Albury’s twilight markets are always a hit during the warmer months and at least one producer has reason to tempt local tastebuds after celebrating success at the World Hot Sauce Awards in the United States.
At Border Café we love to celebrate success stories, especially when it involves starting out from humble beginnings.
When Jason Crowley showed his young son the joys of growing plants from seeds several years ago, he never imagined it would turn into an exciting new sauce business venture.
“I opened the fridge one day with my three-year-old son, and instead of planting grass seeds on the window sill and watching them grow, I decided we’d plant some chilli seeds,” Jason said.
“We quickly had some seedlings, then some plants which then produced the fruit, so we decided to make some sauce.
“Some of my friends kept saying ‘why don’t you sell it?’’
“So Crowley’s Hot Sauce hit the market in 2011, where it’s been a hobby for four years and now I work on it full-time.”
The Riverina producer is a regular face at Albury’s twilight markets and has even more reason to promote the flavours of his range after collecting some major awards.
“We entered the New York Hot Sauce Expo and our Habanero sauce was voted number one.
“We also took part in the World Hot Sauce Awards at Louisiana and pulled out another number one for our Smoke and Fire sauce, which is two years back-to-back world’s best Smokey BBQ.
“At the end of the day if you’re mixing with the guys in the States, you’re definitely diving head first into the deep end.
“For a little guy like me to win not just one, but two back-to-back, as well as a number of second places in a number of other categories is great.
“It gives us bragging rights in the industry, but the win is also taken seriously amongst a lot of our customers and retailers.”
For those who are wary of delving into chilli territory, Jason says there’s a range for everyone.
“Our whole range is the best family friendly range in Australia,” he said.
“We have kids that can handle the world’s hottest chillies, and grown men who can cry just talking about it – it’s all about finding a balance point between heat and flavour.
“We dabble in things where you may not be able to taste the chilli into things that will not just take down a footy team, but probably take down a whole league of footy teams.”
You can sample Crowley’s Hot Sauce at Albury’s twilight markets underway every second Thursday of the month until March.
For more information on Albury Twilight Markets visit http://www.alburycity.nsw.gov.au/leisure-and-culture/seasonal-events/qeii-twilight-markets
To check out Crowley’s Hot Sauce visit www.crowleyshotsauce.com.au