Heating up New York at the 4th Annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo
Kitty Lindstrom
Jimmy Carbone, owner of Jimmy’s No. 43, a restaurant in the East Village, is floating around the Brooklyn Expo Center in a pink jacket. He welcomes me, and greets me like an old friend. We are at the 4th Annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo, which took place April 23rd and 24th. Starting in 2012, Steve Seabury and Jimmy Carbone established the Expo, bringing together hot sauce makers from around the country and around the world.
Unable to hide his enthusiasm, Jimmy introduced me to several artisanal makers of sauces. Each hot sauce maker has their own story, and come from all walks of life - an engineer, a banker, a front-end barman, an owner of an animal sanctuary. It was great fun to hear about their varied experiences, and about how they got into the business. And it was even more fun to taste all the different kinds of sauces available.
Ed Currie, owner of the wildly successful PuckerButt Pepper Company and former banker, started his business for love. Trying to prove his worth for a lovely woman with whom he was madly in love with, he started making huge batches of salsa. (She loved salsa.)
Ed started making hot sauce in 1987, and everybody liked it. He started giving away huge quantities of his sauce to friends and family members. Involved with drugs and alcohol, and trying to come clean, he “wanted to live”, and so he ”set up the business.” His girlfriend, (now wife), Linda, suggested setting up a little stand at a farmers market; one thing led to the next. Today he is selling pepper products, hot sauces, jellies, mustards, salsas, and seasonings. All are hand-crafted, organic, and kosher.
The Honey Bonnet Sauce, a mildly spicy and slightly sweet sauce, is unbelievably good, and it is easy to see why it is his personal favorite. I tried it with eggs, vegetables, rice, and it seems to taste great with everything. Made with peppers, honey, vinegar and cinnamon, it gives just enough kick to food.
A five-time world champion award winner, John Hard, founder of CaJohn’s Fiery Foods Company, worked as a Fire Protection Engineer while simultaneously launching his own line of hot sauces. “Black pepper was the hottest thing in my mother’s kitchen,” he explains. Growing up in Ohio, John’s work took him to southern Louisiana, west Texas, and New Mexico. It was in Louisiana where he discovered spicy food. He became a “huge fan of hot and spicy”, and “is always searching for the next level of heat”. With over 20 years in the business, John has mentored many up-and-coming hot sauce makers, and has been nicknamed the Godfather of Hot Sauce.
His Bourbon Chipotle Habanero Sauce is fiery and delicious. While on the mild side of spicy in the hot sauce world, it left my mouth on fire for a good while afterwards. (Thankfully, Farmland Dairy had a booth toward the back of the Expo Center that was doling out cups of milk, which helped kill the fire that was raging in my mouth. I learned my limitations!) A bestseller, made with Jim Beam Black Bourbon, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and red habanero chiles, it is great as a steak sauce or on a burger.
Ron Menin, founder of Hell’s Kitchen Hot Sauce, won the title of the Best Green Sauce in the World, at the Screaming Mi Mi Awards on the 23rd. His Retro Jalapeno Sauce, an homage to hair metal bands from the 80’s and traditional Mexican green sauce, is wonderful on veggies, meat, eggs. Entering his Retro Jalapeno Sauce in the competition for the first time this year, Ron was manning his booth when the winner of the competition was announced, and could barely make out his name over the din of the music and the large crowd.
Starting in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen, he has been making sauces since 2007 as a hobby while working full time as a barman. He has since perfected the sauces. “I love doing this, and I am always doing something for the business.”
Gabrielle Stubbert, along with her lawyer husband Peter, founded Tamerlaine Farm Animal Sanctuary, in northwestern New Jersey. Starting with two rescued roosters, she now has many more rescued animals. Gabrielle grows food on the farm for the animals as well as for her family.
In 2014, on a whim, she bought a basket of hot peppers, and made a huge batch of sauce. She grew “a crazy amount of jalapenos, tomatoes, and tomatillos”, and made a green sauce, Casey’s Hot Super Green, named after a beloved disabled chicken. Made with a puree of fresh peppers, citrus and garlic, it is incredibly tasty. “Business is doing great. I am running the farm, making the hot sauce, rescuing animals, and do all the social media.”
Music and events took place both days. There was the Chicken Wing Eating Contest, the Smokin’ Ed’s Reaper Eating Challenge, (world’s hottest pepper), the Spicy Taco Eating Challenge – all eaten with hot sauces. It was a hoot watching people eat the spicy food and see their different reactions to the “heat.” With over 47 vendors, the festival features a huge array of sauces. Asian Style. Caribbean Style. Louisana. Chipotle. Fruit Based. Fruit Based Hot. Habanero. Jalapeno. Pepper Blend Mild. Pepper Blend Hot. XXX. Chicken Wing. Spicy BBQ. Spicy Salsa. Best Hot Sauce Label. And the Grand World Champion.
Mark the Hot Sauce Expo on your calendar for April next year - this is an event not to be missed.
