Gourmet Sauce Business Thrives in Soft Economy.

Our good friend Gary at The Black Market Condiment Company could use your vote! Click the image and vote for BMCC today and everyday until they win the Home-Based 100 contest. No registration is needed so vote daily to show your support!

Black Market Condiment Company are purveyors of gourmet-style condiment products including pepper sauces, dry rubs, marinades, grilling sauces, grilling sprays and more. All of our products are all natural, contain no additives or preservatives, are gluten free and vegan friendly.

We are a true home based start-up company in the truest sense. Founded in December 2005 in our kitchen, Black Market has already had it's fair share of bumps and bruises and almost didn't happen at all. In our first year of business our contract packager built all of our products wrong and would not make good on their mistake. After a lengthy (1-year) attempt at arbitration, we decided to cut our losses and liquidated our entire inventory for nickles on the dollar. We then spent the next 14 months, and a bunch more money, working with a new contract packager who flawlessly took us from point A to Z of the process and in March of this year delivered three delicious pepper sauces that are now on the shelves of major and independent grocers all across the California Central Coast. With the sauces selling very well, we are now in the process of initial talks with a handful of distributors with the goal of moving into the northern, central and southern California markets in the next six to nine months, and other states in the southwest corner of the U.S. in the next year.

There were many times that we would have liked to have thrown in the towel and called it quits, but the desire to succeed at something we are passionate about outweighed any sort of adversity and in the end has only made us a wiser and stronger company.

Recent press release:

New Paso Robles Condiment Company Launches First Products

PASO ROBLES, California – June 08, 2009 – Black Market Condiment Company, a new Paso Robles based producer of innovative gourmet-style condiment products, announced today the launch of the first three products from their Original Black Market Brand line of pepper sauces.

The first three products to be released are their fiery roasted garlic pepper sauce, chipotle pepper sauce, and black pepper blend pepper sauce. All three contain no additives or preservatives, are all natural, gluten-free, vegan friendly and in the medium heat range. Being gourmet-style products, they are fairly complex and are made with only the finest ingredients, perfect for beef, chicken, lamb, pork, seafood, veggies, and of course, taco night.

Original Black Market Brand pepper sauces are currently available at all central coast Albertsons stores, select Spencer’s Markets, Meridian Vineyards, and New Frontiers Natural Marketplace, with more stores being added weekly. They are also available online at www.originalblackmarketbrand.com.

“All three of the Black Market pepper sauces have been very well received by local consumers,” says owner Gary Gannon. “We are thrilled to finally have our products out there and available to the consumer. Everyone who’s tried them absolutely loves them. They become instant fans and repeat customers,” he added. “We’re going to begin doing tasting demos at the stores that carry our line so that those who haven’t tried our products can have a taste and see for themselves why people are excited about them.”

Black Market Condiment Company is committed to providing high-quality and creative new products to those who wish to bring a new flavor dimension to their meals. Future product releases will include a full line of gourmet-style marinades, grilling sauces, dry rubs, and grilling sprays.

Is What You See, What You Get? Chili's Grill.

Have you ever gone into one of those family style or chain restaurants where the menu is loaded with pictures of the food? You know the menus with pictures of giant burgers or steaks dripping with melting compound butter.

How about prepared food packages with the beautifully styled food on the box. Have you ever been disappointed or maybe surprised by the quality of the contents?

In this new section of The Last Bite we'll look at the art of food marketing. You will see the difference between what you were promised and what you actually receive.

Today we visited Chili's Grill & Bar, an international restaurant chain. Chili's loves to fill their menu with seductive shots of sexy food to entice you.

We ordered the JALAPEÑO SMOKEHOUSE BACON BIG MOUTH BURGER described in the menu as:

Extra thick-cut applewood smoked bacon topped with smoked cheddar cheese, crispy tortilla strips, jalapeños, mayo, shredded lettuce, tomato and onion. Served with jalapeño-ranch dressing.

