Come get your game on while getting your taco and tequila fix at Loteria Taco Tuesday at El Granjero Cantina, L.A.’s most colorful Mexican cantina!
Starting this Tuesday, September 13th, 2022 and specially selected Tuesday evenings through November 2022
Guests can come play Loteria from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm while enjoying special $10 Taco & Baby Nacho Specials, Taco Tuesday Special, Handcrafted and Frozen Margaritas, Carafes of Margaritas, Prizes, and much more.
With its lively, bright, and inviting indoor-outdoor seating and great patio for people watching, El Granjero (pronounced gran-heh-roh) Cantina is introducing
El Granjero Cantina’ s Loteria Taco Tuesday
starting Tuesday, September 13th and then running on Tuesday, September 27th, Tuesday, October 4th, Tuesday, October 18th, Tuesday, November 8th and Tuesday, November 22nd, where guests can grab their sombreros while playing a lively game of Loteria, a traditional game of chance, like bingo, but uses beans and images on cards rather than numbered ping pong balls.
Guests can enjoy Executive Chef Jenni Sklar’s modern Mexican specials
featuring her Chicken Dorado Tacos ($10) with salsa verde, sour cream and cotija cheese, Avocado Tacos ($10) made with chipotle aioli, marinated kale, corn salsa, and pickled red onion, Carnitas Tacos ($10) served with braised pork, guacamole, cheese and pickled red onions, Baby Nachos made with Guajillo cheese sauce, shredded cheese, black olives, pickled red onions, salsa verde, pico de gallo and sour cream, and guests can add their choice of protein including Pork Carnitas, Soyrizo or Tomatillo Chicken ($5), Braised Beef ($6.50), or Steak ($10) with an additional side of Guacamole ($4).
El Granjero Cantina Taco Tuesday Special
Chef Jenni is also offering up a Taco Tuesday Special ($25) featuring one Taco Plate with a choice of Chicken, Carnitas or Avocado Tacos and one Classic or Skinny Margarita.
Keep the party going
El Granjero Cantina keeps the party going by offering up Frozen Margaritas and Frozen Mojito’s ($10) and EGC Margaritas By The Carafe
including Classic, Skinny or Watermelon Margaritas ($44), Cadillac Margaritas ($50) or fresh Mango Margaritas ($54) to share with the entire table!
El Granjero Cantina will be celebrating Loteria Taco Tuesday starting Tuesday, September 13th and then on Tuesday, September 27th, Tuesday, October 4th, Tuesday, October 18th, Tuesday, November 8th and Tuesday, November 22nd from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
For more information about El Granjero Cantina’s Loteria Taco Tuesday or to make reservations, please call 323.879.9324 directly or visit www.CantinaLA.com.
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Thanksgiving in Los Angeles: the perfect stuffing bread DOES exist – and it’s… [Recipe Inside]
This Thanksgiving, the perfect stuffing bread DOES exist – and it’s brioche. As in St Pierre Brioche Thanksgiving Stuffing
No Thanksgiving spread is complete without a hearty stuffing. While add-ins are a matter of preference, choosing the right bread is crucial. One underrated choice is eggy, rich brioche – and with St Pierre Bakery, you don’t need to go to France to get it.
Thanks to its butter and egg content, St Pierre’s Brioche Loaf provides the perfect balance of crisp toastiness while remaining soft and creamy inside, while its lightly sweet flavor adds a decadent quality that can still lean savory. Attached below is an approachable recipe for stuffing allowing for all the craveable crunch for the whole family with minimal effort required.
St Pierre Brioche Thanksgiving Stuffing
By @BrandiMilloy
Ingredients
1 loaf St. Pierre Brioche Bread
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
3/4 cup celery, diced
3/4 cup carrots, diced
1 cup mushrooms, diced
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme, just the leaves
1 tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1 small apple (granny smith works well), peeled and diced
Salt and pepper
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut brioche bread into 1” cubes and bake for about 10-15 minutes until toasted.
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Meanwhile, into a pot over medium high heat add butter until melted. Add onion, celery and carrots and cook until everything starts to soften, about 7 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and set aside.
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Into a bowl whisk together the eggs, herbs, apples, mushrooms, and salt and pepper. Add your cooked vegetables and mix to combine.
