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Saucy Success

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By B.C. MANION | The Tampa Tribune,

Published: July 23, 2008

NORTHDALE Michele Northrup's idea for her gourmet organic-sauce business sprouted in the garden at Learning Gate Community School.

Northrup, who works as a fundraiser at the elementary school, was out in the garden working with the children as they tended a carrot crop.

Their enthusiasm was infectious, said Northrup, who is a hot-sauce aficionado.

She was so inspired she went home that April weekend slightly more than a year ago and began puttering in her kitchen — experimenting with flavors to concoct her own brand of hot sauce.

After mixing a little of this and a little of that — and a little more of this and a little less of that — she came up with Hot², and Intensity Academy was born.

The sauce combines carrots, hot peppers and a smattering of other ingredients.

"I wanted to mix the natural sweetness of carrot, without adding sugar, to see how it would blend with the habanero. I know there are carrot hot sauces on the market, but most of them use carrot juice or it's 90 percent water," Northrup said.

She wanted a pulpy texture, so she used the entire carrot.

Her next sauce, a hotter version of the first, is called Hot³.

She also offers Chai Chipotle sauce, Carrot Karma and, her most popular, Chai Chipotle Chup — a chai tea-infused spicy ketchup.

Most recently, she created two new blends: a Chai Thai Teriyaki, which is a spicy, Thai-flavored, chai-infused teriyaki sauce and a Green Tea Gourmet, a milder, more traditional teriyaki marinade.

The name of Northrup's business was inspired by its beginning, and the names of her sauces are drawn from academic or organic references. Her bottle labels sport a chalkboard — another reference to her school theme.

When she started the business, Northrup said she had no idea it would be so well-received by customers or attract such favorable attention.

Since then, her Chai Chipotle Chup won first place in the ketchup division of the condiments category in the 2008 Scovie awards, a widely known hot-sauce and condiments contest held annually in Albuquerque, N.M.

The spicy ketchup also got a mention in Southern Living.

Her Hot² won second place in September in the habanero hot-sauce category of the Fiery Food competition in Fort Worth, Texas.

Customers are responding well, too, said Northrup, who introduced her sauces during last year's race for Lutz Guv'na.

The mock election, held annually, is a friendly contest, pitting competitors against each other to raise money for community causes.

The candidate raising the most money wins.

Northrup was tapped by her school to compete for the honorary post — and the timing was perfect for launching her new business, she said.

"I brought the sauces to all of the functions, and I sold them and I donated all of the money," Northrup said. She raised $16,912 in her campaign, setting an individual fundraising record for the race.

She also began marketing her products at local businesses and selling her sauces and condiments at arts and crafts shows and at hot sauce trade shows.

Northrup has them bottled at Bodine Etc. in Clearwater. She has sold more than 13,000 bottles — including about 3,100 bottles of her gourmet ketchup.

A lot of her business came during the holidays, with people buying gift baskets or cases of her sauces so they could give friends or employees a bottle of something unusual.

Her sauces sell for $5.99 each; her ketchup sells for $6.99.

Northrup was thrilled when her ketchup took first place in its category at the Scovie awards.

It's a huge honor, Northrup said.

Last year's competition drew more than 700 products in 62 categories, said Dave DeWitt, publisher of Fiery Foods & BBQ magazine and co-producer of the Scovie Awards.

The awards are named after Wilbur Scoville, who invented the heat scale for chili peppers.

Besides earning bragging rights, winning the contest can lead to lucrative deals for sauce makers.

"Buyers for specialty stores and places like Whole Foods go to our Web site to find out what won," DeWitt said.

Northrup's next quest is to put all of her products up against other specialty sauces in the America's Best Professional Food Competition in Anaheim, Calif. The contest and trade show are in mid-August.

Northrup said it's hard to believe how much has happened since she first began experimenting with sauces in her kitchen.

She foresees a new pasta sauce is in her future, and expects to create other new blends as well.

She enjoys the thrill of creation too much to put away her measuring cups and spoons.

"If I won the lottery, I would still do this because it's so much fun."

Reporter B.C. Manion can be reached at (813) 865-1507 or bmanion@tampatrib.com.

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