Posted May 19, 2006 by Anthony in Makers

Meet Your Maker #5 – Scotty B’s

Scottie B’s hot sauce is relative newcomer to the hot sauce scene…but you would never know it! He has created sauces that are garnering attention all over the place. With numerous awards to his name and rave reviews accredited, I was happy to be able take a peek into Scotty B’s Gourmet Hot Sauce world and inquire more about his business and how he keeps the fires burning.

Q1-HSB Why hot sauce? where did the idea come from for you to get involved doing this?
A-1 I love the burn and flavors that hot sauce brings to foods. I have tried alot! of salsas and sauces growing up, I would have my hispanic cook friends make me up different sauces so I could see the diffrerences in the many variety of sauces that are available from different regions of mexico.

Q-HSB If you had to pick a favorite sauce of yours, which would it be?
A-2 Boy thats tough!! I can’t just keep it to one, how bout two (Devil’s Drool / Berries in Heat).

Q-HSB Any new products we should be ready for from your line?
A-3 Oh Yeah!! Oblivion XXXX Hot!!-great flavor and excellent heat level and a sauce I developed at the start but just didn’t pursue to manufacturer it at that point named Green with Envy-(medium heat) excellent for dipping corn chips or putting on dishes to enhance flavor.

Q-HSB Where do you see the future of hot sauce in Canada 5 years from now (again I am from Toronto so I can ask this)?
A-4 Canada has a huge potenial for hot sauces especially with as cold as it gets up there, you’d think they would love something to keep them warm!! As more people come to realize that Hot Sauces aren’t the old run of the mill vinegar based, tasteless crap of old. But a new era of flavor rich food enhancing sauces other than just to blow your head off while running and screaming. I think the market is already moving towards that point, time will tell.

Q-HSB What is your favorite sauce that you don’t make?
A-5 Sriracha, Texas Pete’s, Choulua. I tended to make alot of my own fresh sauces growing up. But these are some solid commerical sauces that I like, I didn’t get into habanero heat levels until a few years ago.

Q-HSB Do you eat the sauces that you make?
A-6 Yeah I do, my kids, my lady, my ex-ole lady and her family, and friends too!!

Q-HSB What’s a typical day for you?
A-7 Well some days are better than others. I install ceramic tile on kitchen and bath room floors, entry ways, hallways, shower walls, counter tops and pretty much were ever a customer wants it installed.

The rest of the time is spent on producing, promoting, communcating, billing, accounting, sales orders, shipping orders, sourcing ingredients, things that relate to the business and family, Of Yeah Sleeping. HA!!

Q-HSB What sets you aside from the other hot sauce producers out there today?
A-8 In my opinion that is nothing but an ego trip! I don’t believe that we are aside from one another, there might be a difference in quality of products. I make our sauces to taste good and enhance the flavor of foods to which they are applied too!! This is to please the consumers palate, its not about competeing with the other manufacturers. The market is big enough for a producer to find his or her own niche with the consumers tastes.

Some producers are doing better than others but we are all trying to reach the same goal- success!!

Q-HSB What is your inspiration before you embark on a new concoction?
A-9 I try to put myself in the consumers perspective, taste and flavor, heat level and (along with myself) where the direction of the majority of consumers tastes are heading.

Q-HSB Outside of creating hot products, what else keeps you occupied or out of trouble?
A-10 Sometimes I just like to tune everything else out and lose myself in playstation 2 games like SoCom navy seals, rainbow six, splinter cell, action and shooting games. I wonder why that is? It gets crazy at times. HA!

I’ll be OK. (rocking) My name is Elmer J Fudd, millionaire, I own a mansion and a yacht. Just kidding.

Q-HSB Any weird stories or uses for your hot sauces that you would like to share?
A-11 Was making sauce in kitchen one time and spilled some on the floor, well the dog was right on it. The poor thing it was habanero sauce, and it shot for the bathroom toliet to lap it dry but that didn’t work so I gave a bowl of milk. A little later it started licking its butt and lo and behold started dragging it ass on the carpet, yelping like it had worms or something.

Q-HSB How much sauce do you make in a week?
A-12 Demand for our sauce at this point doesn’t require us to produce on a weekly basis. We make batches

when we run out of a product or to fill orders as needed.

Q-HSB How many different recipes do you go through when developing a new sauce?
A-13 That varies, some sauces hit the nail on the head right away. Others have ended up in the drain because they were that bad. I apply and taste as I go so not to get carried away by adding to much. But sometimes ingredients just don’t go together well.

Q-HSB How did you get started in the industry?
A-14 On a Wing and a Prayer! It wasn’t easy, even after getting help and info from Mary Carter of Jazz Sauces. She has a book (manual) out called How to start your own food business which was a great help!!

Q-HSB Where’s the best place for our readers to get a hold of Scotty B’s Gourmet Sauces?
A-15 At this point it would be on our web-site www.scottybshotsauces.com. We will be trying to distribute out to the rest of the states as demand and factors allow us. ZestFest should be a good platform for this, and some more awards won’t hurt either.

Q-HSB What is your biggest challenge?
A-16 Getting the sauces out to the zesty loving consumers of the world. If they haven’t tasted it then why would they buy it. Reviews are great but alot of people need to taste things first before they buy and thats the hard part, getting them to a venue where the sauces can be tasted by the masses.

Thanks Scotty