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Pour mixture on top of toasted bread and stir to combine. Bake stuffing for about 45 minutes. If your stuffing starts to get too brown, cover until finished baking. Enjoy!
As America’s favorite brioche brand, St Pierre’s products are widely available via grocery stores nationwide as well as Walmart.
Holidays in Los Angeles: Dining in Beverly Hills: Mastro’s, FYC Bar + Kitchen AND Holiday Tamales from Tito’s
The Holidays in Los Angeles have never been more festive (or delicious) with holiday Dining at Mastro’s Beverly Hills, FYC Bar + Kitchen AND Holiday Tamales from Tito’s
The Holidays in Los Angeles at Hotel Amarano in Burbank
On Christmas Day from 3-10 p.m., FYC Bar + Kitchen at the luxury boutique Hotel Amarano in Burbank will be serving a special 3-course menu for just $70 per person (not including wine or cocktails).
The menu will include Butternut Squash Soup OR Radicchio Cup Mushroom Salad with avocado, chives & balsamic vinaigrette;
Apple Wood Bacon-Wrapped Filet Mignon with jumbo prawns, mashed potatoes, baby carrots & Brussels sprouts OR Pistachio-Crusted Roasted Sea Bass with citrus sauce, mashed potatoes, baby carrots & Brussels sprouts – and desserts such as Chocolate Lava Cake, New York Cheesecake, Apple Tarte Tatin or Crème Brûlée – along with coffee or tea.
The Holidays in Los Angeles at Mastro’s Beverly Hills
For classic Beverly Hills luxury, Mastro’s Beverly Hills will be open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, serving their fresh oysters, caviar, decadent seafood towers, steaks and sides galore, along with luscious desserts and handcrafted cocktails – even a succulent Rabbi’s Daughter Kosher Bone-In Ribeye 16oz Steak for anyone celebrating Hanukkah (or who just likes great steaks).
For the month of December, Mastro’s is offering a special holiday cocktail – Under The Mistletoe.
For those who want their holiday meal from the comfort of their own home, Mastro’s Beverly Hills will have their famously decadent side dishes to go this year!
The following sides will serve up to 4 people, and cost $62 each:
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans with Sliced Almonds
Creamed Corn
Creamed Spinach
For a sweet limited time finish, Mastro’s will have a gorgeous Pecan Pie as well as a special Cinnamon + Pecan Butter Cake – a twist on their famed Butter Cake – both available now through December 30.
To order Mastro’s Sides, guests just need to call the restaurant to order from December 1-22 they can pick them up on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Mastro’s will be open Christmas Eve from 3:00 PM – 10:00 PM, Christmas Day from 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM, New Year’s Eve from 5:00 PM to Midnight and New Year’s Day from 5:00 to 9:00 PM.
You can find their full menu here & as you likely know, the ambiance at Mastro’s every evening is like a party, with live music and white glove service.
They also have 2 private dining rooms for large parties of 40-50.
The Holidays in Los Angeles at Tito’s Tacos
Lastly – we love the tradition of Christmas Eve tamales, but they take hours to make.
The beloved, family-owned since 1959 Tito’s Tacos offers both a succulent Chicken Tamale – cilantro grilled chicken and Anaheim green chiles wrapped in homemade corn masa & steamed in a corn husk OR a Veggie Tamale, fresh veggies and pinto beans, wrapped in homemade corn masa and steamed in a corn husk.
You can buy them individually or by the dozen and the best part is that you can get them delivered straight to your door.
For more info, go to www.TitosTacos.com
Orders can be placed online for delivery or pickup on or before December 23.
About Mastro’s Steakhouse Beverly Hills
Mastro’s Steakhouse in Beverly Hills is a premier dining destination combining world class service with an elegant yet energetic ambiance, making it a popular choice for celebrities, locals and visitors.
Located at 246 North Canon Drive, Mastro’s features live music nightly, with signature menu highlights such as bone-in filet mignon, USDA Prime, Japanese A5 Wagyu, and True A5 Kobe steaks; lavish seafood towers featuring fresh oysters, shrimp, crab and lobster served in a swirl of dry ice mist, decadent lobster mashed potatoes, and Mastro’s famed Butter Cake, to name a few.
