More and more people are getting to know the wonderous world of hot sauce, but most don\u2019t know much about the creators of these delicious sauces. Who are those heroes behind the brands that spoil us with the best hot sauces? We are about to find out in our interview series \u2018Meet the Makers\u2019.<\/p>\n
Our first ‘Meet the Makers’ came all the way from Canada, the second one was a lot closer to home (Germany), but for the third one we are going to the North-East of the United States: Portland, Oregon. Home to the immens popular Secret Aardvark<\/span><\/strong><\/a>. Especially the Habanero sauce<\/span><\/a> of this brand is a true hit in the hot sauce community. Not just because it was on Hot Ones, but mainly because of the unbelievable ratings on Amazon and other platforms. It’s probably the best rated hot sauce in the world and always the number one bestseller on Heatsupply. So it’s about time we get to know the brand and the people behind it a bit better. We speak with Stacy, the power woman who runs the company after her husband passed away.<\/p>\n When & what was your first hot sauce experience?<\/strong><\/p>\n I grew up in Idaho and had lots of friends with Mexican heritage. You never turned down dinner at their house. The highlight was always the homemade salsa and hot sauce!<\/p>\n What drove you to start your own brand?<\/strong><\/p>\n My late husband and I started this brand in 2004. Scott was really the driving force. Scott was a chef and musician. We were avid travelers and that always included local hot sauce. Once when we were in Mexico we traveled many miles to a town out of the way because we heard someone had great hot sauce at a stand on the side of the road!<\/p>\n Scott\u2019s life in food began when he entered a chili cook-off at age thirteen. He went on to start a pie company, several catering businesses, a tamale cart, and was a co-founder of Portland\u2019s own Salvador Molly\u2019s. Friends and family always coveted a spot at our table, where you never knew what delicious and unforgettable dishes (and tales) would emerge from the kitchen. Scott firmly believed that food should taste good not just be hot. We have worked to keep that focus with our new products. While we lost Scott to pancreatic cancer in 2009 we have kept his legacy going and growing!<\/p>\n How did you come up with the name of your brand?<\/strong><\/p>\n There is a short story and a long story. Short story is it was Scott\u2019s favorite animal! Long story is When he was in his late teens, Scott and his friends read an editorial in the local paper that outlined the \u201cNine ways to identify a gang\u201d. They thought the article was so ridiculous (as it only stereotyped social groups) that they wrote a satirical letter to the editor claiming to be a part of a gang called the \u201cSecret Aardvarks\u201d. The paper took them seriously and published a warning about the new gang, and he laughed about it until years later when he deemed his hot sauce worthy of the name. If you know, you know.<\/p>\n\n