News

9/21/16

Hey everybody, just jumping in to say hi because we have been a little quiet lately. Quiet yes, dormant, NO!!
We are tweaking techniques and infrastructure behind the scenes and still have sauces for sale at our online store, and at Diamond Shoals in Buxton!

6/19/16

Check out our online store and help yourselves to the hotness!

5/31/16

Great news, OBXers, you can now purchase El Gringo Picante Hot Sauces at Diamond Shoals Restaurant in Buxton, NC, on Hatteras Island! Support your local businesses and thank you Diamond Shoals for supporting us!

5/18/16

mond Shoals for supporting us!

5/18/16

As of May 12, 2016, we have obtained all necessary licenses and permits to legally sell our products far and wide, and our 3 current sauces have all been officially lab tested and are certified shelf stable.
Here is the definition of 'shelf stable,' from wikipedia..

"Shelf-stable food (sometimes ambient food) is food of a type that can be safely stored at room temperature in a sealed container. This includes foods that would normally be stored refrigerated but which have been processed so that they can be safely stored at room or ambient temperature for a usefully long shelf life."

So, to answer a common question, you DO NOT need to refrigerate our sauces, but you can if you want!

We are extremely excited but still have some kinks to work out in the supply and production stages, so please bear with us as we get this thing running on all cylinders!

We will soon have the website ready to sell to anyone who wants product, and will keep you updated as we stock some small stores and restaurants near you...

5/9/16
It's like one of those wind-up toys that you turn the little knob and you keep cranking until it stops clicking...then you set it down and watch it take off or, more times than not, crash into something, flip over and spin in circles on its back.
We are fully wound up, with our kitchen permit, business license, LLC registration, and all the other gears in full operation...
We are now waiting solely for product samples to returm from the lab, which in this metaphor is the equivalent of being set down and turned loose and watch out everybody!
Allegedly this process takes somewhere around 7-10 days..it's been over a month but who's counting, right?
At least we have some delicious hot sauce for the fingernail chewin'...

4/17/16
Our deepest thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to all the people of Ecuador affected by the massive 7.8 earthquake that hit yesterday. The Gringo Picante crew were scheduled to arrive in Ecuador Friday night at around 11 PM, but due to some scheduling issues and a bit of confusion we were not able to confirm those flights, and were in the process of scheduling another flight, which we were just about to nail down as the earthquake hit. We would have been staying 17 miles from the epicenter of the quake, and the nice woman we were going to see unfortunately did not survive. Much love to her family and to all of the others who have been affected by this horrific and tragic event. Appreciate life and those around you folks, it is fragile and short under the best circumstances, and can change drastically in an instant.

4/5/16
OK so now we REALLY have shipped samples to Virginia Tech Food Innovations Program, to be probed and prodded and tested in our quest for total product legitimacy.
We had a false start a couple weeks ago when we thought we were shipping samples of 2 products, and then we discovered a few more strands of red tape to chew through!
So now we have sent all 3 of our current sauces along with the proper paperwork, and should have results within 7-10 days of the lab receiving the samples.

And now we wait....

3/22/16
The people have spoken, and we have acted.
The major complaint we have received about our sauces is that they are too hard to get out of the bottle!
The thickness of the sauce combined with the small hole in the cap inserts was causing a fairly serious traffic flow problem.
The last thing we want is for you to spend your lunch break wrestling with a bottle of delicious yet stubborn hot sauce...or to walk away from your lunch feeling less than fulfilled because you just didn't have the fight in you or the time to make it happen.
So, we have reduced the viscosity of the El Humo and Chupa Cabra sauces for better flow, and have stopped using the inserts entirely.

The regulator is off, and you are now wide open and free flowing!

With great power comes great responsibility, so check yourself, and may
your hand be steady and true.

2/24/16
Check out the first edition of our friends' OneBreath Magazine!
El Gringo Picante makes a cameo appearance on page 12....
Congrats Sam & Kim!
http://onebreathmagazine.com/digital/

2/19/16
Good news, we have passed the kitchen inspection by the Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, and now we send product samples to the Virginia Tech Food Testing department...we assume the logic there is, if it doesn't kill them, it won't kill you either, and we will be deemed legit in the eyes of the authoritah!
Of course this is a small stepping stone in a process of expansion and evolution that may or may not lead to world hot sauce domination!

2/5/16
3 news items for today:
1. The name "El Gringo Picante' is now legally trademarked! Exciting huh?
2. The promotional period for the $25 crates will end at midnight on Valentine's Day, because we would not want to deny anyone that spicy occasion! The crates will then increase in price to $30..still a great deal!
3. We have been getting literally thousands and thousands of hits on this website this week. Thank you all for your support!

1/26/16
We have been working feverishly yet methodically to make a lot of things happen, including this website, which we hope you will feel free to fully explore and revisit often, as we will be adding more content, including recipes and who-even-knows-what-else!

Also we are handling the boring stuff behind the scenes, legal stuff; trademarks, licenses, permits, red tape and then more red tape, but it has all been set in motion, and now we wait...

In the meantime we can only sell to friends, family and farmers' markets, but watch out Frank & Pete, El Gringo Picante rides at dawn!