Open for dinner from 5:00 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
For more info, visit www.mastrosrestaurants.com
Palm Springs: Executive Chef Michael Hung Unveils flagship restaurant, Navigator, New Elevated Dining Voyage in Heart of the Desert
Palm Springs: Executive Chef Michael Hung Unveils flagship restaurant, Navigator, New Elevated Dining Voyage in Heart of the Desert Play Ground
Executive Chef Michael Hung Unveils flagship restaurant, Navigator, New Elevated Dining Voyage in Heart of Palm Springs
The Palm Springs Surf Club announces the opening of their flagship restaurant, Navigator, on Friday, November 15th, 2024!
Photo Credit: Oscar Flink
This innovative new dining destination bridges the worlds of desert living, hospitality, and surfing.
Guests will experience dramatic views of the San Jacinto Mountains, explore the expansive 13-acre property complete with resort amenities, and marvel at the sights and sounds of surfing in the state-of-the-art wave pool.
Photo Credit: Oscar Flink
Leading the Navigator team is acclaimed Executive Chef Michael Hung. As the Executive Chef of Navigator and Director of Food & Beverage for the Palm Springs Surf Club, Chef Hung brings his culinary artistry to this highly anticipated opening.
Executive Chef Michael Hung
Chef Hung’s impressive career spans from renowned New York kitchens Daniel and Aquavit, through San Francisco’s celebrated establishments, including the James Beard Award-winning team at Jardiniere, led by the renowned Chef Traci Des Jardins and Michelin-starred La Folie with Chef Roland Passot.
His culinary path has included Faith & Flower in Los Angeles which earned accolades from Esquire, Los Angeles Magazine, and Travel + Leisure.
Hung’s talent continued to shine with Viviane at the Avalon Hotel, praised by Los Angeles Times esteemed food critic Jonathan Gold and renowned San Francisco Chronicle food critic, Michael Bauer.
Chef Hung brought his expertise to the luxury hotel and hospitality scene in Palm Springs as the Executive Chef for Steve Hermann Hotels, where he revamped menus at The Colony Club at The Colony Palms and SO.PA at L’Horizon Resort and Hermann Bungalows, earning a Michelin Guide listing for The Colony Club.
Photo Credit: Oscar Flink
Now, at the Palm Springs Surf Club, he applies his expertise to both Navigator and the larger resort’s food and beverage offerings, promising an elevated dining experience rooted in a global culinary perspective.
Photo Credit: Oscar Flink
Navigator’s Menu will highlight modern American cuisine infused with influences from renowned surf locales, including flavors inspired by Portugal, Morocco, Mexico, Indonesia, and Hawaii. Each dish is crafted with the finest local ingredients, blending global flavors with a California sensibility.
Signature offerings include Olive & Herb Dinner Rolls with Tomato Jam, Crispy Wagyu Beef Cigars, Hawaiian-style Garlic Shrimp, and large-format dishes such as a Pan Roasted Whole Rainbow Trout or the 20-oz Ribeye with Bone Marrow Gremolata. Chef Hung’s thoughtfully curated Vegan options,Sides, and inventive Desserts like the Crème Catalan Parfait and Valrhona Dark Chocolate Mousse promise an array of flavors for every palate.
Photo Credit: Oscar Flink
The Wine List, curated by Beverage Director Anthony Dougherty emphasizes California’s finest labels, while Dougherty’s Bar Menufeatures a refreshing selection of Handcrafted Cocktails and a robust Tap Beer program highlighting local producers.
Photo Credit: Oscar Flink
Service will be led by renowned restaurateur, Cameron Hirigoyen, who for 30 years owned and operated San Francisco’s classic Basque restaurant, Piperade. Cameron brings her graceful poise and deep knowledge to Navigator’s dining room.
Navigator’s design pays homage to the oceanic heritage of South Pacific navigators—surfers who traversed seas by the stars, currents, and wildlife. The restaurant’s décor reflects this maritime inspiration, with custom teakwood furniture, woven textile ceiling treatments, and a hand-carved outrigger canoe serving as a focal point for the dining room. The ambiance combines nautical aesthetics with a luxurious, natural warmth, creating an upscale, intimate setting for guests to relax and dine in style.
