Sauce a hot winner

By Barb Brouwer

Denzel Sandberg likes hot stuff, and it shows.

His Kamikaze Hot Sauce won third place in the World Beat category of the 2003 Scovie Awards.

The Scovie Awards, which are presented by Fiery-Foods and Barbecue Magazine, along with Sunbelt Shows, producers of the National Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show, were announced Nov. 1 in Albuquerque , NM .

Named for Wilbur Scoville, who pioneered a rating scale for spicy foods, the awards have become the industry standard for excellence in over 60 categories of fiery foods. More than 500 products were entered.

Sandberg says he went from eating hot sauces, to collecting them to getting basic instructions on making a simple Caribbean hot sauce.

When his sauces drew raves from friends, Sandberg began selling it out of his Prince George music store. As demand grew, Sandberg says he needed a commercial kitchen before he could increase production.

In May, he found the kitchen he needs at Community Futures in the industrial park, where he rents space on production days.

Delighted with the acclaim, especially after being in business for a mere six months, Sandberg says it is amazing to have won an award in one of the food industry’s most prestigious events.

Sandberg’s hot sauces are available at De Mille’s and Wholesome Gourmet and is used at Rosa ’s Cantina, Setter’s, Rio Grande and numerous other Okanagan restaurants.

Dave DeWitt, considered the father of the fiery foods industry and producer of the U.S. National Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show, says as the North American palate has become more global, fiery food products have become more gourmet and designed less for shock value.

“This year’s Scovie winners really exemplify the diversity and quality of this industry,” he says. “It is not so much about heat as about the wonderful flavors of fiery foods.”

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© Copyright 2002 Salmon Arm Observer