And here is the accompanying photo:

How could you not want to get this beauty? Look at that thick sliced bacon, crispy tortilla strips, melty cheese, and perfect patty nestled atop perfect layers of produce and sliced pickled jalapenos. Notice how the seeded bun is perched perfectly to show off those lean strips of perfectly crisped bacon. This is truly a masterpiece of a burger. I'm sure glad I ordered it! But is this what I got?.....

OK so admittedly this burger is not as pretty as the photo in the menu, but no one expected it to be, did they? It is however pretty darned close. All the elements of the picture are represented in the real deal and with a bit more care I bet Chili's could actually get a few out a day that almost hit the mark. It be nice if the bacon wasn't trying to escape off the side of the burger. It would also be nice if the bacon was even half a crisp as the bacon in the picture appeared to be. You don't see any translucent fatty bacon on the top picture do you? Even though you don't see tomato in the real deal it was there, and the tortilla strips tasted like they had been in the kitchen for a month but in all fairness this is an likeness comparison and the strips in the menu picture could be made of Kevlar and fiberglass for all I know.

All in all I'm gonna have to give Chili's Grill a WYSIWYG Grade C. When it comes to the JALAPEÑO SMOKEHOUSE BACON BIG MOUTH BURGER What you see is almost what you get. And what you will get when you order this in undoubtedly full!

Do you have a WYSIWYG? Send us the information and we'll follow up, or send us your photos and we'll post them for other to see If What You See Is What You Get!

Just Simply Great Products!

Our friends at Just Simply Good Stuff sent us a box of sample to check out and we have been dragging our feet or tongues, getting to the taste tests. So recently we went on a total taste test rampage and dove head first into this box of savory spice blends.

Robin Carter’s seasonings are all created from scratch using her own recipes. They grind and mix individual chilies, herbs, and spices to create unique dry rubs and blends, and salt is only used to enhance the blends not weigh them down. Their spice blends are all natural, contain no MSG, and are simply delicious.

As it turns out Just Simply Good Stuff is more like Really Great Stuff! It has taken us quite some time to get through all the items that we received because they are so versatile we kept finding new uses for them. A favorite of our; the Lemon Lime Salt is fantastic on Beer Can Chicken. The Wild Game Rub elevated my Grilled Tri-Tip to new heights, and the Smoky Jalapeno Rub was extraordinary as a pre-seasoning for hot wings. We also used the Lemon Lime salt to make some remarkable Tequila Lime Prawns!

For those of you whom have been to the Just Simply Good Stuff website you know there is a library of recipes and serving suggestions that show you great ways to use these wonderful products. We went through and recreated a few of these to get a feel for how Robin intended the spice blends to be used. We were very pleased with the results! Here are the recipes that we used:

Smoky Jalapeno Corn on the Cob

Butter corn, sprinkle with Smoky Jalapeno Rub & Smoky Mesquite salt. Wrap in foil, grill or bake. This recipe is especially handy when you're feeding a crowd. Just unwrap the corn and you're good to go! (No need to pass around all of the butter and salt & pepper… it's already done!)

Grilled Zucchini

Slice zucchini lengthwise, layer 3 - 4 sheets of paper towels, lay slices on and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt, let set for about 20 minutes to draw out some moisture, rinse lightly and pat dry, brush both sides lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle on Mediterranean Medley and Lemon/Lime salt lightly on one side; grill (2-3 min) until you get golden brown grill marks, flip & repeat. Remove, sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve immediately while hot.

Holiday Prime Rib Roast

Prime Rib Rub

1 Prime Rib Roast 7-8 lbs (or about 4-5 ribs)

Directions

Ask the butcher for the small end of the Prime. Season generously on all sides with our Prime Rib Rub, Place Roast bone side down in a hot pre-heated oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees and cook about 20 to 30 minutes per pound. Test the beef with a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the roast (center of the eye) being careful not to touch the bone. Remove the roast when the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees for rare, 140 for medium rare or 150 degrees for medium. Cover the roast loosely with aluminum foil and let sit for 1/2 hour. The internal roast temperature will continue to rise about 5 degrees even after you take it out of the oven.