“We are thrilled to welcome Michael Hung to the Palm Springs Surf Club family,”
Colin O’Byrne
managing partner
“His creativity and expertise are an ideal match for Navigator and our overall vision at the Palm Springs Surf Club, which is to offer guests an elevated dining experience and amenities alongside the world’s premier surf pool.”
Navigator at the Palm Springs Surf Club officially opens for Dinner on Friday, November 15th, 2024, and will be open every Monday through Sunday from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
Lunch is served Monday to Friday from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Navigator serves Weekend Brunchevery Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
The Happy Hour menu is available from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm Monday to Friday and from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday. For more information or reservations at Navigator, please visit www.NavigatorPS.com or call Navigator directly at 760.205.3634.
Navigator
Palm Springs Surf Club
1500 S. Gene Autry Trail
Palm Springs, CA 92264
T: 760.205.3634
About Palm Springs Surf Club: The Palm Springs Surf Club is an unparalleled destination, blending state-of-the-art wave technology with luxurious resort-style amenities. Guests can enjoy various attractions, from a winding lazy river to private cabanas by the wave pool, creating a perfect oasis in the heart of Palm Springs. With three bars, two restaurants, and dynamic event spaces, the Palm Springs Surf Club offers distinctive culinary and beverage programs, designed to cater to every taste and every occasion.
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Discover Oltrepo Pavese Wines from Italian Wine Ambassador Susannah Gold
Italian Wine Ambassador Susannah Gold shares Oltrepo Pavese wines at IEEM’s Simply Italian Great Wines Oct 24 in NYC
So much Italian wine is packed with great flavor, great food pairing possibilities, even great price tags ($20 or less). And yet many of us don’t reach for their bottles at the wine shop because we haven’t discovered them yet.
Oltrepo Pavese is a great example of this.
Italian Wine Ambassador Susannah Gold shares Oltrepo Pavese wines
So where is Oltrepo Pavese?
Oltrepo Pavese is in the north-west Italian region of Lombardy. Within Italy’s 20 regions, Lombardy (or Lombardia) is located on the Northern end, bordered by Piemonte, Emilio-Romagna, Veneto, Trentino – Alto Adige.
Wine Expert Susannah Gold
Oltrepo Pavese History
Oltrepo Pavese has a long wine history. It’s called ‘The Old World’ for a reason.
Viticulture was mentioned in the area as early as 40 BC. By the 1800s, the area was growing more than 200 grape varieties. Eventually it became the third largest producer of the Pinot Nero grape, just behind France’s Burgundy and Champagne.
Italian Wine Ambassador Susannah Gold shares Oltrepo Pavese wines
Oltrepo Pavese Grapes
There are four main grape varieties in Oltrepo Pavese and they are: Pinot Noir, Croatina, Barbera, Riesling. In addition, other popular options are: Pinot Grigio and Moscato.
Sparkling Wine in Oltrepo Pavese
Do they do sparkling? They do.
Their Pinot Noir vine clones started getting used in the 1800s and by the 1900s sparkling wine production took off.
Sparkling wine made in the south of Lombardy’s Pavia province Pinot Nero (Noir) is dominant in all wines made under this title, including either white or rosé.
The metodo classico is Italy’s version of the methode traditionelle, proudly used (and protected) by the winemakers of France’s Champagne.
Oltrepò Metodo Classico DOCG has a minimum of 70% Pinot Noir
Oltrepò Metodo Classico Cruasé has a minimum of 75% Pinot Noir
Let’s Get to Tasting
Italian Wine Ambassador Susannah Gold shares Oltrepo Pavese wines at IEEM’s Simply Italian Great Wines Oct 24 in NYC
Testarossa Oltrepo Pavese DOCG Metodo Classico Pinot Nero 2016 La Versa
In the glass, a brilliant straw yellow. White and creamy mousse, with continuous perlage. The nose has crusty bread with a citrus finish. The mouth has a soft feel, fresh and lively, with a lingering red fruit aftertaste. Would pair well with white fish, salmon, mussels.
Oltrepo Pavese Pinot Grigio DOC 2021 – Vanzini
In the glass, copper tones. On the nose, floral notes of apple, pear. Soft, elegant mouthfeel, with hints of toast and cream. Would pair well with fish and creamy cheeses.
