BACCHANAL PEPPER SAUCE: A One of a Kind, Hot Sauce Elixir

"Like everybody else, I have Tabasco getting dusty in my cupboard. For me, it's always been about fresh peppers."

Meet Sonya Samuel, the founder and owner behind Bacchanal Pepper Sauce, a Brooklyn made, Caribbean-hot, soul-satisfying pepper sauce that recently launched in New York City. Like her hot sauce, Sonya too is a party. She throws around "hey babys" like I throw around smiles, engaging people with a lust-for-life attitude that you're always glad to bump up into, when you do. Now, Sonya LOVES food. And I'm not saying it just to say it. I'm saying it because it's something she'll tell you often - and often with a very vocal opinion. She knows what she likes and doesn't like, and isn't shy about picking dishes apart. I appreciate that about her. She knows and trusts her palate, and I think that's why her hot sauce is SO GOOD. She has standards...very high standards. Sonya wants her pepper sauce to represent what she believes in food: that good food should create memories and moments. It should "transport" you. And, you know what, I'll give it to her. This pepper sauce is like a nice, spicy vacation.

Enjoy her story!

For the full post, visit: http://www.foodcurated.com

I say play, I say go for it, you know.

No bars held, or hold, or whatever.
(Laughter)

(Liza) No holds barred.

(Sonia) No holds barred.
(Laughter)

I say play with it,
I say go all in, you know.

No bars - what the hell?

I can't even frigging remember
how to say this.

And now I just moved out of your...
(Laughter)

- (Liza) No holds barred.
- (Sonia) No holds barred.

(Liza) Maybe you need
a different sentence.

(Sonia) Forget it. I won't say it.

♪ (music) ♪

(Sonia) The reason why I love peppers
is that... it's like chocolate, you know,

it's very sensual,
but it's very dangerous.

And these peppers are really dangerous.

(Laughter)

When I told my aunt that
I was gonna be making pepper sauce,

she was like, "Make sure you cover
your face and your hands",

and it's so true.

This is no joke.

You need to be really prepared for this.

Hi, my name is Sonya and
I'm the owner of Bacchanal Sauce LLC,

and the maker of Bacchanal Pepper Sauce
here in Brooklyn, New York.

♪ (music) ♪

I'm preparing to get down
and dirty with the peppers.

First of all, people just get excited
when you say you make pepper sauce.

(Laughter)

People get excited
when you talk about peppers,

when you talk about heat,

I always love pepper sauce.

You know, in the Caribbean
everyone makes their own pepper sauce,

and so, it was me
taking something that I knew

and kind of taking it to the next level.

So, we're in the kitchen

and I'm going to show you a little bit
how we make the bacchanal pepper sauce.

First of all, we have
a lot of amazing fruits

and that's what really give it
a lot of flavors.

The pepper sauce is called bacchanal
because a bacchanal is like a party,

it's like, you know, you have revelers,
you have people enjoying themselves,

and when you have the pepper sauce
that's what it feels like you're doing,

not only you have all these flavors
coming together and it's like a party,

but also, you know,
when you put it on something

it really enhances your food,

and that's what the word
really means to me.

You're having a party,
you're relaxing, you're chilling out,

and you're having your pepper sauce!

♪ (music) ♪

Now, we're at the fun part,

we get to blend everything together,

and it's like a real bacchanal,
it's a party so...

Everyone gets to go into the blender
and get all mixed up together.

♪ (music) ♪

I love to use Scotch Bonnet peppers
and also Habanero peppers,

and that's because... of course
they are from the same family,

and they also meld well with
all of these like, very unique fruits.

(Liza) You grew up on this.

(Sonia) Yeah, I mean, well,
I grew up on pepper. (Laughter)

I grew up on pepper, I grew up on heat,
that's something I'm very familiar with,

it's so funny, because when I started
making my pepper sauce,

I went out and got a lot of hot sauces.

And I just tried a lot, and...

I was like, absolutely amazed
because I really felt like,

maybe there would have been
something a little bit like it out there,

or something at least,
you know, very flavorful,

and I find that so many hot sauces
that I tried were either full of mustard

or they just weren't even hot!
(Laughter)

♪ (music) ♪

So, when it comes to the spices,

I made the sauce, you know, several times,

but I thought it needed
a different type of heat

so I decided to add the cayenne,

and then, the all spices, cinnamon,
very traditional Caribbean spices,

and so they all
really blend well together...

nothing sort of stands out, you know,
it's just a a very nice blend.

(Liza) You're not out to kill people.

(Sonia) No, I'm not out to kill people...

I'm not out to kill people with heat,
however, it is hot.

It's fun, it's lots of fun!
(Laughter)

I'm being a little careful here

because you can already feel
the fumes coming out from the peppers.

♪ (music) ♪

(Sonia) Yeah, baby!

♪ (music) ♪

(Sonia) Yeah, baby!

(Sonia) The type of food that people
can put this on...

You can really put it on anything,
I'd say be creative,

I'm about being creative in the kitchen

and I think that when you have
any type of condiment,

be creative with it!

Because you can really excite yourself,
and excite your friends and families

when you start to really be
creative with your food.

But I think that it is amazing
on chicken wings;

I think it's amazing on corn,

I love it on sandwiches...

you can put it on
just grilled vegetables...

I just think it pairs well
with a lot of different things,

so I'd say, go for it!

♪ (music) ♪

(Sonia) I'm just looking to be able
to taste all of the flavors...

I'm looking to be able to taste
a little bit of tartness, of sweetness,

and then, the heat.

Here it goes!

Yeah, baby!

Oh my God...

You get that heat at the back,
the heat at the front,

and you get the sweetness.

So good.

- (Liza) Does it hit you right away?
- (Sonia) Hits you right away.

(Liza) You almost couldn't take that!

(Sonia) I couldn't, yeah!
(Laughter)

(Sonia) When people eat it, I just imagine
they're enjoying themselves,

I imagine... I love food!
(Laughter)

And I love eating something
and feeling like I'm trying to pour it,

and that's what I really want for people
when they have the pepper sauce.

♪ (music) ♪

Yeah, baby!

You get the heat,
you get the heat right here...

It's just good! (Laughter)

(Sonia) It's fun work, it's good work,
it's work that I love.

(Liza) You're proud of it.

(Sonia) Yeah, and I'm very proud of it,

I'm very proud when people taste it,

I'm very proud to show it off,

I'm proud to be a pepper sauce maker.
(Laughter)

♪ (music) ♪

Can you tell I'm all about flavors?
(Laughter)

♪ (music) ♪

(Sonia) My favorite reaction
is when people love pepper

and they eat it and they are,

"Hmmm... yeah, this is good!"

and you know, those are the people
that are the real pepper heads,

the people that, you know, love pepper,
it can even be hotter for them,

I love those people!

When those people come up to me
when they taste the pepper sauce,

I'm like, yeah, you're man,
you're woman to my own heart, you know,

because they get so excited about it
and I love... I love those people!

But I also love the timid people too,

I also love the people, who are like,
"Just give me a little drop".

(Laughter)

♪ (outro music) ♪

English subtitles by
Jenny Lam- Chowdhury