17 Questions NYC HOT
SAUCE EXPO 2015 VENDOR
Diana & Merle
Hellfire Hot Sauce
INTERVIEW BY ALLEN FRY (www.twofrys.com)
Foodie and Hot Sauce Blog NYC/BRONX
FOR NYC HOT SAUCE EXPO
1. Merle
& Diana, What is the inspiration to make hot sauce and spicy foods your
business?
Merle had been growing hot peppers and making
chili and other spicy foods and and turning people on to super spicy foods
since he was a teenager. He also had an extensive herb garden and blended
different herbs and spices together to combine flavor with heat. The first
thing we did when we bought our house was to put in a huge garden and Diana
quickly fell in love with the heat and flavors of the peppers and spices.
2. What
is the road that led you to open Hellfire Hot Sauce?
Naturally we started creating spicy dishes
using the fruits of our garden. We gave it to friends, brought it to our local
bars and restaurants for the people to try and everyone raved about it. They
became addicted to it, almost instantly. We were trying to figure out a way to
share the flavors of the harvest all year long and it was like a light bulb when
we said "why don't we bottle it up"! After bottling it up and sharing
with family, friends and local restaurants and getting an amazing reaction to
the sauces we thought "hey, this could be a business"! Then the
toughest part....we sent it out for review and virtually every review was a 9
or 10! And in 2010 we won product line of the year from I Love It Spicy! So we
decided to go for it!
3. What
is the secret of your success selling hot sauces?
Dedication to trying to make the best tasting
sauce out there! We have catered to chileheads and not only wanted to provide
the heat that chileheads crave but amazing flavors as well! Using all natural ingredients,
no extracts and choice ingredients we strive to create some of the best
superhot sauces available! We use a pepper mixology in our sauces to create
more complex sauces with different peppers for different flavor profiles and
burns as well as complimentary herbs and spices.
4. What
is the most satisfying thing about what you do, bringing the heat to the
people?
The most satisfying thing is watching and
hearing peoples reactions to the sauces. At first the heat is intense but, the
flavor is so delicious that they end of falling in love with the sauces. Also
seeing people coming up with new uses for the sauces and posting pictures of
what recipes they use the sauces in and saying that they are the best they've
ever tasted. A very well known example was using Blueberry Hell on ice cream
not to mention mixed in with blueberry pancake batter.
 |
| Merle Hellfire Hot Sauce and Allen from Two Frys Expo 2014 |
5. What
is the number of hot sauces/products Hellfire Hot Sauce has available and some
of your hottest selling names?
We currently have 6 sauces available. Within a
month we will be adding 2 more sauces. Also, 4 spice rubs and 3 barbecue sauces
are in the works. Some of our hottest selling names are: Blueberry Hell, The
Elixir, Devils Gold, Pure Hell, First Blood and Fear This. All are multi award
winning sauces.
6. What
is your favorite type of fruit and/or vegetables?
One of our favorite fruits to eat is
blueberries, thus the reason Blueberry Hell was made. For its delicious flavor
and antioxidants. We also love heirloom tomatoes, peppers, broccoli,
cauliflower, carrots and the list goes on and on! We have had gardens growing
all of these and more.
7. What
is your favorite type of hot sauce, extreme or mild?
Any hot sauce type as long as it has good
flavor.
 |
| Custom One of a kind bottle Allen Two Frys won in online contest. This was a prototype bottle only 1 exists (1 of 1). |
8. What
is your favorite type of BBQ sauce, spicy or sweet?
A combination of the two is the best! We will
have 3 BBQ sauces out very soon that showcase the flavors we enjoy the most.
9. What
are some of your other favorite small batch hot sauce companies?
There are so many favorites and quality makers
out there that we don't want to single out any individual makers.
10.
Hellfire Hot Sauce how many events do you attend each year?
We try to do all the major national events and
as many local events as time allows. We really enjoy meeting the people and
mingling with the hot sauce community in general.
11. Merle
& Diana, what is the hottest hot sauce you have ever tried?
Aside from extract sauces, which we no longer
consume...our Evil Bastard and Halloween Hell are the two hottest sauces we
have ever tried or made.
 |
| Hellfire Hot Sauce Table pic from Expo 2014 NYC |
12. Do
you believe that hot sauce is good for you and others health?
Yes, it has been proven that hot sauce has
many health benefits.
13. What
are your plans for Hellfire Hot Sauce in the future?
To continue making quality sauces for the
chiliheads and milder sauces for people who enjoy those. Also, making spice rubs,
barbeque sauces and jerky. The sky is the limit when it comes to creating new
sauces and spicy products! We feel the world is finally catching on to what we
have enjoyed for many, many years.
14. How
many times have you been a vendor at the NYC Hot Sauce Expo?
2 years.
15. How
do you like the amount of fans and vendors that this great event brings
together in one place?
We very much like this event and consider it
to be one of the largest national shows other than the National Fiery Foods
Show in New Mexico
16. How
can our Two Frys Blog readers order your sauces and products?
At HELLFIREHOTSAUCE.COM.
17. Any
closing comments for our readers about your products and what they should try?
All 6 of the current sauces have won multiple
awards and are highly favored in the Chilihead community. Each one can be used
on many foods and combined in multiple recipes. In addition to these products
keep an eye out for many upcoming products as well! And as a side note we have
some of the most sought after hot sauce collectible bottles available! That is
another whole aspect to our company. Thanks Allen!
Thanks to Diana and Merle for this look into their Hot Sauce Company, Allen
Website: Hellfire Hot Sauce
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