Sarah and Dirk Marshall were both social workers in Portland. Obsessed with building community among their clients, they found that the single best way to bring people together was food. Sarah, in particular, would her home crockpot into the residential development where she worked, and in her spare time, taught kids about the basics of healthy food preparation and canning methods.
Little did they know that one of Sarah’s small lessons would turn their lives around. When she concocted a habanero curry sauce, it wasn’t just the kids who took note. The adults gave rave reviews and many even encouraged her to turn the sauce into a business. Finally by 2011, she cooked up enough confidence struck out on her own.
It only took two years for demand to grow to the point that Sarah tapped Dirk... It was time for him to leave social work and start pitching in. Dirk recognized it was time to retire the ol’ crockpot and helped Sarah move the operation into a commercial kitchen space. And with Dirk on board, they had extra time to expand the community around the hot sauces. A network of local farmers and makers formed to supply their ever-growing demand for fresh produce and small-batch products.
Sarah proudly proclaims, “We believe in small business owners, farmers and producers and work with as many as we can find.” (Hey, we could say the same!) Local Willamette Valley Pinot Noir in their Cranberry Red Habanero Sauce. Bee Local honey for any sauces that need a little sweetness. And they exclusively use Jacobsen Salt-Works salt. (Those last two happen to be Mouth makers, too!) Each sauce is a tour to different local makers. Guess you could say it’s a haute take of Portland’s best.