Why start a Hot Sauce company? To help answer that question, here’s my 30 second autobiography. I was born in Manhattan in 1979, and grew up in Oradell, New Jersey and Greenport, Long Island. I’m half Italian, half Croatian, and I have a younger sister.
I was in the restaurant business throughout high school working my way from busboy at White Beaches Country Club to server at The Coach House Diner. I moved to Boston for College in 1997 and stayed in the restaurant business, making my way to Bartender at Grendel’s Den.
I entered the Beer Business 1 week after graduating college, working for the Boston Beer Company for 17 years. My career eventually moved me to Portsmouth, NH in 2007 where I managed the company's Northern New England business.
After marrying and having a daughter, as a business necessity, I left the Beer Biz to run our family wedding venue in Norway, Maine that we had started in 2014, Granite Ridge Estate & Barn. But something was missing, I needed to turn up the heat...
Well, actually from an early age. I credit my mom for introducing our family to an eclectic array of cuisines from as far back as I can remember, including Thai, Indian, and Japanese, all before the age of 10. The house rule was you didn’t have to like it, but you had to try it. I tried it, and I liked it…all of it. The spicier the better.
I went to high school in North Jersey, and was exposed to a wide variety of ethnic cuisine. A large portion of my immediate friend group were Indian. I became accustomed to the smell of curry, and addicted to the heat.
Aside from saving the soup, spice has been a way of Jill’s life too, and it’s really special for your wife to be a fellow Chili Head. Her Twitter handle has been @spicylegume for years. We soon created our house drink, the “Fire & Ice Margarita,” which included our fresh garden Habaneros soaked in 100% Agave Tequila.
Trips back home to the North Fork of Long Island became much more exciting when Hot Sauce Specialty Store, Greenport Fire, opened in 2010. Like kids in a candy shop, we would always check out the newest additions to their collection. I pushed the Capsaicin limits a few times, but luckily was bailed out by the bottle of whipped cream they keep behind the counter. And a seed was planted.
I want people to experience great hot sauce. Unless you go to a really diverse grocery store, or a specialty store, you don’t get to see many options for delicious hot sauces, and other spicy condiments & foods. I certainly enjoy many of the well established brands, but variety is the spice of life! I want to bring incredible, unique craft products to the market that draw attention to the ingredients, as well as both the taste and health benefits of hot peppers. I also want to push the boundaries of experiencing great heat, so our initial launch includes a Sriracha, Wing Sauce, Hot Honey, and two Hot Maple Syrups, in addition to five Hot Sauces.
Once I saw Jaws as a kid, I was hooked as a shark addict, but because of awe, respect, and curiosity, not fear. Although, I can't pretend I wasn't nervous the first time I swam with a Great Hammerhead Shark off the Island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas (Spoiler Alert - I survived).
I gave my daughter the middle name 'Ellen" as a tribute to the lead female character in Jaws, Ellen Brody....so yes, I'm into Jaws and Sharks. Things changed for me when I went to JawsFest on Martha's Vineyard in 2012. I was able to meet Wendy Benchley, the wife of the late author of Jaws, Peter Benchley. I learned about her
We’ll be selling our products online on our website, shop.thespicyshark.com, through a growing distributor network in the Northeast, as well as an array of events and festivals throughout the country. I hope to see you! We want you to know about, and enjoy Spice & Sharks as much as us!