Sommossa Bonarda dell ‘ Oltrepo Pavese DOC 2021 – Castello De Luzzano
In the glass, Ruby red with purple tinges. On the nose, notes of blackberry and black currant. The mouth is dry and tannic with persistent black currant.
Tiamat, Pino Nero dell’Oltrepo Pavese DOC 2020 – Cordero San Giorgio
In the glass, luminous ruby red color. Red fruit aromas on the nose. Red fruit with a hint of spice on the mouth, soft mouthfeel. Would pair well with chicken and turkey.
Pernice Pinot Nero dell’Oltrepo Pavese DCO 2018 – Conte Vistarino
In the glass, ruby red with garnet specks. The nose has complex violet notes with roasted coffee and cocoa. The mouth is big and elegant. A full body of red fruit with a spicy finish. Could be deliciously paired with gamey and roasted meats, rabbit, mushrooms .
Noir, Pinot Nero, dell’Oltrepo Pavese DOC 2018 – Mazzolino
In the glass, deep bright ruby red with a garnet edge. On the nose, raspberry, and a subtle blend of earth and white pepper. The mouth gets roasted red berries and earthy accents. But the wine keeps opening up! Sweeter red cherry and silky richness that lingers. Could pair well with grilled salmon in a wine sauce
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Hollywood Bowl Heat: Boyz II Men & TLC, “Kinky Boots,” Michael Franti, and so much more
Hollywood Bowl is heating up this summer with Boyz II Men & TLC, “Kinky Boots,” Michael Franti, and so much more
The high-heeled Broadway hit comes to Hollywood in a special production adapted for the Bowl stage.
FRI–SUN JULY 8–10
Kinky Boots
Music and Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Jerry Mitchell, director and choreographer
Stephen Oremus, conductor and musical director
Cast includes:
Wayne Brady
Jake Shears
Kelly Marie Tran
Related:
Post Malone announces Twelve Carat Tour 33-city including SoCal’s Crypto Arena with special guest Roddy Ricch.
SUN JULY 24 – part of KCRW Festival
A.R. RahmanThe artist who redefined contemporary Indian music returns, performing Bollywood favorites and more!
WED JULY 27
Tribute to Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra
Special guests: Billie Eilish, Debbie Harry, Dianne Reeves, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Seth MacFarlane, Bettye LaVette, Gretchen Parlato, and more
Christian McBride, musical director
The Count Basie Orchestra
Two iconic singers are celebrated by an all-star lineup.
Related:
LA Phil Introduces Club 101 inaugural membership program for The Hollywood Bowl and The Ford summer seasons
FRI JUL 29
Boyz II Men • TLCFrom “The End of the Road” to “Waterfalls,” take a trip through some of the greatest songs in R&B history.
SUN JUL 31
a-ha with Orchestra
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Thomas Wilkins, conductorThe Norwegian band made waves in the 1980s with their classic songs “Take On Me” and “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” Now, they’re teaming up with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra for a night of hits.
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Chilli No 5 ‘Sauce of Life’ Brings Flavor and Health to your Next Meal
Chilli No 5 ‘Sauce of Life’ Brings Flavor and Health to your Next Meal with an unmistakable spicy hit, combined with superfoods & health supplements.
Providing the flavorful gourmet vegan chilli sauces & gift sets using the most natural & healthy ingredients.
Chilli No 5 Brings ‘Superfood Sorcery’ and Big Flavor
Delivering the best range of your favorite international flavors of chilli, marinades and BBQ hot sauces.
Co-founder Rumble Romagnoli joined me for a conversation about food, family, making chilli healthier and bringing their award-winning chilli sauce to the masses.
Chilli No. 5 Co-founder Rumble Romagnoli
The below conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Find the full, un-edited conversation at our YouTube channel.
When you think about hot sauce, can you tell us about a celebration or a memory, something in life that inspired you to get so excited about hot sauce?
Rumble Romagnoli: Yeah when we’re smaller and we’re in the kitchen, it’s such a magical experience, isn’t it?