Jimmy Carbone, owner of Jimmy’s No. 43, a restaurant in the East Village, is floating around the Brooklyn Expo Center in a pink jacket. He welcomes me, and greets me like an old friend. We are at the 4th Annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo, which took place April 23rd and 24th. Starting in 2012, Steve Seabury and Jimmy Carbone established the Expo, bringing together hot sauce makers from around the country and around the world.
Unable to hide his enthusiasm, Jimmy introduced me to several artisanal makers of sauces. Each hot sauce maker has their own story, and come from all walks of life - an engineer, a banker, a front-end barman, an owner of an animal sanctuary. It was great fun to hear about their varied experiences, and about how they got into the business. And it was even more fun to taste all the different kinds of sauces available.
Ed Currie, owner of the wildly successful PuckerButt Pepper Company and former banker, started his business for love. Trying to prove his worth for a lovely woman with whom he was madly in love with, he started making huge batches of salsa. (She loved salsa.)
Ed started making hot sauce in 1987, and everybody liked it. He started giving away huge quantities of his sauce to friends and family members. Involved with drugs and alcohol, and trying to come clean, he “wanted to live”, and so he ”set up the business.” His girlfriend, (now wife), Linda, suggested setting up a little stand at a farmers market; one thing led to the next. Today he is selling pepper products, hot sauces, jellies, mustards, salsas, and seasonings. All are hand-crafted, organic, and kosher.
The Honey Bonnet Sauce, a mildly spicy and slightly sweet sauce, is unbelievably good, and it is easy to see why it is his personal favorite. I tried it with eggs, vegetables, rice, and it seems to taste great with everything. Made with peppers, honey, vinegar and cinnamon, it gives just enough kick to food.
A five-time world champion award winner, John Hard, founder of CaJohn’s Fiery Foods Company, worked as a Fire Protection Engineer while simultaneously launching his own line of hot sauces. “Black pepper was the hottest thing in my mother’s kitchen,” he explains. Growing up in Ohio, John’s work took him to southern Louisiana, west Texas, and New Mexico. It was in Louisiana where he discovered spicy food. He became a “huge fan of hot and spicy”, and “is always searching for the next level of heat”. With over 20 years in the business, John has mentored many up-and-coming hot sauce makers, and has been nicknamed the Godfather of Hot Sauce.
His Bourbon Chipotle Habanero Sauce is fiery and delicious. While on the mild side of spicy in the hot sauce world, it left my mouth on fire for a good while afterwards. (Thankfully, Farmland Dairy had a booth toward the back of the Expo Center that was doling out cups of milk, which helped kill the fire that was raging in my mouth. I learned my limitations!) A bestseller, made with Jim Beam Black Bourbon, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and red habanero chiles, it is great as a steak sauce or on a burger.
Ron Menin, founder of Hell’s Kitchen Hot Sauce, won the title of the Best Green Sauce in the World, at the Screaming Mi Mi Awards on the 23rd. His Retro Jalapeno Sauce, an homage to hair metal bands from the 80’s and traditional Mexican green sauce, is wonderful on veggies, meat, eggs. Entering his Retro Jalapeno Sauce in the competition for the first time this year, Ron was manning his booth when the winner of the competition was announced, and could barely make out his name over the din of the music and the large crowd.
Starting in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen, he has been making sauces since 2007 as a hobby while working full time as a barman. He has since perfected the sauces. “I love doing this, and I am always doing something for the business.”
Gabrielle Stubbert, along with her lawyer husband Peter, founded Tamerlaine Farm Animal Sanctuary, in northwestern New Jersey. Starting with two rescued roosters, she now has many more rescued animals. Gabrielle grows food on the farm for the animals as well as for her family.
In 2014, on a whim, she bought a basket of hot peppers, and made a huge batch of sauce. She grew “a crazy amount of jalapenos, tomatoes, and tomatillos”, and made a green sauce, Casey’s Hot Super Green, named after a beloved disabled chicken. Made with a puree of fresh peppers, citrus and garlic, it is incredibly tasty. “Business is doing great. I am running the farm, making the hot sauce, rescuing animals, and do all the social media.”
Music and events took place both days. There was the Chicken Wing Eating Contest, the Smokin’ Ed’s Reaper Eating Challenge, (world’s hottest pepper), the Spicy Taco Eating Challenge – all eaten with hot sauces. It was a hoot watching people eat the spicy food and see their different reactions to the “heat.” With over 47 vendors, the festival features a huge array of sauces. Asian Style. Caribbean Style. Louisana. Chipotle. Fruit Based. Fruit Based Hot. Habanero. Jalapeno. Pepper Blend Mild. Pepper Blend Hot. XXX. Chicken Wing. Spicy BBQ. Spicy Salsa. Best Hot Sauce Label. And the Grand World Champion.
Mark the Hot Sauce Expo on your calendar for April next year - this is an event not to be missed.