You can see how simple it is to get great results with Just Simply Good Stuff products. Try some of these unique and delicious blends and soon you will have your own favorite way to prepare Simply Great Food!

FREE Hot Sauce at RoJosGourmet

Once again RoJosGourmet.com is giving away FREE Gourmet hot sauce. The sauce that has been selected for this special is the best selling hot sauce in the RoJo's Gourmet Foods line-up.

Monty's Gourmet Foods Uses Only The Finest Green Jalapeno Peppers In This Gourmet Blend Of Peppers & Spices To Ensure Our Great Customers Get The Best Hot Sauce Possible. A new release, Green Scream jalapeno hot sauce has already won awards for its incredibly fresh taste. The fiendish Chile pepper bearing lizard on this label was created by the world famous Dave Kellett; creator of the Sheldon comic strip.

Current Awards:
* Second Place - 2007 Scovie Awards - Hot Sauce - Specialty Chile Category

* Second Place - 2008 Fiery Foods Challenge - Hot Sauce: Specialty

* Third Place - 2008 Fiery Foods Challenge - Hot Sauce: Louisiana Style

All you need to do is place the Monty's Green Scream Hot Sauce in your shopping cart and enter the Promo Code: FREEGSHS. The price of the hot sauce will be deducted when you apply the coupon code.

Other coupon codes currently offered at RoJosGourmet.com are 5OFF for $5 off of any shopping cart with a $50 total. Any shopping cart totaling $99 automatically get FREE FedEx Ground or Home delivery.

See you at RoJo's Gourmet Foods. The Tastiest Place in Cyberspace!

Recipe: Spaghetti A La Mexicana

This recipe for a Latin inspired spaghetti was developed by the good people at the Scorpion Bay Hot Sauce Company. We recommend this version to spice things up a bit and bring your taste buds back to life. Winter can really dull your senses with all that bland comfort food.

Ingredients:

• 6 Jalapenos diced
• 2 Bell Peppers, Red or Green diced
• 2 Tomatoes diced
• 1 Large Onion diced
• 2 Large Portabella Mushrooms diced
• 5 Sticks Celerydiced
• 1 Bunch Cilantro Minced
• 4 Garlic Cloves Finely Minced
• 1 Bottle Scorpion Bay De Arbol Hot Sauce (Adjust more or less according to personal taste)

Additional Ingredients:

2 large cans Spaghetti Sauce, use your favorite flavor
1 Pound ground turkey or ground beef
4 Tb Chili Powder
3 Tb Italian Seasoning
1 Large Bag Monterey Cheese, shredded

Simple Directions:

1. Saute onions and garlic, saute until onions are translucent.
2. Add 1 pound ground turkey or ground beef, and spices cook meat until brown.
3. Add all other vegetables, spaghetti sauce, cilantro and hot sauce.
4. Simmer for 20-30 minutes Boil pasta in water until cooked al dente.
5. Plate the pasta, add sauce, top with a large mound of cheese and serve!

Scorpion Bay Gourmet Hot Sauce sizzles at the San Diego Fancy Food Show.

(PRLEAP.COM) January 11, 2008 – To a gourmet hot sauce company, an opportunity like this is the key ingredient to gaining worldwide exposure. Such is the case for Scorpion Bay Hot Sauce. Scorpion Bay will be a featured exhibitor for the first time at the 2008 Winter Fancy Food Show, held at the San Diego Convention Center on January 13th—15th. The show, now in its thirty-third year, features more than 1,100 exhibitors from around the globe, and offers over 100,000 individual food items to sample.

“It’s a spectacular opportunity to put us on the “taste radar” of a much wider audience,” says Scorpion Bay’s founder and Encinitas resident Rob Burns. Burns, whose love of surfing and extensive travels throughout coastal Mexico first attracted him to the flavors of the region, began experimenting with thicker, Baja-inspired sauces from his kitchen. When his friends’ demand for these homemade sauces exceeded his ability to produce them, he realized that he had something special, and Scorpion Bay Hot Sauce was launched.