I had a real Italian Nonna so an Italian grandmother who always had bubbling pots and pastas and, Mules and fish and meat. My mother and my sister; so great moments as a child cooking in the kitchen and then out on the dining table with all the family.
It was great and now I love cooking and it makes me really relaxed. Just zoning out, cooking for the family, growing my own vegetables, chilies and then gathering around tables with friends and family just to enjoy. And that’s really where this all started.
What does day to day life look like for you. How did you decide to split up some of that time with a hot sauce endeavor?
Rumble Romagnoli: You remember COVID wasn’t really a nice time for anyone. We were there in a small apartment with lots of small children. It was chaos.
We couldn’t see our friends. We couldn’t see our family. They were all over the world and it was desperate times. So I suppose setting up Chili No. 5 was all about this kind of wanting to get back together with people enjoying moments and being together, sharing and getting fresh, healthy food and not lining up in the supermarket.
Chilli No 5 Brings ‘Superfood Sorcery’ and Big Flavor
A lot of chefs who I was very friendly with all had lost their jobs. I was like, Hey, can you make sauce? They’re like, yeah, of course I can. So that’s how it all started.
And we started trying out new flavors and we love world cooking. So that’s how Chilli No 5 started.
From your Chilli expert point of view, what should someone look for on a label that lets us know this is a quality chilli sauce?
Rumble Romagnoli: I think you guys are better at it than us to be fair. You’re fanatics; incredible.
I’m not a real expert. I just love creating great food for my family and friends. And we’ve tried to make… The best world hot sauces but they’re not going to blow your head off. It’s not really a hot sauce. They are chilli sauces.
Chilli No 5 variety of flavors
What I think you should be looking for on the bottle is: great ingredients, as many as you can get. No numbers, no coloring, no baddies.
I’m looking for just superfoods and anything that’s gonna make me glow.
In my world, when I think of chili sauce and hot sauces, I don’t always think of superfoods.
Tell me a little bit about where the idea came from to so strongly cross over superfoods with chili.
Rumble Romagnoli: I love spice and tingling on my tongue and that kind of rush you get from that spice and hot. The hot sauce or the flakes or the chili oil. My wife loves to be healthy. Happy wife, happy life they say, so I just combined.
I was doing something more spicy and she says, why don’t you put some good stuff in there? And I’d been reading a lot about Guana ginseng, maca; and all of these are in our sources. These are natural supplements that you buy in the shop. You have some of that and it really picks you up, increases your concentration, which I need for long days. I need more energy. I’m getting older. So I was like, hey let’s just put them in the hot sauce and then you got the best of both worlds. So that’s the superfood sauce or superfood sorcery we like to say.
That was all my wife’s doing to be honest.
I feel like a lot of chilli sauces are just gunk. When I think superfoods, I think health. Is your Chilli No 9 a health food?
Rumble Romagnoli: Absolutely. I’ll pick out one of these bottles.I wouldn’t say a healthy hot sauce. I would say a hot sauce full of healthy ingredients because you never know there are some sugars in here and you never know what people will find healthy or not healthy.
But we’ve got in this Jamaican jerk, which is great on a barbecue chicken as a marinade as a condiment as a barbecue sauce. We’ve got fresh red onions, fresh spring onions. Chilli No 9 chili. Fresh chilies, which are all really healthy for you. There’s ginger. There’s garlic. There’s lemon. There’s lime. There’s agave syrup.
We tried to tone down the sugar but keep it a little bit sweet, apple cider vinegar, we’ve got, extra virgin olive oil. It goes on black garlic, thyme, nutmeg, allspice, black pepper, guarana, maca, Ginseng, l arginine. It doesn’t stop. That is packed to the rims, full of healthy ingredients.
We’ve tried to put the healthiest ingredients we could find and make it as tasty as possible using these ingredients and authentic to Jamaica and their jerk sauce.
It’s a sauce packed full of healthy superfood antioxidant ingredients and that’s maybe why it’s winning all these awards for taste.
Because bottom line is it has to taste nice before being healthy.
Nobody wants a science flavored chili. So I agree with that. Let’s talk about some of your favorite flavors.
Rumble Romagnoli: It’s hard because we have over 15 sources. But one of my favorites which you’d probably love as well is the Mexican Fury. My sister lives in Guadalajara in Mexico. She left the UK and went all around South America and ended up finding a lovely guy and settled down there.
