Anyway, I had a stand there flogging our Byron Bay Chilli Sauces, and Jack wandered by late one night to do a bit of sampling. I could tell by the way he went straight for the chipotle (smoked jalapeno) salsa, that he was a connoisseur of hot sauces.
He told me about his passion for charcoal/woodfired BBQ mentioning that he also enjoyed making his own sauce recipes. We talked about his travels, the spicy twangs and smokey drones of barbecue sauce being tossed about like musical notes for the tastebuds.
Some time later he rang to ask if we would be interested in working with him to produce some of his sauces for the public. He mentioned wanting to do something to help support one of his favourite community based initiatives-Landcare- every bottle sold we will make a donation to this very worthwhile endeavour.
He said he asked us because, since our meeting at the Blues Festival, he had taken to adding that special touch of spice to his recipes with a bottle of our Red Cayenne Chilli Sauce (voted best Louisiana Style Hot Sauce for the last two years at the annual Scovie Fiery Foods Competition held in Albuquerque New Mexico ).
Jack had three sauces in mind, and asked us to try them and see what we thought.
First we had a barbecue in the hills where we live and then we had one at his home near the beach. Then we had another and finally it was decided. Labels were designed formulations perfected and Landcare approached.
And that’s how the Jack Thompson/Byron Bay Chilli Company range of barbecue sauces was born.
The Bolands
