New Feature: Our Producers Spotlight

Announcing a New Feature Section for our Peppermaster newsletter which will spotlight the hot pepper farmers, tomato, onion and garlic farmers, and other local and foreign suppliers, we work with. This will be a good opportunity to get to know your local farm producers.

When Greg and I started Peppermaster in 2003, we sort of thought we'd take over the world with the brand. Little did we know there is actually a ceiling in Canada for home any people can actually eat chilli peppers or even hot, hot sauce. It was so empty a market, at the time, you were lucky if you could find jalapenos or banana peppers at Jean Talon Market.

As a result, as we were doing our market research, we realized that Purée de l’ouragan was going to be a runaway hit because it really showed off exactly why we are doing what we do; it's hot, it's fresh, and it tastes great! The farmers who plant the seeds that become the food we put into our jars are EXACTLY why we do this, because they are good at it. So, we wanted to spotlight them and give them the honours and glory that they deserve.

«I cannot tell you how much hard work growing chilli peppers to make hot sauce actually is.»

Greg and I tried growing peppers when we first started. I cannot tell you how much hard work growing chilli peppers to make hot sauce actually is. So, it wasn't long before we realized that we would be far better off if we could get local farmers growing peppers for us.

It started off simply enough, local small plot pepper farmers like David Croteau were just starting out and although there was minimal supply of varieties, it began in earnest.

Since 2003, we have been focused on local farmers supplying us with real food ingredients. As you may know, we have worked with both local farmers and farmers in other countries to create not only the market for local farmers to have

an outlet should the grow more peppers than we were able to buy, but also a market for the farmers in Haiti, Borneo, Mexico, and Jamaica.

We can't guarantee you that in any given year we are going to have local peppers, but we are working on ensuring that we use local produce as often as possible. As altruistic as our efforts sound, our desire really is to have food ingredients that are as local as possible because fruits and vegetables ALWAYS taste better when they are harvested at the peak of ripeness.