It’s been quite a ride as of late for this enthusiastic purveyor of hot sauce. Since his company’s humble inception, Burns is thrilled to add that he’s doubled sales every quarter, a remarkable feat in such a competitive marketplace. And his success hasn’t gone unnoticed. Just last year Scorpion Bay teamed up with the Southern California based retailer/distributor Hot Licks. In no time at all, customers were buying up Scorpion Bay’s unique flavors, and sales went skyward. So when Hot Licks decided to exhibit at this year’s Fancy Food Show, inviting its featured vendor was a natural choice.

At the show you’ll have an opportunity to get a taste of Scorpion Bay Hot Sauce served up on an iconic Baja offering—fish tacos. Attendees will get to sample from the company’s three eclectic flavors: HotAcado Avocado, De Arbol and Chocopotle Chipotle Hot Sauce. What makes all of these sauces stand apart is their consistency, which is noticeably thicker than traditional commercial hot sauces. Scorpion Bay’s motto, “Do what you love—do it well and you will never go wrong,” is found on the side of every bottle.

Full story Here

Surfing and Hot Sauce Meet at Scorpion Bay

Warm up your chilly winter night with the taste of Baja Mexico.

Upon returning home from numerous surfing adventures, they'd often find themselves craving that spicy, robust flavor synonymous with the Baja palette. So, with the knowledge amassed from the many adventures, complemented by a hearty dose of experimentation, three unique gourmet-style hot sauces that echoed the true taste of Baja were created. Enter Scorpion Bay Hot Sauce.

So, what makes Scorpion Bay unique, you ask? For starters, the gourmet-style sauces are unmistakably thick. As in T-H-I-C-K! Instead of making them easier to pour by thinning our sauces, they simply redesigned the bottles with a wider opening. And Scorpion Bay Hot Sauces can be used in a variety of ways: as a marinade, a delicious spike for chili, soups and salad dressings, and of course, all of your favorite Mexican foods. Better yet, come up with your own recipe and let us know. After all, variety is the spice of life!

Chocopotle Chipotle Hot Sauce Smoky. thick. Sweet. And a slight hint of chocolate. We combined them all, and added a few sprinkles of our own secret ingredients to bring you Chocopotle! A perfect as a marinade for pork or Portobello mushrooms. Thinking about a BBQ? Brush it on tofu, meat or whatever you have grilling over the coals. Once you've tasted this unforgettable hot sauce you'll find yourself saying, Chocopotle, where have you been all my life!

De Arbol Hot Sauce. Close your eyes and picture the quintessential hole-in-the-wall Baja taco shop. See that bowl of fresh homemade hot sauce on the table? Yep, that's what we've made. We took those De Arbol chili peppers people love, added creamy tomatillos and soon had a thick, fiery, authentic taco shop style hot sauce literally brimming from the bottle. Go ahead introduce it to chili, pizza, chips, fish tacos,the list is infinite as the flavor!

Like nothing you have tasted before, Hotacado Avocado Hot Sauce, this tasty original combines two staples of Baja--Haas avocados and fresh, sun-ripened jalapeno to create an unmistakably thick and creamy green sauce. Of course, you'll also taste that signature Scorpion Bay kick! Spike up your salad dressing, pour it into a bowl as a chip dip, add a splash to your eggs and be sure to have it on hand when the fish tacos are on the table.

Follow the link to find even more interesting gourmet gift on sale now!

Surf the Flavors of Baja...

Monty's Gourmet Score FIVE More Awards

Gourmet Sauce maker Monty Fritts has done it again at this years Scovie Awards. The Scovie Awards are the National Fiery Foods competition that all spicy food and barbecue manufactures look to as an industry standard of excellence. This competition is held each year at the National Fiery Food Show in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Monty has been winning awards at this competition for years and this year is no exception. He has brought home four awards for 2008.

This years winning products are:

Monty's Smokin' Roasted Garlic Barbecue Sauce - 2nd Place
Monty's Fire Lizard Hot Sauce - 2nd Place
Monty's Party Picante Roasted Garlic - 2nd Place
Monty's Party Picante Cranberry - 3rd Place
Monty's Party Black Bean & Corn Chipotle - 3rd Place

You can get more details at www.montysgourmet.com or even buy these awesome sauces there!

