Clifton Park. Signs of their creativity are everywhere, from the intricate molding with columns and arches around the fireplace, hand-plastered by Foti, to the photographs and line drawings of unusual subjects, including Albert Einstein. A row of thriving houseplants basks in the sun near a set of French doors. Come summertime, their backyard will become a garden for fresh herbs and the mainstay of Gar-La-La, fresh garlic.

The story of how the couple launched a small but increasingly successful product line of garlic dips begins with Foti's childhood. Growing up in Colonie, Foti's parents, John and Demetra Zorbas, prepared foods that were fresh and full-flavored, including the traditional Greek Skordalia, a Greek potato and garlic dip. "We always had it in the fridge growing up," Foti Zorbas says. "A couple of years ago, I decided to make my own, and I took my mom's recipe and tweaked it. To this day she tells me it's not hot enough, because her recipe would literally burn our mouths."

Is the family recipe a secret? Not when the simple, fresh ingredients are listed on the bright green label on every tub of Gar-La-La. The ingredients are purified water, potato, canola oil, raw garlic, dill, lemon, sea salt and pepper. Foti says recipes using these ingredients have been enjoyed by families of all ethnicities for decades; many versions of the recipes can be found on the Internet.

But if the average person took these ingredients and tried to recreate Foti's Gar-La-La, they'd come up short. "It's the process I use to make the dip that's a secret," Foti says. "People are always asking how I make it; we even have people that have spent months trying to make it come out like mine does, but they can't come close."

Since any food product sold to the public must be made in a U.S. Health Department certified facility, Foti prepares and packages the dips at area commercial kitchens, including My Other Kitchen in Ballston Spa. The dips don't contain dairy ingredients, but the 8-ounce package is preservative-free and must be refrigerated, even before opening. This packaging issue currently limits mass production.

"We have an extra fridge at our house, and we still store it at my father's house," Foti says. "Eventually we'll think about growing the business, building a kitchen in our basement, but right now, we like being small and managing every aspect of it ourselves."

Launching a new business, even with a product they believed in, doesn't come without lots of sleepless nights. "Starting out was like jumping off a diving board," Colleen Zorbas says. "Our first week selling outdoors, I pictured 100 people in line to try it, but at my first market, I stood there thinking, 'what am I doing?' Then we hear from someone who loves it, and that's enough encouragement to keep going."

The couple practices the wholesome eating habits they promote through their dairy, gluten and soy-free garlic dips. They adhere to a strictly vegan diet, use fresh produce grown in their garden or at local farms, and swear by the health benefits of eating plant-based foods.

Gar-La-La varieties include original, horseradish dill, roasted red pepper, and a new flavor, sun-dried tomato basil, out this summer. Their company slogan is "spread it, dip it, love it!" "It's mainly a condiment to be used as a dip for crackers or raw veggies," Colleen says. "But we hear back from people who add it to meatballs, soups, or as a sauce for cooked asparagus."

Onto the obvious question asked by most would-be customers of the zesty garlic dip: What do you do about garlic breath? "Have your friends eat it with you so you all smell the same, or chew parsley afterwards," Colleen says. "Actually, after you eat garlic for a while your body adjusts and you won't have any aftertaste on your breath."

This summer, you can buy Zorbas Natural Food products at farmers' markets around the Capital Region, including Saratoga Springs at High Rock Park, Ballston Spa at Wiswall Park, and Delmar on Kenwood Avenue. A handful of health food stores also carry it, including Four Seasons in Saratoga Springs, Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany, It's Only Natural at Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, and also the Price Chopper at Shoppers World Plaza, Clifton Park.

If you stop by one of the markets, you'll meet Colleen or Foti Zorbas, because they believe in personally greeting every customer. "We want to talk to people about why it's so healthy, and we want to see their reaction when they take their first bite," Colleen says. "We stand behind our promise that once you try it, you'll love it."