You’d think making hot sauce would be a fiery endeavour but for five friends who grew up in Canberra it’s an ‘uber cool’ thing to do.
Handsome Devils Co, only formed in 2013, has blown the lid of matters having just had its De Arbol hot sauce ranked number one in the country by Good Food Australia. Not bad for a boutique business.
The seed for Handsome Devils was planted after Ryan Brown, Ian Nicholas, Stuart Miller, Mark Vicol, and Shannon Douglas, who have known each other for 25 years, spent time travelling in the US where they fell in love with Mexican cuisine.
When they returned to the land down under they discovered there was no genuine equivalent available here. Not good enough, they thought. ‘Let’s make our own.’
While it all started fooling around in the kitchen, it wasn’t long before a company was born, in Bronte, and a range of four sauces on the boil.
Don’t freak out thinking ‘hot sauce’ equals ‘blow your brains out’. These sauces focus on flavour and co-founder and sauce creator Ryan is on a mission to make them every day kitchen condiments.
The range is made without compromise. No preservatives. No additives. No colours. No thickeners. They’re all created with love using ingredients sourced from Port Macquarie and surrounds. ‘Only some chillies come from Mexico, because they’re not available here,’ says Ryan.
The most popular is the sweet and smokey Chipolte, made with a secret mix of spices. It’s a great replacement for a barbeque sauce. The De Arbol is more traditional and made with two kinds of chillies. The Verde is tangy, herby and zesty and great with salads. The Savina is fruity, combining chilli, mango and coriander.
So how truly versatile are these sauces?
Ryan says very, with both savoury and sweet dishes. The chipotle, for example, is great with lamb stew. The De Arbol is superb with chicken or barramundi jambalaya. For sweets, the Savina works a treat for raw apricot and goji berry balls and the Chipolte for brownies or a decadent cacao tart.
Some of the ‘Handsome Devils’ have just spent some time in Canberra introducing their products on home territory. The products are available online or through a fair number of Canberra retailers. Head to www.handsomedevilsco.com for a list.
Photos: stuartmiller.com