If you would like to try any of Monty's award winning simply follow the link and start shopping. You can get an additional 10% off your order by entering the code: SCOVIES08 upon checking out.

Review: Monty's Green Scream Jalapeno Hot Sauce

Being an avid hot sauce eater, every now and then I find myself temporarily departing the blazing realm of the Habanero in search of something that teases me with slightly less heat and more complex flavors. Since this sauce took a second place Scovie in the Specialty Chile category I figured it might be worth the time and taste buds. IT WAS!

Initial Impression: When I first approached the bottle I was intrigued by the spiffy little lizard on the label. Upon closer investigation I came to learn, from the side panel, that the art was created by no other that the famous Dave Kellett. For those of you whom might not know Mr. Kellett, he is the creator of the well known Sheldon Comic strip. I really liked the art; this little lizard with his flaming chili in hand, and his devilish grin taunting you as if he is daring you to try his sauce.

Ingredients: Jalapeno Peppers, Tomatillo, Onions, Vinegar, Garlic, Cilantro, Spices, Salt, Xanthan Gum. This ingredient list checks out A-OK with me. All natural, no preservatives, and peppers are the first ingredient in this list.

Appearance: This sauce has an impressive appearance. It has a nice natural looking green color, no freaky kryptonite, day glo. Upon closer inspection you can see little bits of garlic and spice, and tiny little bits of cilantro. It has a thick yet smooth texture and a slightly glossy appearance. This is without a doubt one of the sexiest jalapeno sauces I have ever seen. I’m getting excited about tasting it!

Aroma: WOW! That’s how I feel about the way this sauce smells. When I uncap this bottle and take a healthy whiff at the neck my mouth instantly starts to water. You can actually smell this sauce in layers. I have the bottle uncapped and in front of me as I type this review. So here is what I smell; Jalapeno is definitely the first thing to hit your nose, followed by garlic and onion and then the tangy tomatillo comes through. A couple of more whiffs and you can clearly pick out some spices, to me it seems like chili powder and maybe cumin. Let’s Eat!

Taste: Jalapenos and tomatillo are a classic combination; this sauce gets the balance perfectly. The tangy tomatillo zaps the tip and sides of your tongue while the jalapeno heat kind of lingers on the center of your tongue and the roof of your mouth. There are garlicky flavors and cilantro and spices bounce around your mouth. You will actually taste every ingredient as it pops out and makes a guest appearance. On the heat scale of 1-10 I would give this sauce about a 5. While it might be little light in the heat department for the Chile-head that is always looking for liquid napalm, it is a very well balanced sauce and does not get lost in food.

The Food Test: Pizza was the weapon of choice for this sauce. Bad pizza at that, I won’t name names, but this is a $5 pizza from a warming oven. You can see from the picture I really wanted the sauce to fix the pizza, and guess what, it did! It was actually so good I ended up eating about 4 slices and consumed half the bottle of sauce. What a great fusion. The flavors in this sauce blended perfectly with the cardboard pizza and made it pleasurable. I figured if Green Scream can make this meal enjoyable, it is worth every penny I spent on it!

Conclusion: Tangy and spicy, green and fresh. This is one of the finest jalapeno sauces I have ever tasted. Alone, it was alive in my mouth showing off its complexity. On Food, it has the ability to revive any dish and bring happy hot sauce joo joo to your mouth. Whether it’s a cardboard pizza, your favorite omelet, a taco, burrito, or an awesome meal cooked by your Mom, Monty’s Gourmet Foods Green Scream Jalapeno Sauce will add flavor and excitement to anything it touches.

Packaging 9/10 – Dave Kellet from Sheldon Comics
Aroma 10/10 – Fresh, Green Alive & Tangy
Appearance 10/10 – Smooth & Sexy
Taste 10/10 – Complex
Heat 5/10 –Jalapeno & Tomatillo with Herbs & Spices.

Overall 9/10