Mexican food is fantastic. It’s just really great. Full of flavors and all sorts of different ingredients that we can’t grow in the UK or in Europe. You guys have got such great weather down there in the South, Miami, Florida. Texas, Mexico between the South of the U. S. and the North of Mexico.
So you’ve got the jalapenos which are just incredible. We’ve got all of these beautiful chilies, the habanero come up with an automatically smoky flavor when mixed with the red peppers, the tomatoes, the red onions. They fuse this on the palate to really pair very well with chicken, prawns, tacos, burritos or even egg for breakfast or pancakes.
The Mexican Fury is a really good one. We won 16 awards for different sauces. I love chipotle, anything smoky in our Louisiana barbecue. We’ve tried to tone down the sugar, add a bit of cognac whiskey, bourbon whiskey. We’ve added the classic American ingredients in there to make a kind of healthy style Louisiana barbecue.
Then the harissa is a great one. It’s really popular. it’s North African full of caraway seeds, cumin seeds, olive oil, lots of of incredible deep ingredients that really sit on the back of the tongue. There’s lots of ingredients there that kind of bring your food to life.
We want to bring life and energy into a barbecue situation, dinner with granny, breakfast before work, sandwich on the bench in Manhattan.
Tell us a little bit about the competitions you’ve entered.
Rumble Romagnoli: We were only a year old and we’d come up with these sauces and we’d thought they were good. The founder Chef Colin and then we had a team of chefs working in our London kitchen and our South of France kitchen and we entered the Great Taste Awards.
These are quite big awards in the UK but it’s international awards where all kind of fine foods, gourmet foods are tested by panels of hundreds of judges. It’s quite a strict competition.
So first year we came in and we won seven stars for 11 products. We’re very happy. It was incredible. The Jamaican jerk really got a good one. The heavenly Harissa came in very well. Our chilli oil called Pizza Pizzazz.
Our chili flakes are all fresh and lovely coming from all sides of the world. Carolina Reaper, the Scorpion, the Habanero, the Ghost, the Number 5 chili from India.
We watched and read all of the judges’ comments and we’re so thankful that they really detailed about acidity, balance, flavor structures.
Then we reworked it. We played around with ingredient quality, we changed vinegars slightly, the cooking process. We started baking the vegetables, the peppers, the onions, the red onions. The tomatoes really started getting more flavor. We put in a bit of olive oil at the start to get the flavors moving around.
Then we came in this year with 13 awards out of 16. With our 7, that makes 16 of our total products have won awards by the Great Taste Awards.
We want to create the best chilli sauces on the planet. That’s my mission.
How is Chilli No 5 going to grow and evolve?
Rumble Romagnoli: It’s happening quite quickly and we have a B2C strategy and service strategy.
We want to have the most delicious sauces in every category. We’re just working on each recipe and we think if we make the best sauce, people are going to love the best sauce, and then they’re going to buy the best sauce.
A bit like Apple, just make the best products and people just keep buying them We’re getting into big stores in the UK, placements in Monaco.
We are in lots of great high end butchers, delicatessens and it’s going really well.
So we’ve got this B2B strategy. We need to impress the professionals. We’ve impressed the people who love healthy lifestyle, love delicious sauce, gourmet. But now we have to impress the industry.
Obviously coming to America is the big move.
Tell us all the ways we can learn more about Chili No. Tell us your website, social media.
Rumble Romagnoli: The website is the big one, Chili No.5. Shop us on Etsy. Follow us on instagram, Facebook, YouTube.
We’re also quite present for hot sauce gift sets. We do five or six incredible hot sauce gift sets which are collections of the sauces. And we’ve got mini little minis and you can make your own you can personalize because we’ve got 15 sauces.
We’re very big at Christmas. Very big at Father’s Day, Thanksgiving and we will send the sauces over to you guys in the states. No problem. If anything breaks, if anything’s damaged, we will refund you and resend you the sauce you ordered because that’s the least we can do.
This sounds amazing! I love that you can devour the foodie scene in LA every week and still be discovering new gems all the time. We’re gonna try to head there his weekend! Thnks for sharing.